Wonderful Wallabies dazzle bruised & dazed Boks

Congratulations Australia. This was a remarkable victory. History on Saturday night belonged to the Wallabies. To score 38 unanswered points against the Boks at Ellis Park demands a standing ovation, writes Mark Keohane. 

This one will haunt the Boks for some time – and for good reason.

But, a year from now all South Africans may thank Joe Schmidt and his Wallabies for the beating they delivered to the Springboks.

Even the very best need to get knocked out to know they don’t want to go there again.

There can only be lessons in such a beating and the biggest lesson is that there is a Springboks DNA and if it works then evolve it, but don’t change it. The Boks changed everything that worked for them in 2024’s Rugby Championship and were so insistent for the first hour not to change their approach that the damage was done going into the last 20 minutes.

In the final quarter the Boks were out on their feet, punch drunk from throwing too many early punches and not conditioned enough to play the game at the pace that they did in the first quarter.

The Boks are ruthless when they take the opposition to the gutters first and then the dance floor, but they are always fragile and vulnerable when they head straight to the dance floor. Australia, in this case, much prefer a dance floor than a gutter.

Greater balance in approach is needed in the Boks’ evolution and build towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia and on Saturday night the balance was non-existent.

I had the Boks to win by 15, but I never expected them to play exhibition rugby for 80 minutes. I thought the Test Boks would pitch up: the Boks who have won World Cups and Rugby Championships because of their reverence when it comes to the sanctuary of the set piece.

The Boks lost eight line outs, never played for field position to force Australian mistakes and bring the Bok power scrum into the equation. They were also given a lesson at the breakdown and, at times, it looked as if Richie McCaw had returned to Test rugby in a gold jersey.

The Wallabies were dazzling in the final quarter, but the Boks looked gassed. The legs looked heavy, the arms hung, the lungs burned and the fatigued minds led to inaccuracy and mistake after mistake.

The Wallabies, 22 points down after 19 minutes, were smarter in their approach. They paced themselves, slowed the game down on their terms and counter punched with precision, especially in the final quarter.

It was a crazy match in how it played out.

When the Boks led 22-5 at halftime, it felt that their reward should have been more for that opening 20 minutes.

And even when Australia scored early in the second half, it never felt like a 10 point match. One got the sense that another Boks score would break Australia, but the Boks, tired and with each play made more mistakes because of poor decision-making, throwing passes that were speculators and losing possession because of an impatience that comes with fatigue.

So much of it was self-inflicted, and the Wallabies were good enough to stay in the match and then strike on the counter.

Siya Kolisi’s try was a popular one, so too Kurt-Lee Arendse’s opener and Andre Esterhuizen’s try. But those three tries, scored in the opening 20 minutes, seemed a lifetime away when Australia scored their sixth and final try with five minutes to go.

Rassie Erasmus has got so much right in the past eight years in charge of the Boks, but tactically this was a Test won by his counterpart Joe Schmidt.

The former Ireland coach and All Blacks assistant coach has a Midas touch that is understated. He makes a difference to the teams he coaches. There is such pragmatism and intelligence to his coaching. He was so influential in the All Blacks 2023 World Cup campaign when they came within a point and two missed kicks from beating the Springboks.

In a year he has transformed the Wallabies. It is a rugby shame that he is moving on after the Rugby Championship.

For the Boks, this is a defeat they must own. I know they will.

They took a beating and the sun will rise, as will the Boks.

Saturday, in Cape Town, is a chance at redemption, even though conceding 38 unanswered points will linger in the minds for a long time.