The Wallabies have grabbed their biggest scalp so far of the Les Kiss era, being reduced to 11 men in the closing stages to survive a fast-finishing Springboks in Perth, winning 42-38 to reclaim the Mandela Challenge Plate for the first time since 2022.
The 55,000 fans who turned up at Optus Stadium were treated to a dramatic clash, the hosts racing out to a colossal lead before losing four players to the bin and surviving a terrifying rampage of tries from the visitors to claim a four point lead.
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The Wallabies look to push the rush defence and the aerial contest early; however, South Africa wisely targeted the ruck, a resulting penalty seeing the visitors take the lead in the fourth minute thanks to the boot of Handre Pollard.
The hosts persisted with the strategy, however, and were rewarded when South Africa caught off their feet at the breakdown, Lonergan returning fire from the boot to draw the scores level in the sixth minute.
South Africa responded with the first try of the night four minutes later, Johan Grobbelaar the recipient thanks to a powerful Springbok maul, a weapon the visitors would turn to frequently throughout the evening.
The hosts looked to return fire but struggled with continuity, asking questions of the Springboks’ defence but failing to convert, with several chances going awry as passes didn't reach the hands.
Fraser McReight and Brandon Paenga-Amosa started to work their pilfering magic at the ruck, and in the 25th minute the hosts responded with a slick lineout move in the 22, backed up by brute-force rugby, as Len Ikitau barged under the posts to lock the scores up again.
The score awoke something in the Wallabies, as only two minutes later, the hosts punished consecutive errors from the Boks to take the lead for the first time, Suaalii winning a critical aerial contest and the ball falling for Ikitau to score his second in a matter of minutes.
However, the Springboks returned fire to draw the scores level at the 30th minute mark, the maul sucking in defenders and unleashing from deep, Edwill van der Merwe scoring his side’s second try of the evening.
As the final ten minutes elapsed, the hosts' defensive pressure continued to grow, matching the Springboks well in the scrum and, as fatigue set in, both sides looked to exploit open play to grab the lead ahead of halftime.
In the final minute of action, it would be the hosts that would break the deadlock, a tackle by Ethan Hooker on Donaldson resulting in a penalty, the resulting attacking play in the 22 being finished off by the flyhalf in the corner, thanks to a strong buildup of up-the-guts rugby from his forward pack sucking in the Bok defence.
Despite the Springboks winning back the restart, the hosts survived to head into the break up 24-17 at halftime.
The Springboks looked to play territory and possession, having proven lethal in multiple second halves so far this season, but several huge plays from the hosts continued to manage momentum early in the second half.
After a sustained passage with multiple penalties, the Wallabies extended the lead to ten points through a Lonergan penalty - a lead that would be needed as the Springboks turned to their bench, Rassie Erasmus making the bold call to unload all their replacement players at once.
Despite the move, the Wallabies continued to frustrate the visitors’ momentum in both game strategy and in the aerial contest, with Lonergan nailing another penalty in the 54th minute to further extend the lead to 13 points.
Ikitau was forced from the field with an apparent ankle injury, but with Harry Potter coming into the fray and Suaalii partnering Paisami in his place, the Wallabies continued to surge as the hour mark approached, the visitors struggling to get any possession or momentum.
After sustained pressure, the hosts then extended further, the up-the-guts approaching seeing Harry Wilson get the ball down over the line, Lonergan getting the lead to 20 points with less than 20 minutes to go.
The hosts finally got some ball and looked to go wide, but things continued to backfire as a loose pass found Max Jorgensen, the winger outsprinting the Springboks back three to score the Wallabies’ fifth.
The Springboks, however, were not done as the final ten minutes approached, finally starting to build some phases, with a small break in play seeing the Springboks’ unloading strategy forcing Etzebeth to stay on the field.
However, a high tackle in the final ten minutes saw Wilson sent to the bin, and the Australians were forced to play the final ten minutes without their skipper.
The visitors tried to pounce off a strong scrum, only for Morne van den Berg to lose the ball over the line, but the hosts were not out of danger yet, the visitors then scoring a penalty try, with Lonergan sent to the bin to give the visitors a two-man advantage.
Just like that, the Boks struck again, a long-range strike nearly finding van der Merwe if not for a knock-on, but with Suaalii sent to the bin, the hosts were now down to 12 men on the field with six minutes left to play.
The Springbok scrum did its work, with van den Berg giving the Boks an 11-point deficit to overcome as the last five minutes.
The Wallabies looked to have pulled through, with Tom Wright risking an all-or-nothing play to pull off an incredible intercept and score a try, however, the side was pulled up again with a high tackle to Hunter Paisami, the hosts now being reduced to 11 players against the world champions.
With nothing but effort separating the sides, the Wallabies looked to find any way they could to wind down the clock, and after several passages, Ox Nche burrowed over as the siren blared, the visitors needing to score off the restart to win.
However, with Wilson and Lonergan back on the field, the hosts rush pressure shone through, the Springboks making an obstruction error trying to go wide, the Perth fans erupting into applause.
Wallabies 42 (Tries: Ikitau 2, Donaldson, Wilson, Jorgensen. Cons: Lonergan 4/5. Pens: Lonergan 3/3) def South Africa 38 (Tries: Grobbelaar, van der Merwe, Penalty Try, van den Berg, Nche. Cons: Pollard 2/2, Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2/2. Pens: Pollard 1/1)
