Replacement back Francois Steyn knocked over two late drop goals to give South Africa a nail-biting 22-19 win over Australia at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday in the Tri-Nations opener of 2007.
Trailing 10-19 after 44 minutes, the Springboks rallied to score 12 unanswered points in the second half to ensure a winning start for the hosts in the southern-hemisphere rugby union championship.
The 20-year-old Steyn, who replaced winger Ashwin Willemse with 20 minutes to play, succeeded with a difficult, 50m effort after 74 minutes to level the scores at 19-all before a further drop goal four minutes later — this time from straight in front of the uprights — allowed the Boks to sneak home.
It was certainly a thrilling start to this year’s competition with the Australians playing a major role in the opening match.
Written off in the week, Stirling Mortlock’s men defended like Trojans and stifled a number of good attacking moves by the South Africans to enjoy a surprising 16-10 lead at the break.
The Boks started superbly, with their big forwards asking plenty of the Australians, but after 10 minutes the score was level at 3-3 after penalties to Percy Montgomery and Mortlock.
In the 11th minute the Boks lost captain John Smit to a hamstring injury and while the home side scored their only try through centre Jaque Fourie, the Australians dominated the rest of the first period.
The Boks failed to convert numerous chances after enjoying most of the possession, but after half an hour the visitors found their rhythm and, after taking the ball through a number of phases, won a penalty that Mortlock converted. Matt Giteau then scored next to the uprights to put his side in front after the conversion.
A further three points by Mortlock before the half-time break gave the visitors a six-point edge after 40 minutes.
That lead was quickly stretched to nine points with Mortlock’s fourth penalty, but a rejuvenated Bok outfit struck back through Montgomery (two penalties) and Steyn’s two drop goals to seal a thrilling win. — AFP
