Joe McConnell
South Africa equal biggest win over Wallabies on Australian soil, triumphing 33-7 in Brisbane; Kurt-Lee Arendse scores two tries, while Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kwagga Smith also score – Watch Rugby Championship Live on Vscek
Last updated: 10/08/24 8:56am
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Highlights of South Africa’s 33-7 win over Australia in the first match of the 2024 Rugby Championship
Highlights of South Africa’s 33-7 win over Australia in the first match of the 2024 Rugby Championship
Kurt-Lee Arendse scored two tries as South Africa equalled their biggest win against Australia on home soil, 33-7 in Brisbane in the first match of the 2024 Rugby Championship.
The Springboks, who have brought in New Zealand attack coach Tony Brown to their staff in a bid to play more free-flowing rugby, scored five tries through Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kwagga Smith, who also scored against Joe Schmidt’s error-ridden Australia.
In 2013, in Brisbane, South Africa had also beaten Australia by a margin of 26 points, triumphing on that occasion by 38-12.
The Wallabies’ only try on Saturday came in the dying minutes through Hunter Paisami, after South Africa were reduced to 13 players following the yellow cards of Malcolm Marx and Marco van Staden.
Australia will be looking to bounce back when they welcome South Africa to Optus Stadium in Perth next weekend.
Australia conceded five tries as South Africa won convincingly in Brisbane
Springboks captain Kolisi, whose team dominated the scrum and led 21-0 at half-time, said: “We said as a group this is an important game to win. I’m proud of the boys.
“We stuck to our plans for the week. We’re a team that’s learning. Coach Tony [Brown] he’s trying to make us play differently on offense.
“When you’re on top you have to make sure you take your opportunities and we missed some touchouts in key areas. That’s an area we need to improve on.”
“South Africa has drained Australia of energy”
Australian captain Allan Alaalatoa, speaking after his team’s first defeat under Schmidt, said: “You have to give credit to South Africa. They showed up and put us under pressure.
“We didn’t have the ball for much of the first half. It’s a tough lesson for our group, but we have to get back on our feet and start again.”
Schmidt said of South Africa: “They are an incredibly strong, experienced team and they won that physical battle.
“Their distribution was really strong and they dominated possession and territory in the first half, which sapped the boys’ strength a bit.
“It would have been great to get more out of the game, but we have a benchmark and it wasn’t a huge shock to us to know where the Springboks would go.
“It’s a goal we’ll have to build toward.”
Watch Australia vs South Africa, from Perth, live on Vscek Action from 10.45am on Saturday 17 August.
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