The Boks scored five tries on their way to a resounding 33-7 win over Australia in Brisbane. This article is free to read.Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.Unlike our competitors, we don't force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.Create your free account or sign in FAQ | Contact Us Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us: You want to receive First Thing, our flagship daily newsletter. Opt out at any time. Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you've forgotten A code has been sent to .... Please check your email and enter your one-time pin below: Didn't get the code? Resend email Use your password instead? Enter password Open in Gmail Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.
Listen to this article 8 min Listen to this article 8 min Not even losing two key players before kickoff, and three yellow cards in the match, could derail a good, at times even excellent, Springbok performance in Brisbane, as they thrashed the Wallabies 33-7 at Lang Park.
Lock RG Snyman had been under an unspecified "injury niggle" despite being named in the squad. Coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed that Ruan Nortje was on standby to start.
By Friday, it emerged that Snyman would not make the team and Nortje was elevated to the starting lineup, only to suffer injury in the captain's run.
With lock stocks dwindling, Pieter-Steph du Toit was asked to start at No 5, with Salmaan Moerat coming on to the bench and Ben-Jason Dixon starting at blindside flank.
The disruptions made no noticeable negative impact. The Bok scrum smashed the hapless Wallaby eight and the rejigged lineout still produced some smart variations that led to the opening try of the match for Siya Kolisi. The value of a larger 45-man squad was plain to see.
In all, the Boks scored five tries and equalled their biggest winning margin -- 26 points -- in Brisbane, matching the...