The Springboks lost to the Wallabies for the first time at Ellis Park since 1963, conceding a 22-0 lead and losing 38-22.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi bemoaned the mistakes his side made, and the opposition’s dominance at the breakdown, after the Wallabies won only their second Test match at Ellis Park.
The Australians turned a 22–0 deficit at the 18th minute into a 38–22 win, their second out of 13 matches at the venue. The last time they won a Test in Johannesburg was in 1963.
The Springboks started brilliantly, scoring three tries quickly. But the Wallabies held the South Africans back and scored six unanswered tries of their own. While the first half was one-sided in the Springboks’ favour, the second half was all Wallabies.
The Springboks failed to capitalise on their chances, losing the ball every time they entered the opposition 22. The Wallabies turned their every opportunity into points, stunning a near-capacity crowd that started emptying minutes before the final whistle.
“We let ourselves down a lot. We have to take that on the chin,” Kolisi said. “It’s unacceptable. You have a start like that and then take your foot off the pedal. Then you can’t… it’s unacceptable,” the Springbok captain shook his head.
He said poor discipline and losing the breakdown battle hurt them the most.
“We would fight, get into the 22 and then they steal the ball. It’s something that they will do because they have been good at it. You can see Fraser [McReight] got it right, he got man of the match for that.
“So ja, it’s hard to put into words. We put our foot off the pedal but they played well. Credit to the Australian team. They kept on fighting.”
He said the Springboks would come out stronger in their second game against the Wallabies in Cape Town next week.
Wallabies star says they showed grit
McReight received man of the match for his work at the breakdown and making the most tackles on the day (20).
“We had to come back and show our grit,” he said of the second-half performance. “We spoke about how us as Australians haven’t won here since 1963. We have a quiet confidence about us and we are building.”
He said this work behind the scenes paid off, calling the atmosphere in the dressing room after the win “europhic”.
