BRISBANE – The Wallabies have come from behind to snatch a remarkable 24-20 victory in their first match of the Rugby Championship in Brisbane on Saturday.
The match looked dead in the water with 30 minutes to go after the Springboks raced to a 20-7 lead however it wasn’t enough after the visitors couldn’t shut down the Wallabies final charge in the last 10 minutes.
The final play was the most important of the game as a series of phases culminated in a try to Tevita Kuridrani. The play was sent to the third match official after referee Nigel Owens was unsure whether Kuridrani grounded the ball. The subsequent TMO review lasted over five minutes but was eventually awarded.
This wasn’t so much as a case of the best team won as it was the more dominant team letting the game slip as the home team charged back into the match. While the victory will serve as a huge confidence booster heading to Mendoza where they play Argentina next week, their performances will undoubtedly come under review after being bullied by a smaller and more mobile pack in South Africa.
Rust is a word that may go someway to describe the home team’s performance as several combinations failed to materialise into anything consistently threatening. They made a number of opportunities but their ball retention let them down greatly. Toward the end of the match, the combinations just started to find their feet however, with Quade Cooper at 10 and Matt Giteau at 12, the Wallabies game plan may have to be reassessed. Prior to the start of the game, much of the hype was centred on the Toulon’s Giteau however, he looked to slightly struggle with the quickened pace and physicality of test rugby.
The Wallaby coaching team will be slightly worried after a number of injuries to key players with both Will Genia and Matt Giteau in doubt for the Wallabies second match of the Rugby Championship.
Overall, Michael Cheika won’t be particularly pleased with his team’s 80 minute performance however he will be pleased with how many opportunities the team created in their first hit-out of the test season against a team of South Africa’s calibre.