Overview
- Australia beat South Africa 42-38 in Perth, with the Wallabies leading 42-17 before a late Springbok surge narrowed the gap but ran out of time on Sunday.
- Coach Rassie Erasmus admitted he had “rolled the dice” by making 13 changes to his starting XV and said the side had nobody to blame but themselves for an error‑strewn performance.
- A run of four yellow cards for Australia between the 69th and 76th minutes reduced the Wallabies to 11 players and allowed South Africa to score 21 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes.
- André Esterhuizen captained the Springboks for the first time and avoided questions about a resurfaced 2012 schoolboy allegation after team media management refused to let reporters raise the matter before the match.
- South African commentators judged the scoreline to flatter the Boks and warned the defeat exposes limits to interchangeability in Erasmus’s squad while Australia’s win boosts confidence as hosts for the 2027 World Cup.