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10 August 2024 - 11:30
Springbok winger Kurt-Lee Arendse runs with the ball during the Rugby Championship match against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Image: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
The Springboks invoked memories of their last win in Brisbane by thoroughly vanquishing the Wallabies 33-7 to put down an early marker in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday.
Their win drought in the Queensland capital ended amid a flood of possession and territorial dominance for the visitors who ran in a 33-0 lead before their progress was halted by poor discipline.
In the opening hour however they delivered their most compelling performance against the Wallabies on Australian soil and matched the winning margin they set at the same venue 11 years ago when they triumphed 38-12.
This was a chastening defeat for the Wallabies who had no answer to the Springboks' power and precision.
The Boks dominated all areas of contact, bossing the scrums and the gainline collisions and they disrupted the Wallabies' line-out in the first half.
They simply overwhelmed the hapless hosts and such was their dominance they could have been more than 21-0 up at the break.
Indeed, the winning margin might have been greater had their discipline not worn thin in the final quarter with yellow cards to Malcolm Marx, Marco van Staden and Jesse Kriel.
They were however simply irresistible in the opening half playing with power and poise.
Lock Pieter-Steph du Toit embodied energy and urgency, wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe were full of dynamism, while props Ox Nche and Frans Malherbe scrummed with menace.
They were efficient at the ruck allowing them to routinely breach the gainline and there were times the Boks delivered breathtaking transitional play.
Their passing game has gone into another dimension. Outside backs and tight forwards now transfer the ball with lofty assurance.
The Boks clicked into gear from the get-go.
Though Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scuffed his first attempt at goal the Boks maintained the pressure and earned their third penalty by the eighth minute.
They opted for a line-out and captain Siya Kolisi charged over from the back of a maul.
A sweeping Bok attack ended in a try for Du Toit before Arendse again showed his nose and nous for finding the try line.
Though Australia got their hands on the ball with greater frequency in the second half they were unable to convert their few opportunities.
Imprecision dogged them with the goalline in sight, while the Boks determinedly scrambled on other occasions.
The Bok defence weathered the storm before again running the Wallabies ragged.
Their bench brought a spring back to their step.
Kwagga Smith's try near the uprights was the most vivid example of the restoration of the dominance.
The Boks kept bashing and Wallabies wilted.
A wonderfully incisive break and offload from Jesse Kriel set up Arendse's second.
The Boks' momentum was broken when they copped yellow cards in the final quarter.
The work they performed across the first hour however had set up a victory well worth savouring.
Scorers
Wallabies (7) — Try: Hunter Paisami. Conversion: Tom Lynagh.
Springboks (33) — Tries: Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse 2, Kwagga Smith. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 4.
