South Africa 9 Australia 14:AUSTRALIA WILL be better prepared for the World Cup starting next month after their 14-9 Tri-Nations win over South Africa on Saturday, said coach Robbie Deans. Australia had to contend with a hostile crowd and a very experienced Springbok team boasting 810 test caps.
“In terms of preparation (for the World Cup), there is no doubt tonight was great,” Deans told a news conference. “We played the most experienced Bok side on their home soil and their incumbent World Cup combination so it was good preparation for us.”
The Wallabies trailed 6-0 at half-time against a fired-up South Africa but then showed their fighting spirit, scoring the only try through centre Pat McCabe to clinch their fifth win in their last six matches against South Africa.
Australia did well to keep the score down in the first half and Deans said he was pleased by his team’s response.
“The resilience they showed (in the second half) was impressive. We created opportunities but we didn’t finish them and it would have been easy for the group to go into decline. But they stuck at it and they were good at the contact points and I believe we deserve the result,” he explained.
McCabe’s first test try, in the 48th minute, proved to be the decisive moment in the match while James O’Connor slotted three second half penalties, the sum total of the home side’s second half scoring was a Butch James penalty.
“At half-time we talked about adjusting out support lines and we talked about maintaining ball. We knew that a lot of the Springboks had not played in a while and we hoped to exhaust them and profit,” Deans said.
It was exactly what his team did against a South Africa team showing 13 changes from their last match, against the All Blacks two weeks ago, with many of the Springboks returning to action after long injury breaks.
South Africa coach Peter de Villiers bemoaned his team’s inability to finish off their first-half chances.
“We wanted a good start and we got it but we didn’t take our chances,” De Villiers said after a penalty apiece from fullback Francois Steyn and outhalf James had put them on top.
“The physical state we were in meant that we couldn’t keep up the pace in the second half.” De Villiers said a lack of patience cost his team a win but that he could still draw a few positives out of the defeat.
“Overeagerness was our downfall. We created chances for ourselves but we just didn’t take them. Some of the guys hadn’t played rugby in seven weeks and there are some positives to take out of the game.” he added.
De Villiers said there were injury concerns over Steyn and Danie Rossouw but declined to elaborate saying the team doctor would give a full report today.
South Africa face the All Blacks in Port Elizabeth next Saturday.
SOUTH AFRICA: F Steyn; Pietersen, Fourie, de Villiers, Habana; James, du Preez; Mtawarira, Smit, J du Plessis; Botha, Matfield; Brussow, Rossouw, Spies. Replacements: B du Plessis, Steenkamp, Mostert, Deysel, Hougaard, M Steyn, Aplon.
AUSTRALIA: Beale, O’Connor, Ashley-Cooper, McCabe, Ioane, Cooper, Genia, Kepu, Moore, Alexander, Sharpe, Horwill, Elsom, Pocock, Higginbotham. Replacements: S Faingaa, Ma’afu, Timani, McCalman, Samo, Burgess, A Faingaa.
Referee: B Lawrence (New Zealand)
