The Springboks bounced back in a brutal Test against the Wallabies in Cape Town, winning their Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash at the DHL Stadium by 30-22 after they led by 20-10 at the half-time break.
The SA Rugby website reported that Handre Pollard landed two penalty goals before Australia’s Corey Toole scored the first try of the game, converted by James O’Connor, to make it 7-6 to the visitors.
Canan Moodie then went over, from a pin-point cross kick by Pollard that came from a turnover in the Australian 22, which saw the Boks go back into the lead at 13-7.
Late in the half it changed to 20-7 when Kwagga Smith crashed over for a converted try, but O’Connor had the last say before the break with a penalty goal.
The visitors scored first in the second half through Max Jorgensen but Pollard’s third penalty goal made it 23-17 before each team scored a late try from close range, Brandon Paenga-Amosa for Australia and Eben Etzebeth for the Boks, which saw the hosts take a deserved win in a tough Test.
Last week, the Springboks suffered a shock defeat when the Wallabies pulled off a miraculous comeback to open the Rugby Championship in grand style with a famous 38-22 triumph over the world champion Springboks at the Ellis Park in Johannesburg. If this wasn’t the Wallabies’ greatest ever victory, it was most certainly their most improbable after Joe Schmidt’s revitalised outfit recovered from 22-0 down in Johannesburg.
Scorers:
Springboks 30 (20) – Tries: Canan Moodie, Kwagga Smith, Eben Etzebeth. Conversions: Handre Pollard (3). Penalty goals: Pollard (3).
Australia 22 (10) – Tries: Corey Toole, Max Jorgensen, Brandon Paenga-Amosa. Conversions: James O’Connor (2). Penalty goal: O’Connor.
