Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies

By Sports Desk August 17, 2024

Malcolm Marx scored two tries in the second half to lead South Africa to a 30-12 victory over Australia in rainy Perth.

After a tight first half, the Springboks asserted their dominance to make it two wins from two in the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting with New Zealand next week.

Noah Lolesio's penalty gave Australia the early lead, but they could not hold onto it for long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu equalised moments before Aphelele Fassi latched onto a long kick to touch down the first try.

Lolesio slotted in two more kicks only to miss another on the stroke of half-time that would have given the Wallabies the lead.

They were punished for it after the break as Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx twice touched down to maintain South Africa's perfect start.

Though it was a marked improvement for the Wallabies from their opening-day performance in Brisbane, Joe Schmidt still has work to do to get them ready for Argentina next weekend. 

Data Debrief: Springboks extend Australian run

South Africa have now won each of their last three Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia. The last time they recorded a longer such winning run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.

Though Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats, they showed more of a fight. Last week, it took them 75 minutes to score, compared to just three this time around. 

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    South Africa won the series 2-1 but finished with a whimper as they struggled to get on the front foot against the attack-minded Irish on Monday.

    Captain Paul Stirling spurred Ireland on their way to victory with his knock of 88, including 11 boundaries, before Harry Tector's enterprising 60 gave them a bigger edge.

    Andrew Balbirnie (45), Curtis Campher (34) and Lorcan Tucker (26) also strengthened their grip on the encounter before Lizaad Williams found his footing for South Africa.

    He finished with 4-56 after an impressive show in the death overs, which was their only positive in the field, as he helped stop Ireland at 284-9. However, the Proteas had given themselves a mountain to climb that only grew as they lost three early wickets.

    Graham Hume (3-29) was the standout for Ireland, but Mark Adair (2-54) and Craig Young (3-40) also played their part, even as Jason Smith's 91 gave South Africa some hope. 

    Kyle Verreynne (38) and Tristan Stubbs (20) had helped steady the ship before that, but after Smith's stand was cut short, a late collapse ensured South Africa would fall short in the chase on 215 with 29 balls remaining.

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    Stirling and Balbirnie combined for their first 100-run partnership in an ODI, helping Ireland to their first-ever win over South Africa in the format. 

    Smith can leave with his head held high though - having been taken for a duck in his first ODI, he made a vast improvement with his 91 on Monday, getting nine fours and four sixes. 

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    Having cruised to a 139-run victory in the opening encounter, the Proteas continued to avenge their shock T20I defeat against the same opponents last week with another commanding display.

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