The Wallabies led 42-17 before four late yellow cards left them with 11 players. South Africa scored through Johan Grobbelaar, Edwill van der Merwe, a penalty try, Morné van den Berg and Ox Nche, but ran out of time. Len Ikitau scored twice for Australia. Ben Donaldson, Harry Wilson and Max Jorgensen also crossed. Ryan Lonergan kicked 17 points. Les Kiss remains unbeaten as Wallabies coach.
Jameson wrote that 13 changes meant the Boks were testing a system, not fielding their first-choice whole. “Depth gives you options, but it doesn’t guarantee execution.” He said the Wallabies were the right opponents: a first-choice side high on confidence after beating Argentina.
On the field he criticised a less dominant front row, the gap between Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and van den Berg at scrum-half, and the idea that Paul de Villiers can replace Siya Kolisi. He said Handré Pollard faded after a strong pass for van der Merwe’s try and that errors from Aphelele Fassi drew more heat than missed lineouts.
Jameson also said management mishandled the naming of André Esterhuizen as captain, given historic disciplinary findings from the player’s teenage years, and that SA Rugby should have addressed questions openly. Erasmus later said: “We have nobody else to blame but ourselves for the result.”
Jasper Wiese, winning his 50th cap from the bench, said the squad would take more from a loss than a comfortable win. Australia reclaimed the Mandela Challenge Plate. South Africa remain world number one, but Jameson’s conclusion was blunt: the whole was not greater than the parts, and the Boks deserved to lose.