Springboks muscled their way to a 24-8 victory over the Wallabies at Allianz Stadium.
The world champions controlled the contest as they dominated the collision battle, shutting down the hosts as they struggled with execution and handling.
Teenage sensation Canan Moodie lit up the new Allianz Stadium, leaping high over and sprinting away to give them a 12-3 lead at the break.
Tries to Franco Mostert and Makazole Mapimpi helped seal victory in the tense contest.
The Wallabies will once again lick their wounds after another frustrating defeat, losing Hunter Paisami and Noah Lolesio to concussion whilst Taniela Tupou didn’t get a chance to feature after tweaking his calf.
“Another week of poor discipline, we spoke about that a lot this week and that’s the most disappointing thing, putting ourselves under pressure like that,” Wallabies captain James Slipper reflected.
“It just felt like we didn’t play much Rugby. We didn’t fire a shot. We knew what type of game it was going to be, big set-piece and kicking game, they were just dropping bombs on us all night and we got stuck down there.
“We really wanted to build momentum (before the Bledisloe) and that’s why I’m so gutted.”
The Springboks dominated the game from the first whistle as they well and truly bounce back from Adelaide.
They controlled possession and territory as the hosts drew the ire of referee Ben O’Keefe early. This allowed the visitors to open the scoring in the tenth minute as centre Damian de Allende stepped through and scored under the posts.
It went from bad to worse for the Wallabies as lock Matt Philip found himself sent for ten for a professional foul in the build up.
South Africa continued to hunt for points but some great defence from the hosts repelled their efforts
The injury woes continued for the Wallabies as Hunter Paisami left the field with a concussion.
They enjoyed possession in the opposition 22 just once in the half, with Noah Lolesio taking the chance to add a penalty goal from right in front.
With the siren fast approaching, teenage Canan Moodie announced himself on the world stage, rising over Marika Koroibete and sprinting away to give the Springboks a 12-3 lead at the break.
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Dave Rennie’s men couldn’t avoid setbacks even in the sheds with Taniela Tupou tweaking his calf as he attempt to warm up in the break.
South Africa picked up where they left off after the break, flanker Franco Mostert finishing off some nice interchange between the backs to extend the advantage.
Flyhalf Noah Lolesio followed Paisami up the tunnel with his own HIA, falling to return as Jake Gordon was forced onto the wing on account of the 6-2 split bench.
The ongoing niggle flared over when Makazole Mapimpi dived over in the corner to seal the game in the 70th minute
With Koroibete unable to repeat his heroics from Adelaide, Mapimpi’s head rub of his fellow winger sparked both sides as the action nearly boiled over into the crowd.
Eben Etzebeth and Allan Alaalatoa were left at each other throats as the frustration of two tight games exploaded.
The winger earned a yellow card for his actions but the try still stood as the Springboks raced away with the win.
Pete Samu scored a consolation try for the hosts as Willie le Roux was yellow carded for the deliberate knock down.
In the end, the contest was well and truly out of reach for the hosts as South Africa came away with the victory
WALLABIES V SPRINGBOKS TEAMS
Australia: 15 Reece Hodge, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 David Porecki, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Pete Samu, 22 Jake Gordon, 23 Andrew Kellaway.
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Duane Vermeulen, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Warrick Gelant.
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Tual Trainini (France)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
