Embarrassed and dismantled in their record defeat to Argentina in San Juan, the Wallabies had been given a fortnight to stew in their own juices. There had been, said manager Dave Rennie, a “pretty brutal review, a bit of honesty and an excellent reaction”.
This ‘backlash’ came at Adelaide Oval and hammered reigning world champions South Africa 25-17. Although the scoreline hints at a tight test, Australia have been in the ascendancy all day – fantastic in attack and brave in defense as they rewarded the faithful and got their Rugby Championship campaign back on track.
All year the Wallabies had lost starts and found themselves well behind and chasing the score with an ever-increasing level of desperation. Rennie had swung the ax and weathered this wound, making six switches and seven position switches. It worked right from the start. In Adelaide, against a pack of monsters with an All Blacks scalp pinned to their shorts, Australia exploded out of the gates.
The Wallaby way is running rugby played at high speed. It’s a high-risk, high-reward style that pleases fans when it works, and leaves them heartbroken when it doesn’t. In Adelaide, for once, the precision of their play matched the pace. The test came in the second minute when a quick ball from Nic White sent Fraser McReight crashing over.
McReight, a Sunshine Coast surfer, has modeled his game on absent captain Michael Hooper. The 23-year-old made his debut when their leader stepped down amid mental health struggles in Argentina last month. Now, after three Tests filling Hooper’s No.7 shirt, McReight is a star. Resembling a wild and sawy Santa Claus in his red and white headdress, the full-back’s crazy and brave charges, aggressive defending and perceptive ruck stealing set the tone. And his youthful energy, not to mention his two attempted chest shots in the Test, would eventually prove the difference.
The other talisman leading the Wallabies was, as always, number 11 Marika Koroibete. Twice in the first ten minutes, his kick chase sent fear into the hearts of South Africa as he followed up high kicks to hit the receiver in the morrow. The seeds of doom and doubt were sown from now on in the Springboks back three. They never recovered.
Koroibete, man of the series in the Ella-Mobbs Cup, brought up the work of the day. Having undone their good early work with familiar ill-discipline, Australia had given the Springboks plenty of possession and when South African flyhalf Makazole Mapimpi found a mile of space in the shadow of the break, he mean disaster and a 10-10 score.
As he sailed towards the corner, there was a blur to the west and Mapimpi squinted to see it. By then it was too late. Like a solid gold bullet train, Koroboite came in from the right wing at a terrifying speed and fell towards his opposite number, sending him up, up and out. Catastrophe averted.
Australia had withstood incredible pressure throughout the half and won a penalty at the crucial end when De Klerk tried to cut Nic White’s mustache from the face. It was a fly-kick that Tommy Raudonikis would have scoffed at, but he put De Klerk in the bin for 10 and allowed Australia to keep the world champions clean and go into the break 10-3 up.
In the second half, under hot and sunny skies, the game remained frantic. Australia were not perfect. They kept losing line-outs and the Springboks shooters, at the back of a huge pack that was starting to purr, began to target Wallabies winger Tom Wright under a high ball with a boot straight into the sun. Smelling blood, the Springboks attacked the line and only Arnold’s quick action saved a try.
But after bravely repelling the raids, Australia fought back. Eight minutes into the half, Nic White fired a 20-yard pass to Wright to break out on the right. That foray was cut short, but when they went left through Hunter Paisami it came alive again. And when the leather landed with Koroibete it was all over. The big end backed up, pulled up and exploded over a back-heel defense to make it 15-3.
Now the Springboks started to falter and the ball started bouncing towards Australia. Close to the hour, White went halfway to the left. But with the unearthed wisdom of an old man, captain James Slipper fired it straight to the right where fly-half Noah Lolesio slotted through a yawning gap at speed. Ten yards out, with the swagger of a youngster, the 22-year-old sent an audacious pass in – to who else? – Fraser McReight, loyally approaching in support, tiptoed and tripped.
At 20-3, Australia were home. Unfortunately, they celebrated early and leaked a couple of consolation tries to flatter the scoreline the visitors’ way and, more importantly, deny themselves a much-needed bonus point in the Championship standings. But it didn’t matter (much). The Test had been won, the world champions beaten and a record eight-match winless streak against South Africa in Australia. The Wallabies came back and an Adelaide crowd of 36,366 went home happy.
“We’re very proud of the effort we showed today,” captain James Slipper said afterwards. “It was a tough tour in Argentina, but to come here in front of an Adelaide crowd, we’re very proud of the effort put in.
Slipper said starting well was key to the win. “We’ve talked about (a strong start) all year, it was just a matter of getting it done and delivering it. We started the game well and it put us in a good position. There are parts of this game where we had to show great character and hang on. We also scored when we had those opportunities.”