The Wallabies took on the so called Springbok “B” team this weekend in Sydney. With all the press talk that the South African team was a second string selection many people where expecting a very one sided affair. However this was not to be.

The first 8 mins saw the Springboks race ahead with 2 tries. Wikus van Heerden went over the line to give South Africa their first try while the second came from Breyton Paulse who ran in a 60m intercept. A major upset seemed to be on the cards for the home team at the hands of the young Springboks. Ruan Pienaar was placing great up and under kicks for his team mates to chase down however this was all that the Springbok back line could come up with and the one dimensional attack started to be exposed after the first 20 mins. The Wallabies went up a gear and managed to close the gap by putting up 10 points before the half time making it 10-17 to the Boks.

Gregan and Larkham who were both playing their final international test on home soil kept their heads and orchestrated a Wallabie come back. “You can’t buy experience” was a comment used by Jake White about Tuqiri earlier on in the week. This was to be obvious as the Australian’s dominated the possession and territory while the Springboks defended with great tackling and good old fashioned guts. The Wallabies took their score to 25-17. Thanks to tries by Gerrard, Hoiles and Giteau.

The South African skipper Bobby Skinstad sustained an injury to his ribs and will not be playing against the All Blacks next week. This means that the South African team will have to resort to a 4th captain. Most importantly from my side I think that this Springbok team deserves respect and has let their playing on the field talk for them.