The Springboks made it 3 out of 3 after there 29 - 17 domination of this new-look Wallabie team.
This means the Boks go on the away leg of the tournament with one hand firmly on the 2009 Tri-Nations trophy. With a lead of 8 points over the struggling All-Blacks, the Boks must believe that this is there year.
The Wallabies started strongly with a their first try in 1 minute and 48 seconds of game time. A good team try from a line-out ending with Adam Ashley-Cooper crossing the line. But after that it the Springbok Juggernaut proved far too strong for this young Australian side. Morne' Steyn continued to impress by scoring 28 points for the boks taking his Bok tally to 65 points in only 5 games (of which he only started 3). Heinrick Brussouw played with the ferocity that we have come to expect from the young Bok star winning much of the ruck ball in the first half. Springbok captain John Smit showed his skill by setting up the Boks try with a delicate little chip through the Aussie defence, with the air of a seasoned fly-half, to allow Victor Matfeild to cross the line for his 6th test try. The Wallabies made thing hard for themselves by reducing themselves doing to 13 men with about 5 mins of the first half to go, Giteau with an uncharacteristic elbow to the face of Fourie DuPreez which will surely see him cited and the loose forward followed suit for a blatant off-side professional fowl. The half time score was 23 - 10 to the Boks.
The second half was far less entertaining than the first, with a multitude of mistakes from both teams making it a frustrating game to watch. The Boks missed out of at least 2 good try scoring opportunities. The formidable South African line-out proved to be too much for the Wallabies, loosing 9 of their own throw-ins throughout the game. However the Australian scrum put massive pressure on the Boks, the first real test for out star front 5. The half ended with a converted try for the Wallabies by Giteau and a yellow card for substitute captain George Smith for a cynical infringement at the Wallabies 5 meter line.
It must also be mentioned that Victor Matfeild and Bakkies Botha celebrated their 50th match starting as the Springbok lock combination. Well done from the Rugby Window family, it has been an emotional 50 games.
Final Score: Springboks 29 - 17 Wallabies.
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