Habana hat-trick in Boks romp

Australia's Radike Samo is tackled by Francois Hougaard

Bryan Habana: Crossed for a hat-trick of tries for South Africa

South Africa bounced back from consecutive defeats on the road with a comprehensive 31-8 Rugby Championship victory over Australia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Habana took his Test tries tally against Australia to nine, overtaking the previous record of seven by winger Breyton Paulse, as the Springboks benefited from an open, attacking game plan in perfect conditions at one of their favorite grounds on the highveld.

By contrast, Australia have now not won in their last six visits to Loftus Versfeld.

The Springboks led 14-3 at the interval but the Wallabies were lucky not to be much further behind.

Two tight calls from the TMO meant the home side did not have the four-try bonus point by half time, but Heyneke Meyer's men secured a full house of points after the break as Bryan Habana bagged a hat-trick to add to earlier scores from Zane Kirchner and Francois Louw.

Mike Harris touched down in the last quarter for the Wallabies but the horse had already bolted.

While Boks fans will certainly sleep better after their side showed the most attacking prowess of the Meyer era so far, their enthusiasm should be held in check by the fact that this was not Australia's strongest team by any stretch of the imagination.

Indeed, Robbie Deans' squad looks to have been even further depleted by injuries as they head to Argentina after Adam Ashley-Cooper was taken from the field on a stretcher.