Erasmus praises 'technically sharp' Wallabies after Springboks squander 25-point lead in Perth

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus offered a generous assessment of the Wallabies following a dramatic 42-38 defeat in Perth, acknowledging that Les Kiss’s side posed exactly the kind of breakdown threat the Springboks had feared — even as his team came agonisingly close to completing one of rugby’s great comebacks.

Australia led by 25 points with fewer than 15 minutes remaining, but four yellow cards left the Wallabies down to 11 men and opened the door for a frantic South African rally. Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Lood de Jager were all introduced from the bench in the 47th minute, and tries from Morne van den Berg and Nche, plus a penalty try, made it a one-score game before the Wallabies ultimately held on.

The Springboks had made 13 changes from the side that defeated the All Blacks in Baltimore earlier this month, yet still fielded a team containing 10 Rugby World Cup winners and more than 340 Test caps of experience among their replacements. Despite the personnel overhaul, Erasmus was candid about where Australia caused the most damage.

“They are great, detailed guys,” Erasmus said. “With Les being at Ulster, I know the Irish system — it’s technical, and I’ve coached at Munster. The small details they get right: the lineouts, they don’t make a mistake there. They always fill the field on defence; there’s numbers on their feet.”

“The threat where we thought they would be really great was the breakdown. I thought we nullified that in a big way, but they’re a really technically sharp coached team. We normally find it difficult against a team that don’t miss their roles at the breakdown. They’re difficult to play.”

Wallabies captain Harry Wilson and winger Max Jorgensen both crossed in the second half to help build that commanding lead, and Kiss’s unbeaten record in the head coaching role now reads four wins and one draw — following earlier victories over Japan and a historic series win in Argentina.

Erasmus, reflecting on the nature of the defeat, acknowledged the fine line between a learning experience and a cliché. “I know us as African supporters — if I want to say now we’re learning a lot while we’re losing, they’ll be upset,” he said. “If we pull this through, I’ll sit here and say, ‘We learned a lot about our players again tonight, about tight situations.’ If I say it when we lose, it’s a cliché. But the matter of fact is Australia is a good team.”

With Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 set to be hosted in Australia, Erasmus also hinted at the prospect of a potential World Cup playoff meeting between the two sides, adding further intrigue to what is shaping up as a compelling rivalry heading into the tournament.