South Africa vs Australia LIVE: Rugby Championship result and reaction as Springboks thrash Wallabies
Australia seek a first win at Loftus Versfeld as Eddie Jones begins his second stint in charge of the Wallabies
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South Africa put Australia to the sword as Eddie Jones’s second stint in charge of the Wallabies got off to a disastrous start.
Kurt-Lee Arendse’s hat-trick powered the Springboks to a seven-try 43-12 victory in Pretoria as the hosts flexed their strength.
Jacques Nienaber had named a side short of several regular first-choice stars for the Rugby Championship opener, but it mattered not as Australia were blown away.
Showing early attacking ambition and then taking full control with their power game, South Africa produced a statement performance in their first fixture of this World Cup year.
Australia twice had players sent to the sin bin after conceding penalty tries, Dave Porecki shown a yellow card after hauling down a ball before Suliasi Vunivalu’s deliberate knock on denied Arendse a walk-in fourth score.
It leaves Jones with plenty of thinking to do as Australia prepare to host Argentina in Sydney next weekend.
Argentina welcome New Zealand to Mendoza later on Saturday in round one’s other fixture.
Follow all the live updates from the Rugby Championship below:
South Africa 17-5 Australia, 35 minutes
South Africa are rampant now. A glorious pass from Manie Libbok skims the noses of the Australian defensive line but fizzes into Canan Moodie’s hands, and the Springboks are back down in the 22.
Australia’s forwards are blowing, too, struggling as they turn to get back into position. Luckily for the visitors, South Africa leave the ball exposed at a ruck and James Slipper nips in. The loosehead’s kick is a nasty slice but ensures he and his colleagues can at least draw breath.
South Africa 17-5 Australia, 38 minutes
Willie le Roux lifts another of his trademark dinks, but not for the first time today gets bad advice from the caddy, a club too many as he chips through the back. Out on the full again.
But Australia can’t seem to find a foothold. Suliasi Vunivalu puts his hands on the deck before driving through a ruck and is penalised for going off his feet.
South Africa 17-5 Australia, 40 minutes
Andre Esterhuizen has been exceptional so far, muscular, mean, menacing. He tosses a couple of Australian defenders away on his latest charge, but a misdirected pass stalls momentum in the next phase.
Everything seems to be going South Africa’s way. A kick somehow ends up in Kurt-Lee Arendse’s hands having jagged between three Australians out of the Loftus Versfeld surface, but a knock-on prevents further progress. The hooter sounds as Australia set a scrum 30 metres out from their own line.
South Africa 17-5 Australia, 41 minutes
Australia will have one more go before the interval. Suliasi Vunivalu puts some footwork on, darting infield off a jab from his right boot, and a lazy South African tackler gives away a penalty on the Australian ten-metre line.
The Wallabies are excited as Michael Hooper benefits from a friendly hop and canters away, but the co-captain and a couple of other chasers were ahead of Quade Cooper as the fly-half kicked.
Back for the penalty, then - and Reece Hodge will take it on from 66 metres!
Missed penalty! South Africa 17-5 Australia, 43 minutes
Reece Hodge has a booming boot...but not even he can thunder it through from there. Into South African hands five yards shy of the uprights and that’ll do us for the first 40.
HT: South Africa 17-5 Australia
An excellent half from South Africa, penetrative and physical to take a deserved lead into the sheds. The Springboks have been rewarded for their ambition, showing their willingness to test the edges of the Australian defence early on and breaching it regularly as the half wore on.
Kurt-Lee Arendse has already crossed twice to take his tally to nine tries in eight tests - the Pretoria crowd have rather liked what they’ve seen so far.
HT: South Africa 17-5 Australia
Tom Hooper has a shoulder injury, it would seem, explaining his early withdrawal - though the debutant flanker hadn’t started particularly well and you did fear that Eddie Jones had again employed his famous hook to try and spark something for his side. Australia haven’t been bad in attack, threatening when they’ve had the ball, but a few moments of inaccuracy in possession have been costly. Their defence will be a more major concern, beaten every which way, out wide as South Africa’s playmakers put width on the ball and up the centre by the hosts punchy forward carriers.
Work to be done in the second half.
HT: South Africa 17-5 Australia
Australia have tried to play a territory based game but perhaps have been slow to adjust to South Africa’s eagerness to attack. Given the size of his side, the regularity with which they have lost defensive collisions will also be of real concern to Eddie Jones.
Plenty of stand-in starters having good games for South Africa so far. Marco van Staden’s been excellent in the back row, while the Manie Libbok and Andre Esterhuizen partnership is working perfectly to pose complex problems at the line.
The players are back out there.
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