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Boks’ rolling maul powers their path to victory in pouring Perth against committed Wallabies

Boks’ rolling maul powers their path to victory in pouring Perth against committed Wallabies
Lock Eben Etzebeth holds Mandela Challenge Plate aloft after the Boks beta Australia 30-12 at Optus Stadium. (Photo: James Worsfold/Getty Images)
Craig Ray
By Craig Ray
17 Aug 2024
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The Springboks completed a successful Australia tour with a 30-12 win in Perth.

It wasn’t a Test for rugby romantics, and even for the more prosaic watchers, this was hard going. It was a game that will soon be forgotten as a spectacle. But the result — a 30-12 win for the Springboks over the Wallabies in Perth — will resonate for a long time because the Boks are on track to win the Rugby Championship.

“The Boks’ rolling maul, at least in the second half, was the defining and deciding aspect of the game.” 

It was the first time that the Springboks have claimed back-to-back wins over the Wallabies in Australia on consecutive weekends in the professional era. The Boks also retained the Mandela Challenge Plate. 

More importantly though, the four tries the Boks scored at the Optus Stadium, ensured that they claimed a maximum haul of 10 log points from their first two matches of the 2024 Rugby Championship.

Last week they punished the Wallabies 33-7 in Brisbane, and the world champions now have a five-point lead at the top of the standings, after two rounds.

The match was played in horrendous conditions, with heavy showers during the 80 minutes adding to the consistent rain that fell throughout Perth during the day. 

It made conditions treacherous. And when Australia suffered a slew of front-row injuries and the match was reduced to uncontested scrums early in the second half, it lost even more shape.

The Boks’ rolling maul, at least in the second half, was the defining and deciding aspect of the game. Flank Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx (twice) scored three tries between them after halftime, to kill the contest after fullback Aphelele Fassi’s first-half strike. 

Bok Lukhanyo Am is up-ended by Wallaby scrumhalf Nic White, during the Rugby Championship clash on 17 August 2024 in Perth.(Photo: James Worsfold/Getty Images)


Mediocre at best 


The Boks and coach Rassie Erasmus won’t complain about the result and the five log points. But if they’re honest in their analysis, conditions and selections notwithstanding, they must recognise that this performance was mediocre at best. 

Flank Pieter-Steph du Toit, replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams, lock Ruan Nortje, Marx, and one or two others aside, this was not a game many of the players will be rushing to add to their highlight reels.

“We are always pleased with a win, and to get two bonus-point wins over here, and the fact that all 33 players on tour played was fantastic,” Erasmus said after the game.

“The weather was challenging, we lost our captain (Moerat) early on with concussion, and we made 10 changes to the starting team, but that didn’t disrupt the team, so overall it was a pleasing result.

“There were a few more tries that we could have scored, so it could have been a bigger winning margin. But we are pleased with earning five points, two weeks in a row.

“We would have just been happy with victories, so it was very rewarding, although it was not beautiful rugby out there because of the conditions.” 

Error-strewn


Mistakes were the major feature of the game, with the Boks spurning two great chances within 90 seconds of each other in the first half, while they also lost three first-half lineouts, battled to control restarts, and even conceded a scrum penalty (which was dubious).

Read more: Springboks maul Wallabies in Brisbane to set up Rugby Championship title challenge 

Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu spilled a simple pass from Cheslin Kolbe with a clear tryline 20 metres in front of him, midway through the first half. Kolbe had danced his way through the initial Wallaby defence from deep inside his own half, and laid on a try for Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who fluffed his lines. 

Seconds later, wing Makazole Mapimpi collected a poor Wallaby cross-field kick and raced to the left-hand corner. Inexplicably, he switched the ball into his right hand and was unable to fend off the strong cover tackle from Wallaby fullback Tom Wright. Try denied. It was a mistake an under-10 coach would be unhappy about.

Late in the game, centre Jesse Kriel spilled the ball on the tryline after a burst by Pieter-Steph du Toit. It could have been so much better for the Boks. And so much worse for the Wallabies. 

Bok wing Makazole Mapimpi, moments before Tom Wright tackled him to stop a try, during the Rugby Championship clash on 17 August 2024 in Perth. (Photo: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images)


Selection gamble


Erasmus’s gamble on 10 changes to the side from Brisbane came off in the sense that the Boks achieved the result they wanted. But the performance was not at the same high standards they have set. 

The conditions made it extremely difficult for the new men to impose themselves and send a message to the coach. 

Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg struggled in the messy conditions, as did hooker Johan Grobbelaar with his lineout throwing. Grobbelaar though, was tidy in the loose and won a breakdown penalty.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu landed two first-half penalties and a conversion after the break, but he also battled in the conditions, while captain Salmaan Moerat lasted only 20 minutes before injury forced him out of the contest.

Read more: Time is right for Boks to end Rugby Championship title drought

Lukhanyo Am’s outing at inside centre was reduced largely to defensive work, while Mapimpi and Fassi worked hard off the ball. 

It was Mapimpi’s well-executed grubber down the left touchline for Fassi to run on to, that led to the game’s opening try. That score started when the Wallabies lost the ball on contact on the Bok 22. 

Loosehead prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels scooped up the loose ball and moved it wide to Am, who fed Jesse Kriel, who in turn released Mapimpi. It underlined the Bok’s ambition, even in the treacherous conditions.

It was also a snapshot of the Wallabies’ woes. They lost the ball several times in contact. They never looked like scoring a try, and only stayed in touch through the Boks’ ill-discipline that allowed flyhalf Noah Lolesio to land three first-half penalties. 

In fact, Lolesio could have given the home side the lead on the stroke of halftime with his fourth penalty attempt, but he shanked the ball wide and the Boks held an 11-9 lead. 

Bok flank Marco van Staden on the charge against Australia in Perth. (Photo: Will Russell/Getty Images)


Preferred attacking weapon


As the Boks turned the screw in the second half, penalties mounted. And from kicks to the corner, the Boks were able to turn to the maul as their preferred attacking weapon. 

Australia were almost powerless to stop the Bok maul when they set it up accurately. 

Lock Eben Etzebeth holds Mandela Challenge Plate aloft after the Boks beta Australia 30-12
at Optus Stadium. (Photo: James Worsfold/Getty Images)



The Wallabies have some serious issues with their rugby because this was the most forgettable Bok performance in years, and they still won without getting out of third gear. 

Australian rugby doesn’t seem to have the forwards to cut it at the highest level, and while there can be no faulting the Wallabies’ commitment and toil, they simply had no answer to the Bok power over the past two weekends. DM

Scorers:


Australia: Penalties: Noah Lolesio (4).

South Africa – Tries: Aphelele Fassi, Marco van Staden, Malcolm Marx (2). Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handre Pollard. Penalties: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2).

 

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