World champions South Africa scored five tries as they crushed Australia 33-7 in their Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on Saturday.
After going 21-0 up in the first half with three goals, the Wallabies were held back by a ferocious South African attack as they scored twice more in the second half.
Australia’s only try came late in the game, when Malcolm Marks and Marco van Staden were booked and the Springboks were reduced to 13 men.
Australia coach Joe Schmidt said the first-half onslaught had taken its toll on his team.
Watch selected NRL, AFL, SSN matches and all F1 qualifying sessions and races live in 4K on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today.
“They dominated possession and territory in the first half, which weakened the players a little bit,” Schmidt said.
“But the team persevered and fought back. I wish we could have done a little more, but we have a benchmark.
“It wasn’t a huge shock to us where the Springboks would be, it’s where we needed to go.”
It is the Springboks’ first win at Suncorp Stadium since 2013 and just their fourth in Brisbane.
They go into the match with a clear advantage over the world number one ranked Wallabies (9th).
And it soon became clear where the advantage lay. The Wallabies looked surprised by the strength and size of the South African forward pack. South Africa captain Siya Kolisi said the Springboks were determined to put their poor record in Australia behind them and give it their all.
“It means a lot to us to win this game. We know this is a stronghold of Australian rugby,” Kolisi said of Suncorp Stadium.
“We prepared well, they gave us the respect we deserved and I’m proud of the way the players played.
“We know these two games won’t win us the championship, but these two games could knock us out of the championship.”
Under new boss Schmidt, the Wallabies started 2024 with two wins over Wales and one against Georgia, but found it too difficult to improve their standings.
Their scrums were broken, their usually reliable lineouts struggled, and their discipline deserted them, with Andrew Calloway conceding 14 penalties and a crucial yellow card in the first half.
South Africa had all the possession in the early stages and it was no surprise when captain Siya Kolisi went down after a clever lineout to put them ahead after just 10 minutes.
Sasha Feinberg-Mongomezulu, who had earlier missed an easy penalty, slotted home a goal from the flank to put the visitors 7-0 ahead.
The Wallabies struggled to hold on while the Springboks had 75 per cent possession.
They received the ball but made no impression and kicked the ball away, giving it back to the Springboks.
After the Wallabies’ defence was sapped midway through the first half, the home side fell further behind when Peter-Stephen du Toit crossed.
Australia showed Callaway a yellow card for a dangerous lifting tackle 10 minutes before the break.
Springbok winger Kurt Lee Arendse extended the lead by beating Australia’s attackers and slotting a low goal into the net.
Australia improved after the restart and had several chances to score, but South Africa turned the game around with goals from Quagga Smith and Arendse in the space of two minutes.
Hunter Paisami put Australia’s consolation goal away with three minutes remaining, which Tom Linag converted.
The two teams meet again in Perth next Saturday.
