Wallabies left to endure the Moodie blues
The Wallabies have missed a golden opportunity to put one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy, brutalised 24-8 by South Africa in Sydney.
Instead of Australia moving a win clear at the top of the table after New Zealand’s 53-3 smashing of Argentina earlier on Saturday, the title is now anyone’s after the Springboks turned in a flawless display highlighted by a dazzling debut try for 19-year-old winger Canan Moodie.
The Wallabies will head into their two-test Bledisloe Cup series against New Zealand with all four sides on 2-2 records after four games, with the All Blacks leading the standings by one point having netted two bonus-point wins.
Coming off a strong win over the world champion Springboks a week earlier in Adelaide, the Wallabies again failed to back up victory with another solid display, and are yet to win back-to-back games this season.
‘‘I don’t know about one [step] forward, two [steps] back . . . it’s a tough competition, you’ve got to be at your best every week to be in with a sniff,‘‘ Wallabies coach
Dave Rennie said. ‘‘Clearly that’s been a big part of our mantra, we have an understanding we’re playing for something bigger than ourselves and there’s no shortage of motivation and certainly no shortage of belief. We’ve got to win those key moments.’’
They were down early as the Springboks capped a dominant opening nine minutes as Damian de Allende scored under the crossbar, with the damage doubled due to Wallabies lock Matt Philip’s sinbinning for a foul.
But the Springboks saved the big celebrations for Moodie’s first test try after he soared above
Marika Koroibete to take a towering Jaden Hendrikse kick and raced away to score, putting his side 12-3 ahead close to halftime.
In the second half, Franco Mostert finished a sweeping team move, while winger Makazole Mapimpi completed the scoring when he crossed for a try on 72 minutes.
The Wallabies’ only points came from a first-half penalty and a late consolation try for Pete Samu.
‘‘It just felt like we didn’t play much rugby. We didn’t fire a shot,’’ Wallabies skipper James Slipper said. –