Wallabies secure dramatic 24-22 victory in chaotic final against England in Rugby World Cup quarterfinal
Australia defeated South Africa 42-38 in a Rugby Championship match in Perth on Saturday, securing a victory that new coach Les Kiss described as the kind of test his unbeaten side had been seeking one year before the…
Source: Guardian Sport · September 27, 2026 at 10:32 PM · AI-assisted report
Single-source
PERTH, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 —
Australia defeated South Africa 42-38 in a Rugby Championship match in Perth on Saturday, securing a victory that new coach Les Kiss described as the kind of test his unbeaten side had been seeking one year before the men’s World Cup begins at the same venue.
Market Impact
The Wallabies led 42-17 midway through the second half before a rapid succession of four yellow cards reduced them to 11 players for a decisive four-minute period. South Africa scored two converted tries to narrow the margin to 42-31, but Australia’s remaining players held on through a final two-and-a-half minutes that included a referee’s radio malfunction, a turnover by fullback Tom Wright, and a match-ending obstruction penalty against the visitors.
The match turned at 76 minutes and 16 seconds with the Springboks on attack 35 metres out. Australia’s backline, operating with a loose chain of four covering the width of the field, saw utility back Harry Potter drawn into a tackle by hooker Malcolm Marx.
The visitors moved the ball left to winger Ethan Hooker, who was brought down five metres short by a scrambling defence that had committed six players to the breakdown in the corner.
South Africa shifted right immediately. Flanker Tom Hooper, Australia’s widest defender on that side, found himself inside the near goalpost with three Springboks unmarked outside him. Hooper clutched at centre Canan Moodie, slowing the surge, but the visitors retained numerical advantage. A try would have given South Africa two minutes to find a winner.
Wright, last seen defending the opposite corner, covered half the field in seconds. His presence alongside Hooper compelled Marx to charge forward rather than pass to two unmarked teammates. Hooper slowed Marx again. When replacement scrum-half Morne van den Berg stepped from the ruck instead of using four runners to his right, Hooper dived to dislodge the ball and Wright’s toe diverted it out to the 45-metre line.
The Australian chase numbered two. Van den Berg found winger Edwill van der Merwe down the blindside, but his chip kick drifted too close to touch and a fortunate bounce handed Australia a lineout at 77 minutes 28 seconds — 72 seconds after the sequence began. Two Wallabies rested hands on knees, watching the big screen show two-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Referee Andrea Piardi, who had spent much of the second half communicating with the television match official via iPhone after his radio failed, urged the players to proceed. From the throw, the ball slipped through jumper Lachlan Shaw’s hands. Australia recovered but lost possession 20 seconds later when prop Ox Nché feigned a tackle on Taniela Tupou, the 140-kilogram prop known as Tongan Thor, causing him to tumble forward without support.
Marx and Van den Berg secured the turnover and Nché burrowed over for the try that made it 42-38.
The Wallabies’ previous outing in Argentina had ended in a 28-28 draw after they failed to break the deadlock in the final 10 minutes against 13 men. In Perth, they became the hunted side, their numbers restored to 13 when Harry Wilson and Ryan Lonergan returned from the sin bin.
Together, the 13 Australians survived the final minutes, the contest ending when a disjointed and visibly tired South Africa — three months into a touring campaign — conceded an obstruction penalty.
The victory extends Australia’s unbeaten run to four matches under Kiss, who took charge this year. It represents the first win over a traditional rugby power of his tenure and arrives exactly one year before the World Cup opens at the same stadium before 50,000 spectators. Australian rugby has cooled in popularity over recent decades, but the governing body views a home World Cup as a moment for the code’s revival.
South Africa, the reigning world champions, had dominated much of the second half territory and possession but could not convert their numerical advantage during the yellow-card period into a winning score. The Springboks’ bench, featuring Van den Berg and Van der Merwe, injected pace but also contributed to the disjointed finish that yielded the decisive penalty.
For Australia, the match provided a stress test that previous fixtures against Wales, Georgia and Argentina had not. The Wallabies’ ability to defend with 11 men for four minutes against the sport’s benchmark side, then close out the game with 13, offers tangible evidence of resilience ahead of a World Cup cycle that will be defined by such moments.
Related: Les Kiss · Perth