South Africa vs Wales LIVE rugby: Result and reaction as Josh Adams try and Gareth Anscombe conversion make history
Follow all the reaction from Bloemfontein as Wales beat the Springboks on South African soil for the first time
Replacement fly half Gareth Anscombe kicked a late conversion from the touchline as Wales claimed their first ever away victory in South Africa with an error-strewn 13-12 success over a much-changed Springboks at the Free State Stadium.
Wing Josh Adams crossed for the only try of the game with two minutes left on the clock, leaving Anscombe with a difficult conversion to win the game, but he landed the ball through the centre of the posts to make history for Wayne Pivac’s side.
Stand-in captain Handre Pollard kicked four penalties for a Boks side that had 14 changes in their starting XV from the first test win and never found any fluency in a game where they mostly dominated territory until the final 10 minutes.
The third and deciding test in the series will be played in Cape Town next Saturday.
Follow all the reaction below with our live blog:
Australia 17-25 England, 80 minutes
Samu Kerevi taps and sets off, but soon enough the ball is back in England’s hands after a breakdown penalty. Tapped, booted into touch - it’s 1-1.
Australia 17-25 England, 79 minutes
Will Joseph touch the ball? Not initially as England play through the forwards, but here he comes, crisp white shirt flashing under the glare of the lights.
Not the best start - pinged for holding on. Last chance for Australia...
Australia 17-25 England, 78 minutes
And now a penalty for England! Angus Bell has done remarkably well, playing all but about 30 seconds of this encounter on the loosehead due to Scott Sio’s injury, but he perhaps shows his fatigue here, penalised for hinging under the pressure of Joe Heyes.
Time ticking by. A debut for Will Joseph off the England bench - Guy Porter is replaced.
Australia 17-25 England, 77 minutes
Australian possession inside their own half. Farrell gets a useful piece of Samu Kerevi as the centre arcs, meaning the beef of his biff is reduced, enabling two England teammates to handle him well.
Joe Heyes similarly gets a vital grab of Rob Valetini’s thigh to slow another of Australia’s bigger ball carriers.
Marika Koroibete on the short line...forward pass! Jake Gordon puts his hands on his head, but the replacement scrum-half’s pass looked forward from the hands. England scrum.
Australia 17-25 England, 76 minutes
England play the percentages, keeping things tight with Owen Farrell directing his forwards into the Australia defence before securing the ruck himself.
Marcus Smith kicks high, and long...mark claimed by James O’Connor.
Missed penalty ! Australia 17-25 England, 74 minutes
Owen Farrell strikes and...it drifts wide! A slight tug to the left, starting at the upright but drifting ever away, and the assistants’ flags stay down. The gap stays at eight.
Australia 17-25 England, 73 minutes
England maul well again - and there’s the penalty advantage for a leg lift. Australia haven’t really found an answer to the drive when England have got their darts right, as Luke Cowan-Dickie does here.
It’s on the ten-metre line, and a little in-field. Posts, surely? Yep - the tee is on.
Australia 17-25 England, 71 minutes
Excellent from Courtney Lawes! He had an expert jackal in the first-half and his position is textbook again as Australia fruitlessly explore a white-walled blindside. Penalty to England.
Australia 17-25 England, 70 minutes
Enter Henry Arundell, hoping for another carbonated cameo after an impressive debut for England last week.
Australia’s lineout goes wrong, but they’ll have another go from a similar spot after Arundell makes a tackle in the air.
Australia 17-25 England, 69 minutes
But James O’Connor misses touch! Too long and floating dead, though the touch judge curiously allows England to play on despite Danny Care standing out of play when he leaps and taps back infield.
Anyway, play continues. A good deep kick from Australia forces Freddie Steward to run out of his own in-goal, punting with a relative lack of distance to 30 metres or so from his own line.
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