Australia beat South Africa 23-17 in the Rugby Championship
Last Updated: 10/09/16 1:43pm
Australia won their first Test match of 2016 with a hard-fought 23-17 win over South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday.
Tries from Warren Whiteley and Johan Goosen gave South Africa a healthy lead, however Australia fought back through the boot of Bernard Foley and an Adam Coleman meant they went into the break 13-14 down.
Foley continued to star in the second half as he added another penalty and then converted his own try to give Australia the lead for the first time.
South Africa fought back with a Morne Steyn try but could not make the most of their chances and Australia held on for their first win in six Test matches.
Heavy rain earlier in the day made for slippery conditions at Lang Park but South Africa, looking to make amends for a loss to Argentina in their last game, made a more than sure-footed start.
Whiteley crashed over from close range to give them a third-minute reward for their early pressure and Goosen's converted score put them 14-3 up after 18 minutes.
The second try originated in Australia's first really promising attack of the match with Strauss desperately snatching Foley's pass out of the air and fly-half Elton Jantjies kicking through to leave Goosen with the simplest of scores.
Australia, looking solid in the set piece and fluent in attack, gradually worked their way back into the match and scrum-half Will Genia's lofted pass put Coleman in to score in the corner in the 27th minute.
Foley added his second penalty five minutes before halftime and his third, which came when Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth was sin-binned for killing the ball, just after the break gave the home side the lead for the first time at 16-14.
Australia centre Samu Kerevi crossed over the line four minutes later, only for the try to be ruled out by referee Nigel Owens for foot in touch and the match remained finely poised when Etzebeth returned from the sidelines.
The Wallabies continued to press, however, and one sustained 18-phase attack culminated in Foley cutting through the defensive line to roll over the line and score under the posts.
Replacement fly-half Steyn kicked a penalty to cut Australia's lead to six points with 15 minutes remaining but, despite a few nervous moments, the Wallabies held on to claim a morale-boosting victory.
"It's been a tough period but we're really proud to come out and get a win tonight," said a relieved Australia captain Stephen Moore in a touchline interview.
"It's always a tough game against the Springboks and they played really well so we're happy with a first win after so many losses."
Australia's first four points of the campaign were not enough to lift them off the bottom of the standings, which New Zealand (15 points) lead from South Africa (6) and Argentina (5) after three wins in their first three matches.
