South Africa finished last in the Tri Nations, lost the Mandela Shield, lost the Freedom Cup, lost to Australia on the highveld for the first time in 47 years, conceded the most tries by any team in the history of the Tri Nations and dropped to 3rd in the IRB world rankings after another disastrous game in what has been a disgraceful Trinations series.

The response from the coaches – BLAME IT ON THE PLAYERS!! Peter de Villiers: “I think we showed character to come back. Our structures are in place and they can take us to the World Cup if executed properly. If we execute our plans perfectly, it will be very difficult to score against us. We needed to show more character on defence, like we did in Soweto and last week at Loftus.”

Springboks 39 (13)
Tries: Jaque Fourie, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jean de Villiers
Conversions: Morne Steyn (3)
Penalties: Morne Steyn (6)

Wallabies 41 (31)
Tries: Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor, Stephen Moore, Rocky Elsom, Drew Mitchell
Conversions: Matt Giteau (4), James O’Connor
Penalties: Matt Giteau, Kurtley Beale

MOTM: Gurthro Steenkamp

Match details
Date: Saturday 4 September 2010
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:00 (14:00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (Eng)
Assistant referees: N Owens (Wal), S McDowell (Ire)
TMO: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

South Africa

Replacements:
16 Chiliboy Ralepelle | 17 CJ van der Linde | 18 Flip van der Merwe | 19 Ryan Kankowski | 20 Ricky Januarie | 21 Juan de Jongh | 22 Gio Aplon

15 Francois Steyn
11 Bryan Habana | 14 JP Pietersen
12 Jean de Villiers | 13 Jaque Fourie
9 Francois Hougaard | 10 Morne Steyn
6 Schalk Burger | 8 Pierre Spies | 7 Juan Smith
4 Danie Rossouw | 5 Victor Matfield
1 Gurthro Steenkamp | 2 John Smit | 3 Jannie du Plessis

3 Salesi Ma’afu | 2 Stephen Moore | 1 Benn Robinson
4 Mark Chisholm | 5 Nathan Sharpe
6 Rocky Elsom | 8 Ben McCalman | 7 David Pocock
9 Will Genia | 10 Quade Cooper
12 Matt Giteau | 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper
11 Drew Mitchell | 14 James O’Connor
15 Kurtley Beale

Replacements
16 Saia Fainga’a | 17 James Slipper | 18 Dean Mumm | 19 Richard Brown | 20 Luke Burgess | 21 Berrick Barnes | 22 Anthony Fainga’a

Australia

­Much has been written about South Africa’s fall from grace in recent weeks. They have gone from a team that could do no wrong to a team that just can’t get it right. In particular, the South African media is falling over itself about the sudden plummet. While one can certainly see a big difference between last years Tri-­Nations and this year’s, the suggestion that the difference is only the law application is wrong minded.
READ MORE

Player ratings
Good Boks: Francois Hougaard, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie
Bad Boks: Bryan Habana, John Smit

Match Stats

44 – Springboks v Wallabies – 31
45% – Possession – 55%
4 – Turnovers conceded – 6
8 – Penalties conceded – 6
2 – Free kicks conceded – 1
79 – Tackles made – 59
21 – Tackles missed – 17
7 – Handling errors – 13

MOTM: Francois Hougaard

Springboks 44 (24)
Tries: Juan Smith, Guthro Steenkamp, Pierre Spies, Frans Steyn, JP Pietersen
Conversions: Morne Steyn (4), Butch James
Penalties: Morne Steyn, Frans Steyn

Wallabies 31 (28)
Tries: Will Genia, James O’Connor (2), Dean Mumm
Conversions: Matt Giteau (4)
Penalty: Matt Giteau

Victor Matfield

Victor Matfield
Birth: 11 May 1977, Pietersburg RSA
Height: 200cm
Weight: 115kg
Position: Lock
Provinces: Blue Bulls (1998, 2001 to present), Griquas (1999, 2000)
Primary school: Pietersburg-North
Secondary school: Pietersburg High
Tertiary education: University of Pretoria

Test stats
Springbok number: 705
Tests: 99
Results: P 99 | W 62 | L 35 | D 2
Points: 30 (6 tries)
Captain: 11 Tests (7 wins)
Tests started: 95 (4 as replacement)
First Test: 30 June 2001 (age 24) v Italy (Port Elizabeth)
Last Test: 21 August 2010 (age 33) v New Zealand (Soweto)

Honours
SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
Try of the Year (2004) (v Australia in Durban)
Most-capped Springbok lock
World record with Bakkies Botha for most Tests as a lock combination in the starting line-up (56)

How Matfield revolutionised the game [Rugby365]
Victor Matfield, who on Saturday will become just the third South African to play in 100 Tests, stands head and shoulders above others – and it has nothing to do with his height.

Bok ace coaches Wallaby kickers [Rugby365]
Australia will have a Springbok ace up their sleeve when they tackle South Africa in their Tri-Nations Test in Pretoria on Saturday.

Why Pocock rates Burger as a fetcher [Rugby365]
Schalk Burger is a ‘world-class’ fetcher, and highly rated by the Australians, even though he is regarded as just another ‘brute basher’ in his own country.

Vultures circle over Habana [Sport24]
Will Bryan Habana be back to his best on his favourite hunting ground against one of his regular victims on Saturday?

Matfield deserves big welcome [IOL]
Springbok captain John Smit has made a passionate plea to fans and the people of Pretoria to jam-pack Loftus Versfeld for Saturday’s Tri-Nations encounter between the Boks and Australia to honour rugby great Victor Matfield.

Steyn not ready for test [Rugby365]
Francois Steyn, who has been called up for South Africa’s Tri-Nations match against Australia, is “not ready” for Test rugby.

A question of intensity for Boks [SuperSport]
John Smit believes the key to his Springbok team’s chances of beating Australia in their fifth Vodacom Tri-Nations encounter at Loftus on Saturday will be the level of intensity they can bring to the game — and he is 100% on the money.

Div sings different tune [SuperSport]
Wallaby flank David Pocock is commanding respect from Peter de Villiers … and the Springbok coach is singing a different tune about Irish referee Alain Rolland.

Match details

Date: Saturday, August 28
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Teamsheets

Springboks – 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Subs: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Wallabies – 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Saia Faainga, 1 Benn Robinson.
Subs: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Ben McCalman, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Faainga.