Les Kiss reacts to ‘bizarre’ finish as Wallabies hold off Springboks

Wallabies coach Les Kiss has never seen anything like the “bizarre” final 15 minutes against the Springboks in Perth, as the hosts went down to 11 men before holding on for a nail-biting 42-38 win.

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus made 13 changes to the starting side that faced the All Blacks in Baltimore, but it was still a team that included 10 Rugby World Cup winners in the 23 and featured more than 340 Test caps of experience on the bench.

Harry Wilson and Max Jorgensen scored a try each in the second half, as the Wallabies raced out to a 42-17 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining. But then the match took a turn, with the Wallabies going down to 13 after yellow cards to Wilson and Ryan Lonergan.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was shown the team’s third yellow card a minute later, and then Hunter Paisami was pinned late in the piece. The Boks had fought their way back, making it an 11-point ballgame with time still left on the clock.

Ox Nche crashed over for a crucial score inside the final minute, but the Wallabies managed to do enough off the restart to secure the result. It’s seen the Wallabies extend their unbeaten run under coach Kiss to five, which included a draw away to Los Pumas.

“It was bizarre for sure… there was a real calmness in the coaching box for the majority of it,” Kiss said post-game.

“The boys found a way. The pleasing thing for me was that the group out there on the pitch that were there, down to low numbers that we were, there was a nice calmness, building a bit of clarity and focus about what they had to do next.

“Hearing that back and seeing how they looked and felt in those tough moments, that’s incredibly pleasing.

“I know that’s a big part of this story, I know it’s a big part of what we saw but there’s a lot to talk about in that first 60 as well that we will continue to look at and grow from. I thought the boys did fantastically well for 60.”

The Wallabies were dealt a tough injury blow before the first whistle, with lineout caller Josh Canham ruled out of the match due to a minor hamstring injury. That prompted a bit of a reshuffle to the pack, with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto coming into the run-on side.

Jeremy Williams stepped up at the set-piece, even claiming a steal on the Springboks’ throw early in the second half, as the Wallabies built up a lead. Backrowers Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight and Wilson all made their mark before the reinforcements were called upon.

The Springboks brought on their bench early, while the Wallabies turned to seven substitutes between half-time and the 68^th minute. Tate McDermott was the only replacement who didn’t get on the field, with Lonergan playing the full match aside from the yellow card.

“We’ve got such a strong squad, strong connection, and the way the boys stepped up there was awesome,” Wilson told reporters.

“I think back to the start of the year against Ireland, against France, we had a really good first 40 and then we got dominated in the second half. The boys, we spoke about that and we knew we had to step up.

“To beat the Springboks, we had to play well for 80 minutes… gee whiz the boys scrapped.”