Springboks brought crashing down to earth by Wallabies in Rugby Championship opener

Punch-drunk or battle-hardened? That was the question Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus posed early in the week in his assessment of the Wallabies, and he got his answer on the scoreboard as the plucky Aussies put the world champions in their place to the tune of 38-22.

Who would have thought that the Ellis Park faithful would be leaving in droves five minutes before the final whistle, after Tom Wright’s sixth try for his team confirmed one of the greatest capitulations in modern rugby history?

The Boks had led 22-0 before the 20th minute, only to concede 38 points without reply in the worst 60 minutes for the Springboks in the Rassie Erasmus era, dating back to 2018.

What is astounding is that the Springboks were breathtaking in their brilliance in the opening quarter. It seemed the Australians had no chance of adding to their 1963 win at Ellis Park, their sole victory in Johannesburg in 12 attempts.

The Springboks’ opening score was the culmination of rugby as perfect as it gets. The Wallabies kicked off, the Boks received, and immaculately worked the ball through ruthless phases to eventually put left wing Kurt-Lee Arendse through untouched. It was simply impeccable.

The battle of the breakdown had been the talk of the week, and it was the Springboks who ruled the early exchanges. A penalty won in the seventh minute was booted over by Manie Libbok.The 55,000-strong crowd sighed in relief — Manie had brought his radar to work.

The Boks were in an irrepressible mood, and in the 12th minute they scored a cracker — another all-encompassing move that culminated in André Esterhuizen taking an inside pass from Edwill van der Merwe to motor home.

The third Bok try was majestic. Wave after wave of spotless play pushed the Boks from the halfway line into the Aussie 22, where Eben Etzebeth darted toward the line and, when brought down, his close mate and fellow veteran, Siya Kolisi, picked up the ball and shot over.

It was 22-0 before the 20th minute, and the Wallabies had barely touched the ball. They were being soundly beaten — but they were unbowed.

On the half-hour mark, left wing Dylan Pietsch was put away for a try in the corner to make the score 22-5. That would be the half-time score — and it marked the turning of the tide, as the green and gold gave way to the gold and green.

We know from the British and Irish Lions series that the Wallabies have that famous Aussie grit, and we saw it in spades when No. 8 Harry Wilson exploded through the Springboks’ defence to score two minutes into the second half. James O’Connor’s conversion made it 22-12.

And the cat was among the pigeons when Aussie rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii scampered home from a counter-attack to narrow the score to 22-19.

The Wallabies took the lead with 15 minutes to go when a fine break by fullback Tom Wright paved the way for Wilson to score his second. O’Connor’s conversion put the visitors in front.

The Ellis Park crowd could not believe what they were seeing, and they were silenced when left wing Max Jorgensen went around Arendse to score. The conversion made it 33-22, advantage to the Wallabies — virtually unassailable.

It became a Mount Everest total when fullback Wright scored again.

Scorers

 South Africa — Tries: Kurt-Lee Arendse, Andre Esterhuizen, Siya Kolisi. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2). Penalty: Libbok.

Australia — Tries: Dylan Pietsch, Harry Wilson (2), Joseph-Aukuso Suaaali, Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright. Conversions: James O’Connor (4).