Disjointed Springboks suffer another defeat at the hands of the Wallabies in Australia

The Springboks’ first Test win over the Wallabies in Australia since 2013 will have to wait.

The Wallabies produced an impressive team performance in their Rugby Championship match at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday morning to overcome the Springboks 25-17.

This win, that has refreshed their chances in the competition, was secured through notable performances from players like Fraser McReight, Noah Lolesio, Marika Koroibete and Nic White.

For the Springboks, it was a disjointed performance for captain Siya Kolisi and his men as they had only three points on the scoreboard before two tries by Kwagga Smith in the dying minutes.

They meet again in Sydney on Saturday in the second of the back-to-back Test matches where the Springboks will be looking to return to winning ways after two successive defeats.

The Boks were under pressure from the first whistle and it was no surprise when they conceded the first try from McReight that was converted by Lolesio inside two minutes.

The Boks conceded a penalty from a good position and Noah did the rest from the kicking tee as the Wallabies increased their lead to ten points as SA struggled to settle into the game.

The Springboks could have closed the gap on the Wallabies to four points but Handré Pollard missed two kickable penalties in quick succession and the shake of the head indicated his disappointment.

He finally got it right in the 23rd minute when he nailed his third attempt through the middle after Australia were penalised for obstruction and that turned out to be his only successful kick of the day.

Just before the half-hour mark, Tom Wright was sent to the bin for a professional foul next to his try line but the Boks didn’t take full advantage as Australia won a penalty at scrum time and they cleared the danger.

Three minutes before the halftime break, Koroibete produced a breathtaking tackle to deny Makazole Mapimpi who was on the charge to possibly score SA’s first try.

The Springboks’ attempt to get back into this game was dealt a massive blow when Faf de Klerk was sent to the sin bin for foul play on White on the stroke of halftime.

The decision by New Zealand referee Ben O’Keeffe to issue a yellow card was widely criticised as it appeared De Klerk he was trying to slap the ball.

Australia further increased their lead through Koroibete, his fifth against the Springboks, who showed good feet to go past a few defenders for the second try for the visitors.

The Wallabies put this match to bed just before the hour mark when McReight dotted down for his brace of tries after he received a clever, beautiful backflip pass from the impressive Lolesio.

The Springboks scored two late converted tries in the closing stages through Smith but they proved to be too little too late as they continue to wait for a win in Australia.

Scorers

SA (3)  17

Australia  (10)  25

SA           

Tries: Kwagga Smith (2)

Conversions: Elton Jantjies (1)

Penalties: Handré Pollard (1)

Australia

Tries: Fraser McReight (2), Marika Koroibete

Conversion: Noah Lolesio (2)

Penalties: Noah Lolesio (2)