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“Nothing could have prepared us for that,” coach Les Kiss said after the game, after the Wallabies survived a chaotic finish to beat the Springboks 42-38. The Aussies went down to 11 men in the final 10 minutes but held on, despite conceding 21 points in that period.
It was the type of Test match that had a bit of everything, with four yellow cards awarded and 80 points scored between the two sides. Harry Wilson was one of Australia’s try scorers that night, but the captain was also one of the players told to sit for 10 minutes.
Wilson was booked and then Ryan Lonergan departed two minutes later as the Boks started the fightback with a penalty. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Hunter Paisami also chipped in and the Wallabies struggled defensively to protect their lead.
Tom Hooper made an important tackle in the Wallabies’ 22 and other gold-clad players made game-defining defensive stops. But Ox Nche would still go on to play at one score, collapsing in the dying stages.
Wilson and Lonergan returned as the Wallabies returned to halfway, took a long kick and parked the Springboks inside their own half. The obstruction against the Boks brought the thriller to an end, while the Perth crowd erupted into a state of euphoria and passion.
“There’s a certain amount of knowledge about things to a certain degree, but the things you think you don’t know, you really do,” Kiss told reporters.
“These guys knew it, they knew they had to find something…talking about this spirit of the yard – something came there in that space where you just find a way, you know it’s important and it didn’t surprise me.
“It wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t done the first 65 the way we did and that’s a really special part for us. I’m damn pleased for these guys. They deserve it.”
The Joe Schmdit-coached Australian side beat the Springboks in Johannesburg last year, but that side is markedly different to the XV that played last weekend. There were only four players who held onto the same starting spot between those two Tests, some 14 months apart.
Fraser McReight and Wilson were kept in the pack, while Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright formed an important part of the back line. Others such as Len Ikitau and Suaalii featured in both matches, but switched to new roles.
Ikitau has not started a match, either at club or test level, since the year Super Rugby Pacific semi-final 2025 But the midfielder stole the show in the first half, going over for two tries in as many minutes as the Wallabies took control.
Ben Donaldson, Wilson and Jorgensen also got on the scoresheet, while Lonergan’s accurate boot proved crucial. It was a 25-point game before a flurry of yellow cards changed the game late.
“It was bizarre for sure … there was a real calm in the coaching box for the most part,” Kiss said.
“The lads found a way. I was pleased that the group out there on the pitch that was there, down to the small number that we were, there was a nice composure, it created a bit of clarity and focus on what needed to be done next.
“Hearing that and seeing how they looked and how they felt in those difficult times, it’s incredibly comforting.
“I know that’s a big part of this story, I know it’s a big part of what we’ve seen, but there’s a lot to talk about and in that first 60 that we’re going to continue to look at and grow from. I thought the guys did fantastic for 60.”
