The world champion Wallabies bounced back from their big loss to the All Blacks last week, recording a 29-9 win over the Springboks at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, relegating the South Africans to third-place on the Tri-Nations standings.
While the obvious headlines of "Wallabies bounce back" and "Still the world champions" would be expected, truth be told, the Australians still face some hard work ahead, but, at least they came away from this match with a win, which is more than the South Africans can say.
The home side scored two second-half tries, which ultimately proved to be the major difference on the scoreboard, but the kicking boot of Elton Flatley -- he kicked seven from seven -- and the ill-discipline of the visitors also played into the Wallabies' hands.
Flatley kicked two conversions and five penalties, with Springbok fly-half Louis Koen managing just three penalties from five attempts, as the Boks attempted to play a low-risk game, trying to remain in Wallaby territory and hoping to force the penalties.
But the South Africans would have surprised even themselves as they managed to hold the ball for long periods of play, forcing the Australians into making some tackles, but when it came to the moment critique, the visitors were just not up to it, with Koen just not the man to take the game by the scruff of its neck and call the shots.
Wallaby No.10 Stephen Larkham was not his usual dominant self either -- his kicking out of hand is still not where it should be -- but he did force a few clever passes in the second stanza, especially to powerhouse wing Wendell Sailor when the Bok pack began to tire, stretching the South African defence to its limit.
Just two tries were scored in the match, both by the Wallabies, with centre Mat Rogers snapping up a stray long pass from Louis Koen early in the second half, when the scores were still tied at the half-time score of 6-6, before racing away from debutant Jorrie Muller for the try.
Flatley's conversion took the score to 13-6, and although Koen replied soon afterwards with his third penalty, Flatley managed to keep his team ahead with two more penalties, before Koen missed his second attempt just after the advent of the final quarter to leave the score at 19-9.
Cynical play from Robbie Kempson just a few minutes later saw the Boks forced to play with one man down again -- hooker Danie Coetzee had spent 10 minutes in the sin bin between minutes 38 and 48 for foul at the tackle -- but Flatley's subsequent penalty, in the 67th minute, took his team out to 22-9, with time quickly running out.
The introduction of Brent Russell -- on the right-wing for Stefan Terblanché -- soon afterwards signalled the intention of the Boks at that stage, but the solid Australian defence, which did not seem threatened for much of the game, held out once again before one final strike to put daylight between the two sides.
The Wallabies worked the ball wide to left-wing Lote Tuqiri, who did not see too much off the ball, and he held off Russell for long enough before being hauled down. The ball went to the right where Toutai Kefu drew in the final defence out wide before Phil Waugh dotted down in the corner despite a brave tackle from Bok No.8 Juan Smith.
For his efforts, Kefu was stretchered off the field after taking a late and high hit from Kempson, but the Wallaby elation proved just how much this win meant to them, having, before this match, lost three games on the trot, to England, South Africa and New Zealand, conceding 50 points in the latter fixture.
The South Africans certainly deserve some praise for their brave showing, but if they are to have any say at the World Cup later this year -- or in Dunedin next week -- they need to get more flair and authority into their game and have a good, hard look at their ill-discipline.
Man of the Match: Two Waratahs men stood out for the Wallabies, hooker Brendan Cannon, who was excellent against the All Blacks last week, and one of the two Wallaby opensides, Phil Waugh. For the Boks, Selborne Boome began well, while the rest of his tight five was not far behind, while Joe van Niekerk hardly looked rusty. In the end, however, our obvious choice was Waugh, who was everywhere on attack, supporting the ball-carrier at every opportunity, defending strongly and competing well at the breakdown, along with George Smith.
Moment of the Match: We have two moments, and both occurred within six minutes of each other. First Wallaby No.12 Elton Flatley struck a tough penalty in the 57th minute, which bounced off the uprights to put his side ahead by 19-9, just past that crucial seven-point barrier. Then, in the 63rd minute, South African kicking ace Louis Koen missed a relatively easy shot at goal, leaving the scoreline at 19-9. If Flatley had missed and Koen been successful, the score would have been 16-12 in the home team's favour. It still would have been game on ...
Villain of the Match: Danie Coetzee was pencilled in early on for his silly misdemeanour, which earned him a yellow card in the 38th minute. But our vote, here, goes to fellow Bok front rower, Robbie Kempson, firstly for a yellow card for tripping George Gregan in the 67th minute, and then for his high tackle on Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu, which knocked the Australian vice-captain out and saw him stretchered from the field.
Yellow card(s): Danie Coetzee (South Africa, 38), Robbie Kempson (South Africa, 67)
The Teams:
Australia: 1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves: Matthew Burke, Owen Finegan, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Chris Whitaker, Nathan Sharpe
South Africa: 1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Robbie Kempson, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Selborne Boome, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Craig Davidson, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Andre Pretorius
Reserves: Wikus Van Heerden, Bakkies Botha, Brent Russell, Dale Santon, Lawrence Sephaka, Joost Van Der Westhuizen
Unused: Gcobani Bobo
Attendance: 51188
Referee: O'brien p.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Tries: Rogers M.S. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv: Flatley E.J. 2
Pen K.: Flatley E.J. 5
South Africa
Pen K.: Koen L.J. 3
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