The Springboks produced a dazzling display of all-round rugby at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon as they thumped Australia 33-20 to retain the Mandela Challenge Plate in emphatic fashion.
The Boks led 23-8 at halftime.
Following the ignominy the South Africans suffered in conceding five tries in losing 30-12 to Australia two weeks ago, the Boks returned the compliment with a committed team effort throughout 80 absorbing minutes.
The teams scored three tries apiece, but the trusty boot of fullback Percy Montgomery was in fine form as he kicked seven out of seven shots at goal for a personal tally of 18 points.
While it was mostly a concerted team effort, lock Bakkies Botha was named man-of-the-match for his tireless work, especially in the lineouts.
The Australians had a late rally, after trailing 33-8 with ten minutes to play, and ran in two consolation tries as the Boks took their collective foot off the pedal.
For the rest of the match, the Bok tackling was as conspicuous for its ferocity as it was for its scarcity last time around.
Nelson Mandela was in attendance to witness the thrilling victory and his touch of ”Madiba Magic” worked again as the Boks kept the plate in South Africa by drawing the two-Test series 1-1.
The home side played like men possessed in the opening exchanges and their in-your-face approach had the visitors rattled. They were rewarded for their efforts when Montgomery slotted a second minute penalty for the early lead, 3-0.
But Matt Giteau cancelled that advantage seven minutes later with a three-pointer of his own. The plethora of missed tackles that plagued their first encounter a fortnight ago were quickly forgotten as the home side formed a wall of green each time the Wallabies attacked.
Such was the blanket they created that Australia looked devoid of ideas most of the time and were forced to throw some risky passes in a attempt to get across the gain line.
Although the Australians had the lion’s share of the possession in the opening 40 minutes, it was the home side that carved out a 20-3 lead midway through the first half.
Two intercept tries — the first by Jean de Villiers from a stray Stephen Larkham pass and the second by Bryan Habana, after Andre Pretorius intercepted from Stirling Mortlock — gave the Boks a comfortable cushion after 20 minutes.
Montgomery kicked both conversions and added a second penalty as the Boks stunned the visitors with a ferocious opening quarter.
They needed to absorb tons of pressure though as Australia came back strongly, but a gritty defensive effort kept them at bay for much of the half.
Only when New Zealand referee Steve Walsh gave Breyton Paulse a yellow card in the 33rd minute, did the line cave. From the resultant penalty the Wallabies opted for a lineout and drove the ball over the line with number eight David Lyons emerging from the pile-up with ball in hand. Giteau missed the conversion to make
the score 20-8 to South Africa.
And Montgomery completed a perfect half with his fifth kick moments later to stretch the lead further at the interval.
Coach Jake White brought Fourie du Preez and Schalk Burger on for Ricky Januarie and Solly Tyibilika respectively, but the latter lasted less than a minute as Walsh issued his second sin-binning of the match for a dangerous high tackle by the blonde flanker.
Down to 13 men and defending a lineout five metre from their own tryline, lock Victor Matfield produced perhaps the defining moment of the match. He plucked the ball from the grasp of the waiting Nathan Sharpe and Pretorius was able to clear the line.
Paulse returned a minute later and the Boks burst up field and a break by de Villiers set centre partner Jaque Fourie up for the team’s third try to rub salt in the Australians’ wounds.
Montgomery again added the extras and the Boks led 30-8.
And now it was the home team’s turn to make the play, with Du Preez falling inches short of the line minutes later and the Boks camping in the Wallabies territory as they pushed for more points to help erase the memories of the mauling in Sydney.
Instead, it was Australia who were next to score when Stephen Larkham profited from some loose play to canter over under the poles. They scored another late consolation try through hooker Jeremy Paul that only served to flatter the score-line.
The two teams meet in the first Vodacom Tri-Nations encounter at Loftus next weekend. – Sapa