CAPE TOWN, September 9 (ANA) – The Springboks staged a match-saving fightback after trailing 10-20 to secure a 23-all draw against the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship Test in Perth on Saturday.
At the death, the Boks made for a dramatic finish when they ran hard in the Wallabies’ 22m area but they failed to breach the defence at a time when a score was there for the taking.
Play was scrappy at the outset with both teams struggling to strike up a measure cohesion with ball in hand. Early indiscretions saw flyhalves Elton Jantjies, in the third minute, and Bernard Foley (7th minute) goal penalties for SA and Australia respectively (3-3).
The Wallabies looked the more dangerous on attack when approaching the Boks’ 22m area and a scoring chance went awry when their charge down went unpunished as the ball squirted past the in-goal area line in the 13th minute.
Sloppy work by Australia at a breakdown after a line-out just inside the Bok half allowed scrumhalf Ross Cronje to snatch a stray ball and kick ahead. Three-quarters Raymond Rule and Jesse Kriel caught the Aussie defence napping as they gave chase out wide and the latter eventually grabbed the bobbling ball before diving over the whitewash in the 23rd minute.
Jantjies converted splendidly with a curling kick to give the Boks a 10-3 lead.
Two minutes later, the Wallabies responded in emphatic fashion with centre Kurtley Beale running in his side’s first try after the Boks’ defence failed to contain an attack straight after the restart kick-off. Foley added the conversion to level scores at 10-all.
As the halftime break approached the Australia threatened on several occasions but handling errors denied them on at least on two occasions and it was left to Foley to offer some reward when he banged over a penalty in the 40th minute for a 13-10 lead.
First-half play offered very little by way of entertainment and play was generally scrappy as a result of unforced errors and poor option taking by both teams.
The Boks were off to a flier when second-half play got under way as they took play up the opposition tryline. However, Australia showed great presence of mind when they cleared safely from under their posts after the Boks lost possession.
Once the Wallabies saw that threat off, they transferred play to the opposite end of the field where they won a kickable penalty some 20m out. Instead of posts, they opted for touch and from the resultant line-out they set up a maul which was rounded off with a 46th minute try by hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau. Foley’s conversion was on target and the Wallabies doubled their lead at 20-10.
Moments later the Boks were poised to strike back but centre Jan Serfontein was brought down a stride or two from the tryline thanks to superb scrambling by the Wallabies defence.
The Wallabies defence stood firm to ward off another strong Bok attack moments later but in doing do they conceded a penalty which Jantjies goaled to reduce the deficit at 20-13.
Just ahead of the hour mark, the Boks also opted for touch instead of attempting to goal a penalty. The resultant line-out provided the platform for a rolling maul which saw the Boks mow down the defence and hooker Malcolm Marx was in for his second international try. Jantjies’ conversion made for a 20-all stalemate, after trailing 10-20.
In the ensuing play, Bok flanker Jaco Kriel was a within a whisker of scoring but desperate defence by the Wallabies saw him losing the ball virtually under the posts.
However, a huge Bok scrum saw them winning a penalty after Wallabies pack folded under the pressure.
Jantjies’ penalty strike gave the Boks a 3-point lead but not long afterwards Foley was on target with a penalty and scores were again level at 23-all, with nine minutes’ playing time left.
Each side enjoyed a share of the possession in the dying stages but neither could fashion a score to secure a winning result.
Scorers: Australia 23 (13): Tries: Kurtley Beale, Tatafu Polota-Nau Conversions: Bernard Foley (2). Penalties: Foley (3)
South Africa 23 (10): Tries: Jesse Kriel, Malcolm Marx Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2) Penalties: Jantjies (3)
– African News Agency (ANA)
