The Wallabies did the unthinkable by dumping 42 points on the Springboks in Perth; that’s the final score for the now sixth-placed Wallabies.
For all the talk of officiating, broken communications and substitution confusion, the Wallabies still found a way to score five tries and three penalty goals, all together for 42 points.
The Wallabies had the Springboks in their stride with just 10 minutes to play, 42 points to 17, a margin of 25 points, or more than three converted tries.
Either way, the Wallabies were dominant over this heavily rebuilt Springboks side.
What is perhaps more pleasing is that this is as close to an 80-minute performance for the Wallabies as you can get; down to 11 men with plenty of time and a bomb-hungry department on their own line, the Wallabies shut the door and fought for their lives.
A flurry of effort, playing skill and stellar leadership from the wider group meant the Wallabies held off the Springboks’ fightback, doggedly scoring a point, running down the clock and ending the game 42-38.
Coach Les Kiss was delighted throughout, as was the entire Wallabies squad, as their belief in each other, coaching smarts, game plan and bench selection paid off.
With the win now undoubtedly savored and savored, it is now time to look at the Wallabies’ holy grail, their Everest, the toughest games they will play all year: the Bledisloe Cup.
Central pairing takes center stage
Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau, a reliable center back combination that first took shape under Dave Rennie, are now back, and are they looking better for much later.
Kiss is a huge fan of Paisami, and you certainly can’t blame him; Paisamiya is often maligned as being too small for the Test arena, but he has provided enough punch, wit, deft little touches and defensive starch to repel the naysayers.
Alongside Paisami, Ikitau really stood very tall in his number 13 shirt, and yes, that is his number 13 shirt, because although others can play there, it is clearly the best in the country.
While much of the talk was about the defensive difficulties posed by the number 13 position, Ikitau shone through attacking from outside centre.
From November 2024, the number 13 jersey has been worn by Joseph-Aukuso Suaallii, and much has been said about ‘how do the Wallabies get him into more space?’
The short answer is: you don’t; put Ikitau in there, and it creates its own space.
Ikitau made 10 carries for 85m, second behind Max Jorgensen, and Ikitau was well ahead of third-placed Tom Wright, who finished with 46m.
Ikitau beat a game of five defenders with two line breaks to finish the game with two tries.
His defensive play was a little less than stellar, but apart from one big miss from the prodigy Cannan Moddie, who dispossessed Edwill van der Merwe for a try, he battled on at a steady 75%, making 3/4 of the tackle.
Paisami in it was equally impressive, setting up one of Ikitau’s breakthroughs from his own 22m and picking up the ball 11 times for 24m.
Paisami was either the conductor, throwing one less pass than flyhalf Ben Donaldson, or the wrecker who carried the ball a second time for the Wallabies.
The center pair have legs, and we’ve known that since the Rennie era, but now the Wallabies will be sweating on the fitness of Ikitau, who limped off with an ankle injury, and Paisami, who faces a disciplinary hearing following his high-profile tackle on Sacha Feingberg-Mngomezulu.
That throws a huge spanner in the works and could see a whole new center combination for Bledisloe, which is far from ideal and a deal breaker if the Wallabies lose their top two.
The strength of the Wallabies squad is set for a serious shake-up
The Wallabies front row held firm when the pressure came at scrum time.
The Wallabies also continued their exceptionally high completion rate, achieving a 92% success rate against Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager. This is no feat.
At scrum time, the front row of Angus Bell, Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Allan Alaalatoa, as well as Taniela Tupou in the second half, held their own and gained the upper hand at times.
The Wallabies were helped by good technique as an eight and the 136kg ballast of Lukhan Salakai-Loto in the second row, behind solid props Tupou and Alaalato.
This was even with the best front row bomb squad in the world coming on in Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw after half time.
However, as the minutes ticked away in the second stanza, the Boks began to gain the upper hand, and a run in the 56th minute showed that the tide had clearly turned.
Replacement loose prop Aidan Ross struggled around the field and especially in the scrum.
It may be a little unfair to lay all the blame at his feet, as the Wallabies lost their eighth man of the match and their captain, Harry Wilson, in the 69th minute, but the Boks had all the momentum in the set piece after Bell went in goal in the 62nd minute.
The question remains: The Wallabies desperately need a replacement for James Slipper in the No.17 jersey, as Bell has sewn up the starting role at No.1.
Blake Schoupp is still on the road to recovery from a mid-game injury Nations Championship in November but won’t have rugby behind him, with Tom Robertson dropped by Brady Dawson in Super Rugby AUS.
The Wallabies are seemingly stuck with rotating Ross and Isaac Aedo Kaile unless Kiss calls up new Queensland Red recruit Tom Lambert or Brumbies big boy Lingeton Ieli.
Neither of them have Test experience, but they have played at representative level Australia A and First Nations x Pasifika, respectively.
There’s one final caveat to this power: Tupou is coming back France to join his club Race 92 in Paris, as the official deadline for the 9th Rugby World Cup is now over.
That means Kiss now have to turn to Zane Nonggorro and Massimo de Lutiis at tight end.
While both will do a decent job in the scrum, Tupou’s energy around the field, his sting in defense and immense strength in the tackle will be sorely missed.
This huge hole the size of a Tongan Thor on the tighthead side of the prop will be difficult to fill, while stability will be sought on the loosehead side.
Regardless, the Wallabies should be confident of their set heading into the Bledisloe Cup, but they are an injury to Bell from going from strength to weakness in the scrum; on the line they proved they have depth.
Rugby is driven by the person wearing number 9, not number 10
If before the game it was not clear who was the master and commander of the Wallabies, it is clear who he is now.
Ryan Lonergan, very experienced Super Rugby Pacific half-back, takes to Test rugby like a duck to water and his driving game is what takes the Wallabies attack to new heights.
His selection of passes, height of the box shot, weight, direction and ability to control the pace – fast or slow – and change it in the blink of an eye makes his teammates reach their potential.
While many will debate the performance of flyhalf Ben Donaldson, who admittedly had his ups and downs, the flyhalf is no longer the general he once was.
Donaldson had a solid game; grew into the contest, making a few handling errors and poor passes early on, which later turned into over-passing into space and a few decent runs.
He shot well, exited well, but did not expose himself in defense. It’s the kind of game that can put the Wallabies in the right parts of the field, and right now it’s enough to allow the Wallabies to play their game.
This is reflected in the number of passes thrown in: Donaldson threw in 17 passes, Paisami 16 passes and Lonergan threw in an incredible 74 despite being sidelined for 10 minutes.
Oh, and if it wasn’t crystal clear how much Kiss rated Lonergan before this match, he kept fellow Reds halfback Tate McDermott unused on the bench for the full 80.
Lonergan is the first name on the list every week because of his leadership and ability to manage the game.
As long as he is at fullback, the Wallabies carousel at number 10 can continue, not that it should; Donaldson should be given the first shot at Bledisloe at Eden Park.
Given that the continuity of the selection is uncertain in the center, the Wallabies will want to keep as much of their team as possible unchanged, and this especially applies to the halves.
Perhaps the biggest problem is that with McDermott unused on the bench, the Wallabies are relying heavily on Lonergan as well as Bell in the front row, which highlights how shallow the depth is in some key positions in the side for the Wallabies.
