BRISBANE: World champions South Africa scored five tries to one as they crushed Australia 33-7 in the opening match of the Rugby Championship in Brisbane on Saturday. After leading 21-0 at half-time with three converted tries, they crossed twice more in the second period as the Wallabies ran out of steam in the face of a fierce South African assault. The only Australia try came late in the match when the Springboks were reduced to 13 men following yellow cards to Malcolm Marx and Marco van Staden. Australian coach Joe Schmidt said the first half onslaught had taken its toll on his side.

“They dominated possession and territory in the first half which sapped the strength out of the boys a little bit,” Schmidt said. “But the team hung in there and fought back - it would have been great to get a little more out of it but we’ve got a benchmark. “It wasn’t a massive shock to us where the Springboks would be and it’s somewhere we have to build towards.” It was the Springboks’ first win at Suncorp Stadium since 2013 and only their fourth ever victory in Brisbane. They went into the match as the firm favorites, ranked number one in the world compared with the Wallabies at nine.

And it was soon clear where the ascendancy lay, with the Wallabies appearing stunned by the strength and size of the South African forward pack. South African captain Siya Kolisi said the Springboks were determined to put their poor Australian record behind them. “It was a big thing for us to win this game, we know this is a fortress for Australian rugby,” Kolisi said of Suncorp Stadium. “We prepared well and gave them the respect they deserved and I’m proud of the way the boys played. “We know with these two matches we can’t win the championship, but these two matches could lose us the championship.”

Class divide

The Wallabies, under new coach Schmidt, started 2024 with two wins over Wales and one over Georgia, but they found the step up in class far too much to handle. Their scrum was destroyed and their normally reliable line-out also struggled. Their discipline also deserted them, conceding 14 penalties and one crucial yellow card to Andrew Kellaway in the first half. South Africa had all the early possession and it was no surprise when they opened the scoring after just 10 minutes when captain Siya Kolisi crashed over after a cleverly worked line-out move. 

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who earlier missed an easy penalty, converted from out wide to make it 7-0 to the visitors. With the Springboks enjoying 75 per cent possession the Wallabies were struggling to hang on. When they did get the ball they failed to make any impression and were reduced to kicking it away, handing the ball straight back to the Springboks. The hosts went further behind midway through the half when lock Pieter-Steph du Toit crossed after the Wallabies ran out of numbers in defense.

Australia then lost Kellaway to a yellow card after a dangerous lifting tackle 10 minutes before the break. Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse waltzed his way through the Australia forwards to score under the posts and extend the lead. Australia improved after the restart and had a number of chances to score, but South Africa put the game out of reach with tries to Kwagga Smith and Arendse in the space of two minutes. Hunter Paisami scored Australia’s consolation try three minutes from the end with Tom Lynagh converting. The two teams meet again in Perth next Saturday. — AFP