Wallabies hold off Springboks in crazy Perth showdown

MATCH REPORT: The Wallabies made their biggest statement under head coach Les Kiss so far with a 42-38 victory over the Springboks in Perth on Sunday.

Australia led 42-17 with 10 minutes to go before the Boks scored three tries, while the hosts were reduced to 11 men after a mix of foul play and cynical play in a crazy period.

The Wallabies entered the match as underdogs, but they were far superior for most of the game before the final 10 minutes.

Scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan was exceptional in his decision-making on the field. He dictated play on attack, and his kicking game was brilliant as well.

The Wallabies also dominated the Springboks in the air, with wings Max Jorgensen and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii winning several balls.

Springbok flank Paul de Villiers terrorised the Wallabies at the breakdowns in the opening minutes, and it allowed Handre Pollard to open the scoring with a penalty goal in the fourth minute.

The scores were level a few minutes later with Lonergan adding three points after a Bok indiscretion.

However, the Boks turned to one of their main weapons, the maul, after that and after a powerful drive in Australia’s 22, Johan Grobbelaar went over for the first try of the game.

The Wallabies started to ask a lot of questions with ball in hand, and after several powerful runs, Len Ikitau crashed over for a try in the 24th minute.

The centre was in again a couple of minutes later when Ikitau pounced on a ball when the Boks failed to deal with a high ball. A lot of the credit had to go to Suaalii, who put Aphelele Fassi under pressure.

However, it didn’t take long for the Boks to hit back with Canan Moodie breaking the defensive line before the ball went wide to Edwill van der Merwe, who raced away for the Boks second try.

Patience became the name of the game on attack, and the Aussies showed it in abundance when they went through the phases before Ben Donaldson scored a five-pointer just before the break.

Lonergan landed his third conversion, and at half-time it was 24-17 to the Wallabies.

The Wallabies kept up the momentum after the break, and Lonergan increased the lead to 13 points with two penalty goals inside the first 14 minutes of the second half.

It got even better for the home side in the 60th minute when captain Harry Wilson stretched over a ruck to score his side’s fourth try after sustained pressure.

The Wallabies were just a step ahead of the Boks, and they punished the visitors with Max Jorgensen picking up a loose ball from a Moodie mistake before racing away for a five-pointer.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Australia lost their captain Wilson to a yellow card after a high tackle, and the Boks eventually got on the board again with a penalty try after a powerful scrum.

The home side were also reduced to 12 men after Lonergan and Suaalii were shown yellow cards within minutes of each other for cynical play.

It got nervy for the Wallabies when Morne van den Berg found his way to the tryline in the 74th minute.

The Wallabies thought they put the game to bed when Tom Wright intercepted a pass before scoring. However, it was ruled out for Hunter Paisami’s high tackle on Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the build-up.

The centre also received a yellow card for that.

With less than a minute left on the clock, Ox Nche scored for the Springboks, but the Wallabies held on for a dramatic victory after the Boks failed with their last attack

Man of the match: Centre Len Ikitau was a powerhouse in the first half with several strong carries, and he scored two of his team’s five tries. Captain Harry Wilson also led by example in the physical exchanges. However, our award goes to scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan, who was a general for the Wallabies. He produced a great all-round game

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries: Ikitau 2, Donaldson, Wilson, Jorgensen
Cons: Lonergan 4
Pens: Lonergan 3

For South Africa:
Tries: Grobbelaar, Van der Merwe, Penalty Try, Van den Berg, Nche
Cons: Pollard 2, Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2
Pen: Pollard

Yellow cards: Harry Wilson (Australia, 70′ – foul play, dangerous tackle); Ryan Lonergan (Australia, 71 – cynical play, offside); Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (Australia, 73′ – cynical play); Hunter Paisami (Australia, 77 – foul play, dangerous tackle)

Teams:

Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Tom Hooper, 21 Carlo Tizzano, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Harry Potter.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)