Stunning Australia comeback shocks South Africa in Ellis Park
Australia rallied from 22-0 down as captain Harry Wilson scored two tries in a stunning 38-22 bonus-point victory over South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday, the Wallabies' first victory at Ellis Park since 1963.
South Africa raced into a commanding lead through tries by winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, centre Andre Esterhuizen and number eight Siya Kolisi, but their Achilles heel has been the breakdown and it was there that Australia began to take control.
The Springboks led 22-5 at halftime but Australia came alive in the second period and were excellent in soaking up pressure and hitting the world champions with fast breaks as they won on South African soil for the first time in 14 years.
Winger Dylan Pietsch, centre Joseph Suaalii, winger Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright also crossed for the visitors in one of Australia's greatest test wins.
"This (victory) is right up there, it has been 60-odd years since the Wallabies have had success in Joburg. We worked hard and had confidence in ourselves," Australia prop James Slipper said.
"We had a slow start, but credit to the boys, they stuck in there. It was a good squad effort tonight and one we can be proud of. It is a special moment for the group."
South Africa did not score a point after the 18th minute in a performance that will provide much soul-searching as they could not handle Australia's accuracy in the tight and broken play.
"We let ourselves down," Springboks captain Kolisi said. "Things we worked on, discipline, the breakdown ... they won the breakdown battle. We have to take it on the chin, but it is unacceptable the way we performed.
"We would get into their 22 and they would steal the ball (at the breakdown). Credit to Australia, they kept fighting and never gave up. They deserved it."
Australia looked all at sea at the start, but thanks to several outstanding individual displays they clawed back to secure a comprehensive victory.
When Arendse, Esterhuizen with his first Springbok try, and Kolisi crossed, it was early one-way traffic but by the half-hour mark the momentum had swung Australia's way.
They scored first in the second half to close the gap to 10 points when Wilson burst into a gap in the Springbok defence and flyhalf James O'Connor added the conversion on his return to test rugby after three years.
Australia then took control against the rattled home side, whose increasingly desperate attacks were countered with further tries by the visitors.
Reuters
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Wallabies break South Africa's aura of invincibility in win that asks: is Australian rugby back?
For 18 minutes, everything was going according to script. The double world champions were running riot at Ellis Park, stomping over the gain line with every carry, shrugging off tacklers and hammering anyone unlucky enough to be wearing a gold jersey. Australia had touched the ball twice before Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the opening try; once when James O'Connor kicked off, then again when Tom Wright spilled a contestable kick. Twelve minutes later André Esterhuizen sliced through the right before Siya Kolisi bulldozed over under the posts. Manie Libbok kicked seven extra points to nudge the score to 22-0 in South Africa's favour. We'd not yet reached the quarter mark of this one-sided contest. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii had his nose bloodied by Eben Etzebeth. Will Skelton was being bullied. O'Connor, parachuted in at fly-half, had been steamrolled on three occasions. The Wallabies had arrived in Johannesburg with reputations enhanced after their Lions series defeat. This felt like a reality check. And then Fraser McReight won a penalty on the ground in his own 22. 'Momentum' is an overused word in rugby, usually cited only in hindsight. Yet this was the spark. It was here that Australia turned around, dug their heels in and fired shots of their own. It was here that Australian rugby under Joe Schmidt ascended another level. Four consecutive penalties later and Dylan Pietsch was sliding over in the corner. South Africa's failings compounded matters. 'We were really dogshit on the day,' their coach Rassie Erasmus said. Too often they overplayed and were inaccurate in the red zone. Their inability to secure the ball was a concern against Italy and Georgia during the July internationals. Now it is a glaring weakness. Any team with a back row as dynamic as the one under Schmidt's watch will cause the Boks a world of trouble. Two minutes after the restart Nick Frost nicked a lineout. Then Angus Bell thumped Malcolm Marx before finding Harry Wilson on a superb line. Ellis Park was hushed, as if 60,000 people realised at once that the Springboks' aura of invincibility was just a story they'd been told. The players seemed to sense it too. Most of them lifted the Webb Ellis Cup two years ago after a hat-trick of one-point victories. They've made a habit of snatching triumphs from hopeless causes but momentum was fully against them. Perhaps this is why Libbok forced the issue from inside his own half with an ambitious floating pass only to see Suaalii pluck it from the thin Highveld air and dot it down for a try on the hour. Wilson had his second, sparked by the magnificent Wright who didn't put a foot wrong after that opening knock-on, to give Australia the lead. Mere seconds after the restart Max Jorgensen was flying down the right tramline to open up the advantage. And when McReight stooped low with just seven minutes left, getting his meaty frame over the ball with the Boks swarming inside Australia's 22, the game was won. Wright's cherry-on-the-top, counterattacking, zigzagging try turned the result from a nail-biting upset to a bona fide shellacking. Make no mistake, this is the biggest hiding the world champions have copped since their fairytale run began in 2019. 'I don't think it was about one moment,' Schmidt said when asked how his team pulled this off. 'It was about sticking to what we'd talked about all week. The boys showed a lot of courage, and when we got a foothold, we kept building.' That is the emerging story of Schmidt's Wallabies: a side that doesn't collapse but grows when written off. They stole a late win at Twickenham last year, rallied against the Lions after a poor first Test, and now turned a 22-point deficit into a first win in Johannesburg since 1963. Does all this put the Lions series result in context? Are South Africa's veterans now a step behind? Are they caught between two philosophies, one that trusts in traditional might while the other compels them to run it from deep? Can we declare that Aussie rugby is officially back? This always seems to happen when Australia flips the script and produces something special. But maybe this is the script. Maybe a team with a solid set-piece, a totem in the lineout, berserkers at the breakdown, ballers in the midfield and dazzlers in the backfield are simply a formidable outfit that deserve more respect than they've been shown. Maybe those players under the guidance of a coach who appreciates rugby's fundamentals and knows how to get the most out of his charges can be more than just a plucky side character. If this is indeed the redrafting of a story we thought we all knew, then the entire sport will be better for it. Not that Erasmus will be too bothered with all that. He'll already be plotting a way back in the sequel next week. Guardian
