The Springboks started off poorly against the Wallabies, but finished the stronger of the 2 sides in their 44-31 victory at Loftus Versfeld.
Until the last try to JP Pietersen in the 80th minute, the game was either side’s for the taking.
The stats sho that Australia enjoyed the greater territory and possession, but became increasingly less effective as the match wore on and they became affected by the altitude.
Their decision to stay in Cape Town until 2 days prior to kick off may have been a mistake, as they hoped to emulate the All Blacks and finish stronger than the Boks.
SPRINGBOKS 44 |
WALLABIES 31 |
|
| 45% | Possession | 55% |
| 38% | Territory | 62% |
| 5:10 | Time in opposition 22 | 5:31 |
| 22 | Total kicks | 14 |
| 8/4 | Lineouts won/lost | 14/1 |
| 88/4 | Penalties conceeded | 6 |
| 82 | Free kicks conceeded | 1 |
| 67 | Rucks and mauls | 71 |
| 76% | Crossing advantage line | 78% |
| 3 | 7+ phases | 2 |
| 8 | Line breaks | 5 |
| 21 | Missed tackles | 31 |
| 10 | Turnovers | 19 |
| 9 | Handling errors | 12 |
The Springboks were ale to force the Wallabies into playing to the Bok strengths, and the lineout steals reflect this.
Most of the other stats were remarkably similar, indicated by the fact the game was in the balance until the last minute, but the 31 missed tackles by the Wallabies may have been the key statistic.
It was also evident how poor the tackling was throughout the match, with 52 missed tackles. This led to first phase play being effective for both sides, and is reflected in both sides rarely taking the ball past 7 phases.
