Australia 7-33 South Africa: men’s rugby union international – as it happened

Summary

Jonathan Howcroft

Schmidt is speaking really well, pulling no punches but not laying it on thick. “Our breakdown wasn’t right,” he concedes. “We missed our marks with out lineout early on. Our scrum was under pressure early.”

Joe Schmidt is phlegmatic in defeat. “We’ve got as benchmark now,” he says, praising South Africa’s all round performance while crediting his own side for hanging in. “I’m hearted by the way the boys rolled their sleeves up. 12-7 in the second-half is a lot closer that 21-0 in the first.”

The Australian TV onscreen graphic has mislabelled Siya Kolisi as “Australia Captain”. Wishful thinking.

So much for the famed Brisbane fortress too. There appeared as much green in Suncorp Stadium as there was gold. An experience likely to be repeated next week in Perth for round two.

We learned much more about the Springboks. The trick-plays off set-pieces, the invention of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (who looked to the manor born on starting debut) and the use of locks and back-rowers in wide areas, have turned South Africa from a one-dimensional beast into a wicked hydra.

The brute force was still there, especially at the scrum, but around that was confidence and audacity. Kolbe, le Roux, Kriel and Arendse all showed moments of brilliance, knitted together expertly by Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Kolisi was effervescent, du Toit was unstoppable, and Etzebeth was everywhere. They were a joy to watch.

What did we learn about the Wallabies? Nothing positive. The backline remains awfully disjointed with Lolesio performing no better than Donaldson last week in the 10 jersey. The first-half was a walkover with scrum and breakdown penalties. Kicking out of hand was dreadful.

There was commitment and physicality in defence – without which the scoreline could have been even more unflattering – but this played out exactly as the world rankings would suggest: the world champions swatting aside their ninth-ranked opponents without any difficulty.

Naturally, attention in Australia will be about how poor the Wallabies were this afternoon, but analysis of this opening match of the Rugby Championship has to begin with the Springboks, who were superb in all facets. That was a real statement performance from the World Cup holders who have added new strings to their bow.

Full-time: Australia 7-33 South Africa

Yellow Card! South Africa (Kriel, 79)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-33 South Africa (Paisami, 77)

75 mins: Penalty against South Africa for engaging early at the scrum!

74 mins: Australia have a scrum feed 8m from the line on the inside-left channel. Pietsch runs off the back, loses possession in contact, and South Africa survive. This is grisly for the Wallabies. Penny for Joe Schmidt’s thoughts right now. Or Eddie Jones’s.

Yellow Card! South Africa (van Staden, 72)

72 mins: The undermanned Springboks execute the short lineout then stuff the ball up their jumpers for a couple of phases before clearing 30m.

71 mins: Lineout secured the maul forms but the Springboks drive it towards the touchline. Australia desperately try to keep the move alive but McDermott’s foot is on the line as he clears out. Another chance goes begging.

70 mins: Australia kick almost to halfway, win their lineout ball, and then get constipated infield. Losing ground the Wallabies are reprieved by the referee and reload. But there’s a knock-on before momentum can build. Again the referee’s whistle goes Australia’s way and they can kick to the left corner for a 5m lineout.

Yellow Card! South Africa (Marx, 68)

68 mins: Still South Africa come. Phase after phase of hard-running and tenacious groundwork. The Springboks are hungry for more. But out of nowhere Kolbe tries – and fails – with a drop goal attempt from 35m out on the right. That was a very odd decision.

66 mins: Almost three tries in three minutes but the crossfield kick from left to right from Feinberg-Mngomezulu just doesn’t reach a teammate. Consider the rest of the rugby world on notice. This version of the Springboks has guile to go with the grunt.

TRY! Australia 0-33 South Africa (Arendse, 64)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 0-28 South Africa (Smith, 63)

61 mins: Lineout secured. Penalty advantage…. then another penalty advantage. South Africa are too quick to the breakdown, inviting runners to charge at the beleaguered Australian defence. Another advantage! Three on the play now. The ball is spun wide to Arendse and he tries to dive over in the corner but he clips the whitewash and play returns infield for a 5m scrum.

60 mins: Australia are too eager at the lineout and in the space of a few seconds and two penalty kicks the Springb oks have gone from defending on their own 22 to an attacking lineout 10m from a score.

58 mins: Australian scrum feed on attacking 22. The ball’s out quickly and Paisami does well to offload to Kellaway mid-tackle. Ikitau shunts over the gain-line before Valetini buys a few more inches. Is this a foundation? No. Australia keep things too tight and the Springbok forward tacklers are too canny, shutting down the space and suffocating the play. The penalty sends play to halfway.

57 mins: Australia pilfer the South Arican lineout on halfway. A few slow phases go nowhere but finally there’s some space for Lolesio to run into, offer a dummy then go through hands to the left. The attack reaches the 22 before its forced to reset. Can the Wallabies find something? No. It’s scruffy and unstructured behind the breakdown and ends mercifully with the eagle eyes of the referee spotting a Springbok knock-on.

55 mins: Another scrum penalty to South Africa as the camera zooms in tight on a bloodied Alan Alaalatoa.

