The Wallabies beat the Springboks 41-39 in Bloemfontein in what was another frenetic Tri Nations game. A courageous comeback from the home side came to none as Kurtley Beale snatched the win with the final kick of the match.
In a repeat of last weeks match, the Wallabies got off to a flyer as they racked up the points and broke the fragile Bok defence with ease. Four tries in the space of 17 minutes got them up to a 31-6 lead.
Shortly before half time the Springboks hit back though with a great piece of play from lock Victor Matfield, who chipped the fullback, regathered, and popped the ball to Jaque Fourie for the try.
The home side then went on to continue their comeback as they miraculously got the score up to 36-31 with 11 minutes left in the match. Wallaby replacement hooker Saia Faingaa was then yellow-carded for a spear tackle, handing the advantage to South Africa.
It turned out to be a frantic finish though as the lead changed hands three times, before fullback Beale stepped up and slotted the winning kick from over 50 meters out, with his first attempt of the night. If you were sports betting and went for that to happen, you’d have done nicely.
In the end it seemed the right result, considering the pasting the Springbok defence took in the first half, but they will be disappointed to not come away with the win after such a spirited fightback.
Australia travel to Sydney next, where they will face New Zealand, already title holders, in the final match of the tournament next week.
View the winning Kurtley Beale winning kick
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