Australia 30 South Africa 13:Will Genia's late try enabled Australia to condemn South Africa to a third successive Tri-Nations defeat at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Both sides scored two tries but accurate kicking from Matt Giteau and James O'Connor saw the Wallabies home.
The deficit could have been far greater had the Australians not wasted a succession of chances with some poor finishing.
Scrum-half Genia, skipper Rocky Elsom and David Pocock shone for the Wallabies while the Springboks were handicapped by sin-binnings for Jaque Fourie and BJ Botha.
Wallabies fly-half Quade Cooper also saw yellow for a spear tackle on Morne Steyn.
Fourie was sin-binned in the in the second minute of the match by Irish referee George Clancy for a spear tackle on Wallabies No 8 Richie Brown.
A string of penalties conceded by the Springboks in defence allowed Giteau to show his recent kicking woes were behind him and keep the scoreboard ticking with a series of three-pointers.
The Australians looked set to reach the break try-less despite a string of half chances, until the weight of pressure finally bore fruit and Drew Mitchell made the most of his recall to the Wallabies squad to claim the first five-pointer of the match and send the home side to the break with a 17-3 lead.
The Wallabies resumed their frantic attack after the break and a string of infringements from South Africa came to a head when Botha became the second Springbok to visit the sin bin.
When Cooper was shown the third yellow of the match for a spear tackle on his Springbok opposite, Steyne, the South Africans finally gained some momentum.
The Wallabies defended desperately, but the experienced Boks showed their opponents how to utilise the extra man and it was Fourie who partly made up for his earlier transgression with a try in the 62nd minute.
The Springboks maintained a dominant field position and when Gurthro Steenkamp barged over for their second try soon after, the visitors may have been sniffing victory.
But Cooper's return to the field saw the Australians regain the momentum, and Genia eventually sealed the contest when he was rewarded for a strong showing with a try from a clever dash close to the South African line.