Wallabies put away spirited Springboks to jump into Tri-Nations driver’s seat
Posted by Hamish McBrearty on July 8th, 2007
The so-called “second string” Springboks turned in a respectable performance, forcing the heavily fancied Wallabies to work much harder than expected for their 25-17 win in Sydney.
Australia got off to another slow start, handing over possession early and finding themselves under pressure almost immediately. In the shadow of their own posts, the Wallabies defense crumbled allowing Springboks’ flanker Wickus van Heerden to crash over for the game’s opening try in just the sixth minute. Derek Hoggaard’s conversion saw the South African jump out to a 7-0 lead.
The Wallabies compounded their problems when they tried to go wide immediately from the ensuing kick off when lock Nathan Sharpe’s pass was intercepted by Brayton Paulse who sprinted 60 metres to score. Hoggaard would convert, and then add a penalty goal eight minutes later to give the Springboks a 17-0 lead after just 15 minutes.
Once the Australians settled down, they went back to their initial game plan and found some success. After advancing down the field, winger Mark Gerrard scored a try after a brilliant set play from an attacking line out, which was converted by captain Stirling Mortlock and put the Wallabies back into the game.
As the first half progressed, the Australians began to dominate the exchanges, frequently finding holes in the Springbok defense, only to be denied further points by desperate cover. Just before half time the Wallabies were able to close the gap with another Mortlock penalty, and went into the break down 10-17 to the surprise of many.
It took the Australians just two minutes to draw level with their first raid of the second half. Moving the ball from the right flank to the left, flanker Stephen Hoiles powered through a weak tackle to score with two unmarked men outside him. Mortlock’s conversion made it 17-17.
The Wallabies dominance from the first half carried over and the Springboks conceded a number of penalties as they desperately tried to slow down Australian ball. Referee Paul Honis eventually ran out of patience, issuing a general warning to the South Africans while Mortlock kicked a penalty goal.
Just a minute later Honis produced a yellow card for Springbok hooker Gary Botha after yet another ruck infringement. The Wallabies put their one man advantage to use almost immediately, with Gerrard making a break down the right flank, then kicking the ball ahead for Matt Giteau to run onto and score.
Several ugly incidents marred the final quarter of the game, first CJ van der Linde appeared to rake the eyes of Wallaby George Smith, and moments later Smith retaliated with a swinging arm tackle on Waylon Murray. The game finally erupted after a scrum collapse when several players were grappling and pushing, culminating in Springboks’ lock Johann Muller being sin binned for punching.
Departing Wallabies Stephen Larkham and George Gregan both put in good performances in their final home test match, controlling the tempo of the game and allowing the Wallaby backs to dominate their opposites.
The Wallabies are now just one win away from claiming the 2007 Tri-Nations trophy, while the Springboks will need to win next week in New Zealand and hope results go their way if they are to claim the title. But the Springboks did show that even without 20 of their first choice players, they are still able to field a competitive side.
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The Wallabies put away spirited Springboks to jump into Tri-Nations driver’s seat by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