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
How Niamh Allen has combined motherhood with a sharp rise to the top of Irish women's distance running
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All while ensuring running stays fun. Niamh Allen on her way to winning the senior women's 5,000m ahead of Leevale clubmate Anika Thompson at the National Track and Field Championships in Dublin. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile 'Not having any pressure to perform, I think that does me the world of good,' she said. 'Just enjoying each race as it comes. It's working so far, so I'm just trying to keep that mentality. Rather than start setting any expectations. 'You just need to stay in your own lane, do the best you can do with your own ability. I'm still learning a lot on the job and that's why I love jumping into all the different kinds of races. 'I wasn't even thinking of running track this season. Maybe I was a bit too old. I'd kind of written myself off as a track runner, would stick to more cross-country and the road. My coach, Donie Walsh at Leevale, just told me to jump in, see how it goes. 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Niamh Allen celebrates with her daughter Lily after winning the 5,000m race at the National Track and Field Senior Championships at Morton Stadium, Dublin. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile 'Lily's been with me now since my first race back in Ireland, so she's my lucky mascot. I'm still trying to find that balance, but that's the same for every parent. Some days you're just tired, but because running is not the priority, I think that's why you can enjoy it more. The family will always be number one. Running is just something I do for myself. 'Even today, I can't train because I have to collect Lily on the way home. I know I'm not a full-time athlete, I have a lot of balls to juggle, but I think that's a good thing. It puts a lot less pressure on my running. There have been days I've been super-exhausted and you just can't train. 'Even from a nutritional standpoint, you need to be a lot more mindful. But I'm lucky to have a very supportive husband and parents. 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A year later, O'Sullivan won the Olympic silver medal in the 5,000m 'I was lucky to be able to keep training during most of the pregnancy,' said Allen. 'But there are a few factors. I suppose you never feel as old as you probably are. Maybe I still think I'm a spring chicken a lot of the time. And because I don't come from a running background, and would hang around with a lot of non-runners, you don't consider being 30 as that old. 'Maybe age will be a hindrance over the next few years, but I'm enjoying the process. And with the running technology, the improved running shoes, maybe the life cycle of the athlete is extending. So maybe you can still set ambitions and goals. 'The plan was always to come back from Australia after two years and it's worked out well timewise. I also feel I've got all that travelling and fun part over with, I'm more prepared to give the running and training a bit more now.' Ireland's Niamh Allen makes her way through the field at the 2024 European Cross-Country Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho The early-morning trip to Dublin is more a once-off, as Allen is working in HR with IT specialists Nostra, based just a few minutes from her home in Cork city. Still, everything about her day is based around flexibility 'Work are very supportive, and it's three days a week for now, up to four days when Lily starts creche, in October. The easy or steady runs, I would do a lot of those by myself. I can keep to my own pace, depending on how the day's going. So I throw on a podcast, keep to my own pace. 'In the training sessions, I try to meet up with the Leevale group, on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Because you'll definitely get pushed along in the group like that. But I'm always mindful of the need to be flexible. 'I suppose my whole family would be competitive. 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The 42
11 hours ago
- The 42
Joe Schmidt: 'This has got to rank very highly in terms of wins - and for me personally'
AUSTRALIA COACH JOE Schmidt said he hoped a phenomenal 38-22 Rugby Championship comeback win over South Africa in Johannesburg showed his team are on the road toward earning respect. The Wallabies, who had not beaten South Africa at Ellis Park since 1963, recovered from trailing 22-0 to beat the reigning World champions and Championship title-holders. Following a torrid last few years, the victory continues Australia's resurgence after being well beaten in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions, losing the second by just three points and then winning the dead rubber 22-12. 'This has got to rank very highly in terms of wins and for me personally, since usually you get absolutely swamped here in the last quarter,' said Schmidt. 'The players had to hang in there and I am really proud of the way they did that. 'You have got to earn respect every time you (play), you have to be really competitive in every game. 'We are still building our strength in depth and our game shape, but this is a great bunch of young men who have shown the ability to roll their sleeves up and earn that support. 'They deserve it and I hope there was really good support for them back in Australia.' The former Ireland boss continued: 'When the Springboks get their game going, when they are accurate, they are very hard to stop. In the first 40 minutes there was just wave after wave coming. 'But Fraser McReight stole the ball a few times, and the determination the team showed was very pleasing. Advertisement 'This is a really tight group, they get on very well together. We have had a chance to gel and a real collective resilience was in evidence tonight. 'We were not always on the front foot.' 'There were some fantastic diving tackles where we just got a boot or half a jersey. We needed a little bit of luck as well,' added Schmidt. - 'Really awful' Springboks - Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus called the performance 'really awful', blaming poor game management after a brilliant opening quarter. 'When you are 22-0 up, you tend to take chances, but you still need to build an innings or you can end up losing by nearly 20 points like tonight. 'There were so many breaks when Grant Williams, Manie Libbok or Edwill van der Merwe almost got away, but sometimes you have to realise that you are not quite going to get it. 'Their kick-to-ruck ratio was much better than ours — we only kicked nine times in the second half. It's definitely not wrong to say we overplayed. 'But they did not just tactically outsmart us, but physically too. The longer the game went on, the stronger the Wallabies were. 'It was a bad loss and at some stage our heads and shoulders were down. It was sad that there was no fightback so we gave them a bonus point and did not get one ourselves.' – © AFP 2025