54 mins: The short lineout 5m from home is gathered easily by Wilson. The maul forms but goes nowhere. Pietsch tries to shear off and dart for the line but he goes without the ball and there’s a knock-on. This is dispiriting stuff so far from the Wallabies as South Africa’s finishers enter the fray.

53 mins: Valetini crashes into the defensive line off good lineout ball. Pietsch then smashes through the gain line on the left wing. Advantage at the breakdown as Valetini goes again. Now Wilson. Still nothing from the backs as Lolesio and Wright fail to connect and Gordon is wrapped up – play returning to the advantage on the left.

52 mins: The Springboks attack off lineout ball on the 22, but it’s all sideways. Excellent Australian defence soon becomes attack with Valetini forcing the turnover then hacking forward for Frost to chase. South Africa are forced to reset just in front of their own goal line and clear to the 22.

50 mins: Wright and Lolesio collide and crack skulls attempting to mark the same high ball. Wright comes out on top, but it’s another indication of how dysfunctional the Wallabies have been today.

49 mins: The lineout throw is awful and South Africa rebound from their own line. Kolbe scampers to the 22, then there’s a second ball carrier to halfway. The Springboks are hungry and they continue to expand to the right – Etzebeth again powering down the touchline like an escaped rhino. He puts a stud into touch on the round though and Australia escape.

48 mins: The lineout is safe but the combinations don’t dovetail off the back. Salakaia-Loto and Valetini both punch into the green wall but nothing is coming off their grunt behind them. Eventually Pearce awards a penalty and there’s a kick to the left corner.

47 mins: A solid lineout on halfway for the Springboks this time but as they spread from left to right Ikitau and Paisami tackle hard in midfield and force the breakdown penalty. The kick to the 22 on the left sets up attacking ball.

45 mins: Australia steal the 5m lineout and clear to halfway! A rare moment to celebrate for the Wallabies.

44 mins: Another superb lineout set-play from the Springboks, throwing long for Kolbe to steam onto like a freight train. Pietsch defends well but still South Africa come, looking to expand at every opportunity. And not just through backs either, Etzebeth is on the charge. On the ground a 50:50 decision goes the way of the Springboks and the ball is kicked into the left corner.

43 mins: The scrum near halfway is repacked. The second effort ends in another penalty against Australia’s forward pack. One of those Wallabies, Frost, can barely see out of a badly damaged right eye.

41 mins: Lolesio gets the second half under way. Pietsch knocks-on the restart. Plus ca change.

What makes this all so striking is how ambitious South Africa have been. This is not the forward-focussed defensively brilliant version of the Springboks that have visited these shores. This is a version with lineout trick plays, flankers operating as outside centres, crossfield kicks, and a willingness to invite broken field footy and embrace the improvisation of Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Arendse. It has been thrilling to watch.

That Australian checklist prematch is not looking good. Breakdown discipline: dreadful. Individual errors: plenty. Impact from the No 10: negative.

Half-time: Australia 0-21 South Africa

40 mins: There’s still some rare momentum with the Wallabies through and an offside penalty is kicked to the 22 on the right. Valetini runs off the back and crashes over the gain line. The phases build but South Africa, with the extra man, regroup. Kolbe hammers Alaalatoa. The phases build, but they’re slow. Australia pick and go repeatedly 10m out in central areas… but there’s a knock-on and the half-time whistle blows.

37 mins: Lolesio with a rare dash. He’s hammered in contact and Australia concede another clear breakdown penalty.

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 0-21 South Africa (Arendse, 35)

34 mins: A powerful South African scrum ends with Alaalatoa conceding a penalty.

33 mins: Not for long though. Australia hold their own at the scrum 15m out but Paisami gets caught under the ball with supporting gold jerseys slow to engage and South Africa have another scoring opportunity.

32 mins: Another superb trick play from the lineout with one jumper winning the throw then passing it mid-lift to the other. Kolisi spins off the back and down the near side with a try in the corner on the cards. Australia scramble, then defend superbly at the breakdown, forcing a green knock-on. Huge let-off for the Wallabies.

31 mins: South Africa reject the gimme three points in favour of a kick to the left corner.

YELLOW CARD! Australia (Kellaway, 31)

30 mins: Brilliant from Feinberg-Mngomezulu with a big floating cutout pass inviting Arendse to cut inside off the left. He’s hauled down 5m short but the Springboks are in motion. Camped under the posts the phases are crisp and the Wallabies are being dragged from right to left like drunken sailors on a listing ship. Another try looks inevitable but Le Roux is tackled before he takes possession and the ball goes to ground. Pearce invites the TMO to review the incident. Is it a penalty, or more? Just a penalty. Lolesio gets away with one.

29 mins: A messy lineout but South Africa build momentum nonetheless thanks to the superb du Toit. Feinberg-Mngomezulu dabs a chip and chase over the defensive line and under the crossbar. Le Roux is desperate to win the race but he can’t ground the ball before it’s fractionally out of play. Australia drop-kick long and the green wave is soon back on golden shores.

27 mins: Australia get a decent look on halfway but Valetini knocks on in contact. This is not going according to plan for the Wallabies. In no time the Springboks are putting the Wallabies under pressure near their own line and the clearing kick only reaches the 22 on the left.

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 0-14 South Africa (du Toit, 24)