Wallabies demolish inexperienced Springboks by 39-20 in Tri-Nations opener - Rugby News
Wallabies clinched their first victory in the opening match of the Tri-Nations Cup by defeating the Springboks by 39-20, on July 23 in Sydney. Wallabies scored five tries in the match and outclassed the South Africans in every aspect of the game.
The jam-packed ANZ Stadium in Sydney was restless to hear the starting whistle as the two best sides of the world were facing each other for the first time this year. Partly cloudy weather created a fascinating atmosphere for the thriller.
Robbie Deans, the Wallabies coach, took no risk for this particular match and made huge changes in the starting lines from their last match against Samoa. James O’Connor and David Pocock made their come back into the Australian side after recovering from
various injuries.
Meanwhile, the South African side had entered the ground with a comparatively inexperienced team because of large injuries to their senior campaigners. Morne Steyn got the game underway for the Springboks with a long hit into the Wallabies half which was
cleared by Quade Cooper.
Australia showed early aggression against the inexperienced South Africans and Ben Alexander recorded the first try of the Tri-Nations Cup 2011, with just the seventh minute of the game in progress. James O’Connor made it 7-0 on the conversion shot and put
the Wallabies under immense pressure.
It was Will Genia who extended Wallabies lead to 12-0 beating the Springboks wings from the five meter lines. The second successive conversion kick was given to O’Connor who missed the target by a narrow distance. Steyn Morne scored on a couple of tries
for Springboks before the break and reduced the deficit to 6-15. The later part of the first-half was quite sluggish for both sides and most of the time was spent on scrums.
Australia got further ahead of the Springboks right after the break. This time, O’Connor crossed the try line with an excellent hand and eye contact with Will Genia. The first 20 minutes of the second-half had repeated occasions to cheer for Wallabies supporters.
The Australians scored four tries in no time and got a handsome lead of 39-6 in 56th minute.
Chiliboy Ralepelle scored the first try for South Africa but it was too late for them by this time. Their skipper Kohn Smit also came into the action very late and scored second Springboks’ try in the match. However, the Springboks decreased the Wallabies
lead to 39-20 in the end.
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