Springbok coach Jake White admitted that his team played poorly against the Wallabies at Loftus Stadium on Saturday, but was nonetheless delighted with the 22-16 win.
It was just the start the defending champions sought to their Vodacom Tri-Nations defence, but far greater obstacles await them in Cape Town next weekend when they clash with New Zealand.
The South Africans dominated most facets of play throughout the 80 minutes on Saturday, but as the final hooter sounded, the Wallabies were still in with a shout at just 19-16 down.
A last-gasp Andre Pretorius drop goal, however, put the matter beyond doubt much to the delight of the 50 000 fans jammed into the stadium.
”I said in the change room afterwards that that was Test-match rugby,” White told reporters after the scrappy win.
”Those sorts of results are what it’s all about — we really had to fight for the win,” he said.
The Boks took home four hard-fought log points, while the visitors return to Australia with a bonus point that may prove decisive when the final tally is made.
The Boks trailed 13-6 at the break, but stormed back with a strong second half, scoring 16 points to three to consign the Wallabies to their second defeat in as many weeks on the Highveld.
White was the first to admit, though, that the performance was not as good as the previous weekend at Ellis Park.
”We didn’t play that well,” said White, ”but I’m saying we played badly. It was great that we still managed to win in such a close encounter.
”Two years ago, we would have lost that Test.”
A disappointed Eddie Jones lamented his team’s inability to score a rare victory on South African soil after leading at the interval.
”We are obviously disappointed to lose after getting into a great position to win,” moaned Jones. ”We had chances in the second half to close it out, but we couldn’t.”
Pretorius — a constant thorn in Jones’s side — was nominated as man of the match for a solid all-round display, but came in for some light-hearted criticism from his coach for his drop-goal attempts at the death.
”Now I know why Ian Mac looks the way he does,” joked White.
”I would really have preferred he had kicked the ball right into touch,” he said of Pretorius’s folly.
When asked his thoughts, Pretorius smiled sheepishly and said: ”Do we really have to go there?”
The mood in the Bok camp is upbeat, but more work lies ahead if they hope to make it two from two against New Zealand at Newlands next Saturday.
The Boks leave for Cape Town on Sunday to prepare for the All Blacks. — Sapa