The Aussies got off to a surprising early lead when left wing Marika Koroibete scored within the first few minutes of the game but the Bokke were too strong and too determined to let that be a thorn in their side.

In their season opener, they definitely got off to a perfect start and proved to be stronger than Eddie Jones’ side. Unfortunately for Eddie, his first game back with the Wallabies made for a tough day at the office. 

Post-match he stated: “We really got beaten in the set pieces. We got beaten on the gainline. We got beaten in the air. When you do not win any of those contests, it is going to be a long day at the office, which it was for us tonight.”

After falling five points behind in those first few minutes the Springboks came back fighting and quickly raked in the tries proving dominance in all forms. With stellar performances from Kurt-Lee Arendse, claiming a hat trick in the season's first test and Manie Libbok bringing in the conversions and penalties, the Boks were bound to leave a sting on their opponents. Players like André Esterhuizen, Marco van Staden, and Grant Williams also made a massive impression on Saturday evening.

With 13 of the senior Boks already in Auckland to acclimate, one would argue that a second-rate team was fielded, but nothing about this performance was second-rate. Fielding senior players along with some fringe players proved successful this weekend and those who made an impression this week booked their seats on the team that will be playing against the All Blacks next week.

According to SA Rugby, there is talk that Etzebeth will captain next week’s side while Kolisi is still out injured. He is one of the players who went out earlier to New Zealand and although he was recently also recovering from a shoulder injury, we are set to see him take the field next week.

Overall, the coaching staff of the Springboks are happy with this week’s performance. Assistant coach, Mzwandile Stick, stated the following: “We’re really happy with the manner in which we won this game because Australia came and they were physical – but credit goes to the players, they played for 80 minutes.”

Being a World Cup year, these tests are valuable to see what works for the side leading up to the defence of the side's World Cup title. This week proved successful and next week is another chance to prove the same.

The Springboks will face New Zealand in Auckland next week Saturday, the 15th of July. 

Kayla Barker/OFM Sport