Wallabies survive four-man yellow-card scramble to beat Springboks 42-38 in Perth
Australia beat South Africa 42-38 in Perth in a Test played one year before the men's Rugby World Cup, holding on despite being reduced to 11 players with four minutes remaining. The frantic finish followed a rapid sequence of yellow cards and a dramatic late South African surge that nearly overturned a 42-17 lead.
Les Kiss's wallabies entered the fixture unbeaten in four matches but had not previously been tested against a top-tier opponent, and the contest unfolded at the arena where the men's Rugby World Cup will begin in just over one year. Australia led South Africa 42-17 midway through the second half, but that advantage had been cut to 42-31 when a quartet of yellow cards left the home side with 11 players on the field.
The decisive phase began at 76 minutes and 16 seconds with a South African lineout 35 metres out and the crowd chanting "Wol-ah-bees." Malcolm Marx's straight carry drew the Wallabies' utility back Harry Potter into the tackle and set off a sequence that saw Ethan Hooker driven down five metres from the line and six Australians committed to the breakdown.
From that corner the Springboks spread play right and exposed Australia’s widest defender, flanker Tom Hooper, who was not as wide as the near goalpost. With three Springboks unmarked to the right, Hooper grabbed Canan Moodie to slow the move, and Tom Wright covered half the field in seconds to force Malcolm Marx to carry instead of passing to his open teammates.
Hooper, described in the match report as the Exeter player who this year became the first Australian named to the Prem Rugby team of the season since before the pandemic, then dove to dislodge the ball. Wright's toe deflected the bouncing ball to the 45m line and a subsequent blindside chip from Edwill van der Merwe went too close to touch, producing a fortuitous bounce and a Wallabies lineout at 77:28 — 72 seconds after play first swung into that corner.
From that throw Lachlan Shaw spilled the ball and South Africa regained control only 20 seconds later after a clever ploy from Ox Nché, who feigned a tackle on Taniela Tupou and left Marx and Morne van den Berg to recover possession; Nché then burrowed over for a try. Australia, who in their last outing in Argentina had been unable to break a 28-28 draw despite their opponents being reduced to 13, saw Harry Wilson and Ryan Lonergan return from their yellow cards to restore the team to 13 players.
Referee Andrea Piardi — who spent much of the second half speaking to the television match official via iPhone after his radio malfunctioned — urged play to continue as the clock ticked down. The tension was ultimately relieved when South Africa conceded an obstruction penalty, and the visitors, who had spent three months on the road, could not force a winning score.
The 42-38 victory in Perth came on the pitch that will host the opening games of the men's Rugby World Cup in just over a year and, as the report concluded, was "the match Australian rugby needs."