Willie Le Roux: Celebrates his try against Australia
A ruthless South Africa overcame their Suncorp Stadium hoodoo to thump Australia 38-12 in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash.
South Africa’s first win at the Brisbane venue was carried out in style, scoring four tries to nil to ensure Ewen McKenzie’s miserable start to his Wallabies coaching career continued.
Coenie Oosthuizen, Jean de Villiers, Zane Kirchner and Willie Le Roux all scored tries for the Springboks, with Morne Steyn putting in a typically assured kicking performance to maximise the damage.
The Wallabies remain winless in the championship following two earlier losses to New Zealand, while the Springboks are riding high after three straight victories.
South Africa reaped rewards from their very first foray into attacking territory as Oosthuizen barged over the line following a scrum.
Video replays gave the on-field referee no reason to believe the giant forward had failed to plant the ball and he was awarded the first try of the match.
Willem Alberts inexplicably booted the ball down field after a penalty was blown for the Wallabies to earn himself a spell in the sin bin, then Christian Lealiifano slotted the kick to make it 7-3 after nine minutes.
Steyn slotted a penalty from 45 metres to restore the South Africans’ lead to seven points.
Lealiifano and Steyn swapped penalties as the match see-sawed, with neither side sharp enough in possession to take control for sustained periods.
Israel Folau was penalised right in front of his own sticks for not releasing the ball, gifting the Springboks another three points from the boot of Steyn.
The visitors took a deserved 16-6 lead into the break over a Wallabies side who showed plenty of attacking intent but lacked the composure to turn it into points.
A bright start to the second term saw Australia attacking the Springboks’ line, and they soon won a penalty which Lealiifano converted to cut the margin to seven points once more.
Wallabies flanker Michael Hooper was controversially sin-binned 10 minutes into the second half for driving Bryan Habana into the turf with a late tackle.
Springboks captain de Villiers touched down for a try following a flowing passing movement and a clever chip over the top from Habana to put the visitors well in control with 20 minutes remaining.
Another sharp South African attacking move down the right resulted in a try to Kirchner, who received an inside ball from Le Roux.
The full-back then galloped down the right passage to score a five-pointer of his own moments later and put the result beyond any doubt.
Rugby Rugby 