Australia trailed 14-0 after eight minutes but rallied on either side of halftime for a 25-17 win over South Africa in a Tri-Nations rugby match on Saturday.
A Matt Giteau try, his 17th in Test rugby, helped the Wallabies celebrate the final home appearances of two Australian veterans.
Halfback George Gregan extended his world record Test tally to 133 while flyhalf Stephen Larkham reached 100 Tests in the match at the Olympic stadium.
Both players will retire from Test play following the World Cup in September in France.
The Wallabies were shocked early by the heavily criticised ”B” Springboks — playing without up to 24 regulars who did not make the trip to Australia — who scored two early tries in the Mandela Challenge Plate match.
After flyhalf Derick Hougaard hit the upright with a penalty, the Springboks’ first try came when Australia’s defence was caught short on the right-hand side and flanker Wikus Van Heerden scored in the sixth minute.
Two minutes later, South African winger Breyton Paulse intercepted a Nathan Sharpe pass out wide and sprinted 55m to touch down, celebrating with a backflip. Hougaard extended the lead to 17-0 with a 16th-minute penalty.
Australia’s first try came midway through the first half from a lineout win, as Gregan sent a pass to Larkham who turned a pass inside to Mark Gerrard. Stirling Mortlock’s conversion made it 17-7 before he closed the gap to seven with a 37th-minute penalty goal to leave South Africa leading 17-10 at halftime.
The Wallabies tied the match on a Stephen Hoiles try two minutes into the second half, then took the lead 20-17 on a Mortlock penalty in the 52nd minute. Giteau closed the scoring with an unconverted try in the 55th minute. – Sapa-AP