Springbok wing Kurt-Lee Arendse races through the Wallaby defence to score the first of his two tries against Australia on Saturday. Photo: EPA
The Springboks have broken their Brisbane curse with a bone-crunching 33-7 win over Australia in the opening Rugby Championship Test on Saturday.
It was a commanding display by the South Africans as they scored a bonus point with five tries to lay an early marker in the southern-hemisphere competition.
The win was slightly tainted by the three yellow cards at the end to replacement hooker Malcolm Marx, flank Marco van Staden and centre Jesse Kriel, while there were also some missed opportunities on attack, especially in the first half.
But head coach Rassie Erasmus will be happy with the overall performance of the team and how they went about claiming a first win in Brisbane since 2013.
The Boks led 21-0 at halftime and by then, there was a sense that the game had already been won, with the home side missing 21 tackles already.
A couple of injuries ahead of the game meant utility forward Pieter-Steph du Toit had to slot in at No 5 lock after Ruan Nortjé and RG Snyman were withdrawn due to injuries.
Rookie Ben-Jason Dixon had to slot in at blindside flank, but the shift among the forwards didn’t disrupt the world champions.
They dominated from the first scrum, where right wing Cheslin Kolbe put the ball in, and No 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse and scrumhalf Cobus Reinach were at first receiver, showing the intent on the attack early on by the Boks.
There were also plenty of variations in the lineout domination, with a double lift leading to the rolling maul try of skipper Siya Kolisi catching Australia and possibly every other Bok supporter by surprise.
It was a move straight from the training ground, about five metres out from the Aussie try-line, where initial jumper Dixon went up and in the lineout threw the ball to Eben Etzebeth, and from there to Kolisi to set the maul from which the Springbok skipper drove over.
Although he missed his first kick at goal, flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was outstanding as the starting No 10.
He slotted the conversion from the sideline with the opening try and missed only one other kick for goals. But it’s his commanding display on the attack that will have the Bok coaches very happy.
He sliced through through the Wallaby defence a couple of times and put in some strong tackles too, and will only get better with more starts.
The physicality of the Boks was too much for the home side, and they struggled to contain the ball carries of loose forwards Dixon, Kolisi and No 8 Elrigh Louw. All three had stand-out performances alongside the other forwards.
At the back, Arendse, Kolbe and Willie le Roux looked sharp on attack, while another commanding performance by midfielders Damian de Allende and Kriel allowed the outside backs to thrive.
Kriel slicing through a gap on the attack to put Arendse away for his second try was magical.
Kurt-Lee 'The Silent Assassin' Arendse 😤⭐
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 10, 2024
How good is that step by Jesse Kriel though? 🤯
📺 Stream #TRC2024 live: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/u3RKZ7K4HM
Of course, the ‘Bomb Squad’ came on to do what they always do and they took the game away from Australia in the second half just as the Wallabies looked to start playing some rugby.
This win built the perfect platform for the second Test in Perth next Saturday (11.45am SA time start), where the world champions will look to make it two from two before they head back to South Africa for the two Tests against New Zealand.
Points-Scorers
Wallabies 7 – Try: Hunter Paisami. Conversion: Tom Lynagh (1).
Springboks 33 – Tries: Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse (2), Kwagga Smith. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4).
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