As though he owns the uprights, Handré Pollard frowns at them. A merciless victor like him would be beneficial to Australia
To claim that Pollard was the only reason South Africa won this slugfest would be oversimplified. He did, however, kick all six of his attempts at goal.
Handré Pollard does more than just indicate the poles. With a continuous frown, the South African metronome thrusts a beefy finger at the uprights as though he owned them. He snarls, "You're mine," promising that his swinging right boot will send an oval ball spiraling through them in a matter of seconds.
Pollard, the sole fly-half to be present at the final whistle of two successful World Cup campaigns, is the epitome of a Test match beast, if there is such a thing. Additionally, test matches are won by animals. What happens over the course of eighty minutes is essentially irrelevant. The outcome is all that matters.
To argue that Pollard's right boot was the only reason South Africa won a 30–22 arm wrestle would be oversimplified. The Springboks were able to hold onto the ball for prolonged periods of time after correcting their carelessness at the breakdown from the previous game. By keeping things tight and ensuring that ball carriers were never stranded for an extended period of time past the breach, they won the battle for the sky and lessened the impact of Australia's wandering loose forwards.
Is O’Connor to blame? Of course not, though there is a sense that for all the improvements under Joe Schmidt the one missing ingredient is found not on the training pitch but between the ears of some senior players.
Australian rugby could do with some Test match animals in their ranks. Even a smattering would do. They claimed famous victories over the Lions last month and the Springboks last week but still don’t have a trophy to show for their efforts. And until something changes, nothing really will.
Which would be a shame because on a soggy pitch in Cape Town, where handling the ball and moving it at speed required incredible skill and accuracy, the Wallabies were brilliant in patches. As they were in Johannesburg ,they were blistering from broken play. It was the quick thinking of Nic White who kicked in behind for the flying Corey Toole to score on debut and even after Tom Wright left the field with a serious knee injury, the men in gold posed a threat from deep.
Not that it was that sort of the game. Rassie Erasmus was never going to let things fracture like they did at Ellis Park so Pollard kicked his points and the Boks pack powered around the fringe with short carries and busting clear-outs. A chalked-off try for Fraser McReight would have been reward for the Wallabies’ toil, but the 20-10 deficit at half-time was a fair reflection of the contest.
Australia then matched their hosts at their own game. The returning Rob Valetini wasn’t at his best but was more than good enough, steamrolling over tacklers, carrying men in green on his shoulders. Tate McDermott, on for White who failed his head injury assessment after being rag-dolled by Kwagga Smith, kept it simple. Short passes found willing runners who charged into the guts of the South African defence. Even Len Ikitau was running into the maw. If the Boks wanted to go to the gutter, as their hooker Bongi Mbonambi once called the close quarters, the Wallabies would gladly follow.
Wallabies rugby used to mean razzle-dazzle and show stopping highlights. It still does, but now it means something else as well. Max Jorgensen scored from a cross-field kick after solid work at the scrum. But with Pollard keeping the scoreboard ticking off the tee, the Wallabies were held at arm’s length.
They had a chance to take the lead with just over 10 minutes to play to confirm their status as comeback kings. But O’Connor missed the gettable conversion after Paenga-Amosa’s rumbling score and soon after Eben Etzebeth reached out to dot down. Pollard’s boot stretched the lead to eight, forcing Australia to score twice if they wanted to claim back-to-back wins over the Springboks for the first time since 2015.
It was not meant to be. Not because Australia lacks the courage to speak up. Not because they lack a set of half-backs or a midfield that can open doors. Not because their flyers aren't widely distributed. Not even because they lack a bench that can raise the stakes. Those worries have been allayed. Australian rugby has returned. That much is obvious.
South Africa has a Test match beast that can manipulate games with the mere act of kicking a ball between two poles, which is why Australia lost this slugfest. The trophies will appear sooner if the Wallabies find one of their own first.
