Boks ready to tame tougher beasts
Premium 12 August 2025
After easily swatting the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia aside, the Springboks are preparing to tame a much tougher breed of beast when they kick off their Rugby Championship campaign against Australia on Saturday.
Aware that intensity levels will rise by several notches, meticulous Bok coach Rassie Erasmus cut short his team's midseason break to ensure full battle readiness...
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The South African
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When the Springboks roared into a 22-0 against the Wallabies within the first quarter of their Rugby Championship opener, it appeared that there would only be one winner – as had been widely predicted before kick off. ADVERTISEMENT Yet, in almost unbelievable scenes, the Wallabies mounted one of the greatest comebacks and upset victories to claim a 38-22 win, and their triumph at Ellis Park for 62 years. Understandably, the reaction around the rugby world was simply wild. WHAT WAS SAID ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER SPRINGBOKS' SHOCK LOSS TO WALLABIES? What is your reaction to this result? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
5 minutes ago
- The South African
Springbok player ratings from 22-38 disaster-class against Wallabies
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The Citizen
5 minutes ago
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Wallabies upset Springboks at Ellis Park: Four talking points
The Wallabies sprung a huge surprise by beating the Springboks at Ellis Park for the first time in the professional era. The Wallabies stunned a buzzing Ellis Park by pulling off a scarcely believable 38-22 come from behind win against the Springboks, earning the men from Down Under their first win at the ground in the professional era. It was a extremely poor performance from the Boks, who initially got off to an amazing start, but then let in five unanswered tries as the Aussies incredibly came back to earn a well-deserved and comfortable win in the end. Here are four talking points from the match: Flying start It was a flying start to the match for the Springboks as they ran in three tries in the first 18 minutes to power into a big early lead. It started straight from the kick-off as they attacked into the Wallabies 22m, with the ball then spread to Kurt-Lee Arendse to go over in under two minutes. The second came in the 12th minute after fantastic interplay from the backline, with the ball going through the hands to Pieter-Steph du Toit out wide, with him finding Andre Esterhuizen on his inside to finish off a wonderful move. The third came in the 18th minute, as captain Siya Kolisi picked up at a ruck in the Aussie 22m, stepped a player and went through to score. Manie Libbok had his kicking boots on, slotting two conversions and a penalty, with one conversion coming off the uprights, to give them a 22-0 lead. Aussie fightback The Wallabies improved markedly over the rest of the first half, managing to hold onto the ball better and take some play into the Boks half. This earned them a few opportunities but the Bok defence stood strong initially keeping them out. In the 29th minute the Aussies got themselves on the board with their opening try, catching the Boks out with a good loop play that saw them earn space out wide for wing Dylan Pietsch to go over, which saw them trailing 22-5 at the halftime break. The Wallabies continued their comeback in the second half, as Harry Wilson hit a great line to run in untouched, before Joseph Sua'ali'I intercepted a poor pass from Manie Libbok to race away and score, James O'Connor slotting both conversions to bring them within three after 58 minutes. Wasted chances and slew of errors The Springboks were guilty of wasting a number of good opportunities in the Wallabies 22m in both halves, which cost them dearly with the visitors ruthless, making sure they scored with every opportunity presented to them. The Boks were also guilty of making a slew of mistakes that led to the Wallabies incredible comeback, which saw them score five unanswered tries. It was only in the 63rd minute that the Aussies hit the front for the first time, as Harry Wilson finished off a good move for his second. Two minutes later Max Jorgensen was in to extend their lead to 11 points, and the men from Down Under secured a brilliant come from behind win in the 75th minute, when Tom Wright caught a loose ball in his own half and raced away, beating the last defender to put them into an unassailable lead. Set Piece The Boks struggled a bit in the lineout during the first half, having their ball stolen twice on attacking throws which cost them a couple of chances. But they got their own back in the second half, stealing a couple of Aussie balls in their own 22m to stop the visitors in their tracks. But another few poor lineouts in the second half saw the Boks back to their struggling as they lost three more on their throw, including a skew through and another steal. Overall the Boks won 11 of their 16 throws, while the Aussies weren't much better winning 14 of 18. In the scrums the Wallabies initially competed well, not allowing the Boks to gain their usual dominance. But as the game wore on the Bok scrum started firing and they started to dominate, earning some good scrum penalties.
