CAPE TOWN, 13 July 2003 - South Africa resisted a late fightback by Australia to clinch a morale-boosting 26-22 victory in the opening Tri-nations match yesterday.
Flyhalf Louis Koen kicked six out of seven attempts at goal for a personal haul of 16 points to keep the hosts in front, despite being outscored by three tries to two.
The Wallabies crossed twice in the second half through flanker Phil Waugh and winger Joe Roff, closing a 10-point interval deficit to three points at one stage.
But two long-range penalties from Koen were enough to preserve the lead established by tries from replacement fullback Brent Russell and lock Victor Matfield in the opening period.
The Springboks were unrecognizable from the side that labored to victories over Scotland (twice) and Argentina last month.
They fell behind to a Matt Burke drop goal in the third minute but took the lead through Russell’s try in the sixth minute and only surrendered it for a three-minute period in the rest of the match.
Russell was South Africa’s inspiration after replacing the injured Jaco van der Westhuyzen in the third minute, immediately using his acceleration to get outside Roff and score the first try from close range.
After the Wallabies hit back through winger Wendell Sailor, who burst two tackles from 15 meters following an inside pass from center Mat Rogers, Russell created a brilliant second.
He collected an infield kick from Sailor on the Springbok 22 and burst to halfway before taking another pass and releasing lock Victor Matfield to touch down.
Springbok centre De Wet Barry was yellow-carded for killing the ball at a ruck under his own posts eight minutes into he second half and the Wallabies immediately took advantage when Waugh emerged from the bottom of the maul to score.
That closed the gap to three points, but two Koen penalties in quick succession from 40 and 48 metres re-established the Springboks’ cushion.
Roff scored the Wallabies’ third try on the hour when the extra man was created on his left wing from a blindside move, but Burke missed the touchline line conversion that would have left his side needing only a penalty to win.
The Springboks came closest to scoring in the final quarter when Barr was bundled out over a corner flag, but they held out to take four Tri-Nations points. The Wallabies claimed one point for losing by fewer than seven.
