South Africa will find New Zealand a tough nut to crack just seven days after their punishing 14-14 Tri-Nations draw with Australia, Wallabies' captain John Eales said yesterday.

"It will be really tough for the South Africans to travel to New Zealand and front up again so soon," he said as frayed tempers cooled after Saturday's brutal Subiaco Oval confrontation in which two Springboks were consigned to the sin bin for infringements.

"It is a long trip down there." Eales said. "Having just come through this clash against us, fronting up again will be very difficult. But there is no doubt they have the capacity to do that.

"During this year's competition we have seen four very close, competitive games. I am sure it will be just the same in Auckland."

The two points salvaged by Australia, thanks to their second half rally, after the trailed 3-8 at half-time, keep them on top of the ladder, boosting their hopes of retaining the southern hemisphere title. But South Africa and New Zealand remain in the race.

The outcome will go down to the wire, with the Auckland clash and the Australia-New Zealand meeting in Sydney September 1 deciding the issue.

The stage appears to be set for a dramatic farewell to the game in Sydney by the all-conquering Eales, his country's most-capped skipper who has announced his intention to retire after that match.

But the popular giant, who has chalked up 85 Tests in the past decade, shrugged off suggestions the major focus at Stadium Australia would be on him.

"It is not about me," he said. "It is never about me. The team is certainly very geared up for that game. It will be a big occasion for me in that it will be my last game, but the team has a lot of motivation apart from that."

The South Africans were still smarting yesterday after rugged 21-year-old fly-half Butch James and skipper Bob Skinstad were sin-binned for 10 minutes by New Zealand referee Steve Walsh.

James was ordered off at a critical stage in the second half after he shoulder-charged Wallaby flanker George Smith. It was the third time Walsh had penalised James after first-half cautions for charges on outhalf Stephen Larkham and centre Nathan Grey.

Skinstad went to the "cooler" after he was ruled to have carried out repeated indiscretions in the breakdown.

Angry South African coach Harry Viljoen said: "There was nothing wrong with that tackle (on Smith)." Skinstad said James could have been the difference between the sides if he had not been targeted by Walsh.

"I think he has been marked and it is completely unfair on a developing player like him to be singled out," he said.

Skinstad revealed the depth of his anger when he declared: "We played 25 per cent of the game with only 14 men and they still could not beat us."

While the Springboks felt they were hard done by, the Wallabies considered their opponents were lucky the sin bin was not utilised much sooner.

Coach Eddie Jones and Eales both condemned referee Walsh for not taking action against the Springboks much earlier.

"There are rules about consistent infringements at the tackle and that was not policed - simple as that." said Jones.

Jones, who has a win, a loss and a draw from his first three games in his new role, put on a brave face, saying his team had plenty to build on despite the disappointment of only sharing the points.

"Our immediate reaction after the game was 'It is a pity we are not playing next week, because that is the way we feel'," he said. "We want to go out there against New Zealand and really play well."