The Springboks bounced back from their shock defeat at Ellis Park last week to post a necessary, if unconvincing 30-22 victory over the Wallabies at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
Considering the size of the shock defeat last weekend, the only thing that matters is that the Springboks needed to win.
That was, and will be seen as the only non-negotiable in the team context, and that they achieved.
It's all over in Cape Town as the Boks seal a hard-fought win. Thanks for a tough contest @Wallabies and safe travels home 🤝#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvAUS pic.twitter.com/jY5uVBSNSz
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 23, 2025
But there was an equal measure of things to be concerned about and things the Boks did well that will weigh on the minds of Bok fans as the next assignment is the repeat of the 2023 World Cup final when they face the old enemy in New Zealand in Auckland on 6 September.
This was meant to be a backlash - or Boklash - and fans were waiting for such. What they received was a disjointed win built more on guts and desperation than a team that wanted to post a statement.
Eddie Jones said this week he believed the Boks are a team in transition.
In Cape Town on Saturday they looked like a team that is caught between two worlds.
Their World Cup winners are not firing as they should, while their youngsters are not quite as dominant as they need them to be.
VULNERABLE BOKS
These two tests against the Wallabies tell a tale of a Springbok team that is very vulnerable. One whose defence is brittle and whose game management is questionable.
But the Boks didn't become a bad team overnight. Instead there are cracks showing that should concern Rassie Erasmus and co.
Last weekend the Boks could say they overplayed and the Wallabies scored off their mistakes.
After last weekend's loss, they lost captain Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit, along with wingers Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe.
On Thursday they lost Willie le Roux and before kickoff Jean-Luc du Preez. This wasn't a smooth sailing build-up, and it showed.
This weekend they were more clinical, more to type, and relied on the boot of Handre Pollard to keep them ahead of the Wallabies.
But the same chinks came to the fore. This Wallabies side is a lot better than people give them credit for, and have some blistering attackers.
But the ease with which they unlocked the Bok defence at times is certainly a massive cause for concern.
The All Blacks will provide a much tougher challenge for them and will see the Boks as vulnerable.
South Africa have much work to do before the Auckland test
Perhaps it is a mixture of things. Many of the Bok team looked like they were a bit underdone in these past two weeks.
Apart from the opening 18 minutes in Johannesburg, they have struggled to get dominance.
The consistent shuffling of the team caught up to them last week, but it is something that Erasmus must persist with if they are to get it right in 2027.
BOKS BOTH MONSTER AND HERO
On Saturday though, they were both Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, both the monster and the hero.
Both the World Champion and the vulnerable Springbok. That shifting of masks is something Bok fans have forgotten since their domination over the past two World Cup cycles.
The conditions may not have been great in Cape Town. A week of rain soaked the pitch and made handling difficult. Yet the Boks were hardly dominant up front either.
That came in patches, as they found moments to shine and moments to worry.
This week Australia’s execution wasn’t as clinical as it was on the highveld. The Boks won the aerial battle, but they slipped 30 tackles in the game and were on tenterhooks right until the end.
James O’Connor missed two late crucial kicks that could have made it a difficult evening, and if he had got them over, the Boks would have sweated more in the final minutes.
And yet, they got themselves over the line, partly due to experience, partly due to desperation.
Another loss would have been a catastrophe. But the victory wasn’t as sweet as it should have been.
WALLABIES GOT AWAY WITH A LOT
They can be excused for one part. Referee James Doleman did allow Australia a nightmarishly amount of leeway at the breakdowns, allowing players to roll in the halfback's way time and again.
Neck rolls weren’t penalised and the Wallabies disrupted the ball almost at will.
Perhaps that is the Super Rugby lenience that we hear about a lot of the time, but the Boks didn’t adapt well either.
Frustration at times saw arms flutter, but at least tempers didn’t boil over.
Pollard won the man of the match, and rightly so. There was a clear intent to kick the leather off the ball on the night.
Where the Boks kicked 19 times last weekend, there were 35 kicks this weekend with Cheslin Kolbe ruling the air whenever he got the chance.
Pollard’s kicks at goal were the difference though. Two early penalties got the Boks off to a good start, and throughout the game, whenever they needed that nudge, the banker was there to cash in.
The 6-0 lead was a good reward for early dominance, but the shock soon came. A free kick for an early engagement at the scrum and Nick White stabbed the ball through for Corey Toole to lap up an easy pounce in the in-goal.
As good as the Boks were early, the sucker punch caught them again.
GOOD BOUNCE FOR MOODIE’S TRY
They regained the lead within three minutes, with White being caught by Kwagga Smith in his own 22-metre area, and the ball turned over.
Pollard, as cool as ice, sent through a risky cross kick that bounced in Toole’s path, but missed him and sat up for Canan Moodie to dot down with ease.
Kwagga's tackle forces the turnover, Canan finishes 👍#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvAUS pic.twitter.com/IAbbiE5WVn
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 23, 2025
Battering the line in the 34th minute, the ball swung to Kwagga Smith, who bounced off Nick Frost and Len Ikitau to take both over the line and extend the Boks’ lead to 20-7 at the break.
Kwagga under the poles 😤🙌
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 23, 2025
Watch the match live on SuperSport in either English, Afrikaans or isiXhosa 🎙️
📺 Stream #TRC2025 on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/cMhCi7mRzm
Smith goes over ⚡#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvAUS pic.twitter.com/JterV4SgQy
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 23, 2025
Australia won a penalty on halftime to make it 20-10 and then early in the second half got reward from another kick behind - this time as Moodie misjudged the bounce and Max Jorgensen pounced.
At 20-17 it was a nervous time indeed.
Pollard added a penalty and the Boks had the upper hand, but handling mistakes time and again stopped their momentum, and every time the Wallabies attacked they looked dangerous.
Brandon Paenga-Amosa went over from close range to make it 23-22, but O’Connor’s conversion miss was greeted with a sigh of relief from the Boks as they kept a slim lead.
They finally got the breathing space they needed when Eben Etzebeth found the whitewash from very close range in the 73rd minute.
Eben Etzebeth off the bench is a different beast 😤💥
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 23, 2025
📺 Stream #TRC2025 on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/MPhxaxnMsX
NOT IN CONTROL
But they still weren’t in control. O’Connor missed a penalty shortly afterwards and the Boks needed a turnover in their own 22 to make sure of the game.
They held out to get the W they needed, but will be the first to admit it was a grind and not at all the backlash they wanted.
And they will know New Zealand loom large with some cracks in the Bok armour showing.
Australia, by every measure, came out of these two tests as the more satisfied team.
The Boks now have a fortnight to get themselves a lot better before the Eden Park cauldron awaits.
Whether this was a speedbump or a real cause for concern waits to be determined.