South Africa 15 Australia 27: Boo boys turn on De Villiers after humbling

Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has an expression "even the bad days are good", but he might be revising his opinion.

He was interviewed after this game but his words were drowned out by the boos from the home fans, just as his captain Victor Matfield's post-game comments had been obliterated. De Villiers looked shaken and the message it sent around this country to see a black coach booed and jeered by a predominantly white crowd, was one of unspoken pain. It was an ugly end to a thoroughly dismal afternoon for the home team.

South Africa fumbled and crudely bashed their way to a first home defeat by the Wallabies since 2000. It ended a disastrous 15-match losing away run by the visitors, but it heaped pressure on de Villiers, the first black man to coach the Springboks.

Since the World Cup the Springboks have looked a parody of world champions, unable to do the basics and struggling to meet their new coach's demand that they embrace a more open, fluid game plan.

Their finishing was dire. In the first 20 minutes they had three clear scoring chances but butchered them all, and other missed opportunities followed. The Australians, who went ahead with a ninth-minute penalty by Matt Giteau, showed them how to do it, the forwards patiently working the position before Ben Robinson burrowed over for the try and a 10-0 lead at half-time.

Butch James' penalty goal early in the second half gave South Africa hope, but they went on making error after error all over the field and it became obvious the road back was too long. As Matfield said: "We are international players, we should have sorted things out on the field. You have to keep the ball more than three phases at this level."

Giteau put over another penalty and then converted a 62nd-minute try by Lote Tuqiri, who cut a clever angle in midfield and drove through two missed tackles to reach the line. That was 20-3 and local heads drooped around the Absa Stadium.

Adrian Jacobs, whose neat distribution skills had been impressive, got a try back three minutes later after Jean de Villiers' break into the 22. But then the South African defence collapsed to hand Australia the game.

Giteau flipped a switch pass to his captain Stirling Mortlock, coming back on the angle. Mortlock broke the defence and went past six defenders before reaching the line. Giteau's conversion made it 27-10 and it was all over, despite Jacobs' second try nine minutes from time.

South Africa: Tries: Jacobs 2. Con: Montgomery. Pens: James. Australia: Tries: Robinson, Tuqiri, Mortlock. Cons: Giteau 3. Pens: Giteau 2.

South Africa: Jantjes; Pietersen (Montgomery 45), Jacobs, De Villiers, Nokwe; James (F. Steyn 56), Du Preez (R Januarie 63); Mtawarira (Mujati 56), Du Plessis (A Strauss 79), Van der Linde, Bekker, Matfield, Burger, Smith (Watson 63), P Spies (Van Niekerk 58).

Australia: Mitchell; Hynes (Tahu 59), Mortlock, Barnes (Cross 21), Tuqiri; Giteau, Cordingley (Sheehan 55); Robinson, Moore, Dunning ( Baxter 55), Horwill ( Polota-Nau 79), Vickerman (Mumm 38), Elsom, Smith, Palu (P Waugh 77).

Referee: L Bray (New Zealand).