The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-27 · by Peter FitzSimons
Story summary
On Sunday, September 27, Australia will host South Africa at Perth Stadium in a one-off rugby test. The Wallabies enter this match unbeaten in their last five Test matches with four wins and one draw but face a formidable opponent in the reigning world champions. Coach Les Kiss has made significant changes to the lineup by shifting star player Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii from his usual position to play on the left wing, allowing Len Ikitau to return to outside center for the first time since November 2024.
Meanwhile, South Africa's team features numerous alterations following their dominant series win over New Zealand. Only two players—lock Eben Etzebeth and winger Ethan Hooker—are retaining their starting positions from that series finale in Baltimore. The Springboks’ bench is packed with world-class talent capable of turning the tide of the match, including Jasper Wiese and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Despite these changes, South Africa's depth remains a significant advantage, particularly given the potential impact of their powerful reserve players who can disrupt fatigued opponents. The match promises to be an exciting contest between two strong teams with contrasting strategies and player dynamics. Perth, known for its large expatriate South African community, is expected to see another enthusiastic turnout at the stadium.
Written for “Rugby Test Between Australia And Sout…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
The hell with the match report, let’s just go straight to the exultation.
asserted
’s → let → exultation
This, friends, was a Test match for the ages, one for the Wallabies to put in a bottle and place on the very top shelf - one for us all to take down when the days grow cold and we grow old, to take out the cork and say: this, this was how good Australian rugby could be at its very best!
uncertain
rugby → put → best
And it wasn’t just the extraordinary result, a spanking 42-38 victory in Perth over the incumbent back-to-back world champion Springboks, the No.1 ranked team in the world for no less than 52 of the last 53 weeks.
asserted
it → rank → weeks
It was the manner in which they did it, the chutzpah, verve and swerve they showed for the first 68 minutes of the match to completely dominate in all aspects of play.
asserted
they → do → play
And then what took the breath away was how they managed to overcome the unprecedented challenges thrown at them in the last 10 minutes to win anyway, the resilience they displayed to triumph against all odds, just when they had every reason to lose.
asserted
they → take → reason
Let’s go back.
asserted
’s → let → ?
Going into this match, we of rugby could legitimately ask ourselves: on this extraordinary footballing weekend in Australia, just what could the Code-of-XV, deliver in the way of drama that could compare to what we had just seen in the other codes?
uncertain
we → go → codes
It was not going to be easy.
asserted
It → go → ?
After all, the Socceroos had just had a fabulous 1-1 draw with Brazil in Townsville – including a stupendous goal from Nestory Irankunda – and were unlucky not to get an outright victory over the perennial world champions, thwarted only by a Brazilian goal in the 95th minute.
asserted
Socceroos → have → minute
In the AFL, you had the Fremantle Dockers on the edge of their first-ever grand final victory - three goals up with four minutes to go, only for the Brisbane Lions to reel off four goals for a staggeringly dramatic result.
asserted
Lions → have → result
In the NRL preliminary final on Sunday, we saw the team of their generation, Penrith, beaten in a wonderfully open match by the working-class heroes of Newcastle, who were no less than wooden spooners last year!
asserted
who → see → spooners
Yup, the hard-as-steel men of the hard-as-steel city, came from nowhere, to pass Makybe Diva at the post!
asserted
men → come → post
So, seriously, what could rugby do against all that?
uncertain
rugby → do → that
How ’bout the Wallabies take on the best team in the world, and then completely dominate them in all facets of play?
asserted
Wallabies → take → play
How ’bout against the most feared pack in the world, our blokes more than hold their own to shove them about in the scrum, steal balls from their lineouts, and knock them over like-nine-pins in our own fearsome forward rushes, led by Fraser McReight and skipper Harry Wilson, with Jeremy Williams and Angus Bell riding shotgun.
asserted
Williams → hold → McReight
How ’bout in the backs - led by the masterful halfback Ryan Lonergan and the imperially imperious Len Ikitau in the centres – the smaller blokes in gold jerseys unleash havoc of their own, starting with two tries to the man they call “Flick-itau” in the first half.
asserted
they → lead → half
On the back of that performance, the Wallabies led 24-17 at the break, before a singularly strange thing happened in the second half.
asserted
thing → lead → half
We all knew that the much vaunted Bok bench – the “bomb squad” of brilliant players they’d kept in reserve - was going to come on and blow things up.
asserted
they → know → things
The expectation was that they would restore order and dominate.
asserted
they → restore → order
Instead, they were blown up!
asserted
they → blow → ?
The Wallabies continued to dominate all the same, in no small part due to the heroics of Max Jorgensen on one wing, and Joseph Aukuso Suaalii on the other.
asserted
Wallabies → continue → other
Suaalii demonstrated once more just how good he can be in the air, while getting through a mountain of work.
asserted
he → demonstrate → work
Jorgensen, too, constantly plucked the ball from the skies to cause the South Africans endless problems, including one runaway intercept try.
asserted
Jorgensen → pluck → try
On the strength of Lonergan kicking all but one conversion, the Wallabies were so dominant overall they had a 25-point lead, 42-17 with 12 minutes to go against – did I mention? - far and away the best team in the world!
asserted
I → kick → world
That would have been enough to write home to mother about.
asserted
That → write → mother
But we had seen nothing yet.
asserted
we → see → nothing
For after Harry Wilson, Ryan Lonergan, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Hunter Paisami were sin-binned in quick succession, it meant that for the better part of the final 12 minutes, the Wallabies were down to just 11 players.
asserted
Wallabies → bin → players
In unprecedented scenes, they had to try to hold back a green tide of 15 rampaging Boks that kept crashing on our shores with ever greater ferocity.
asserted
that → have → ferocity
Of course, with those mathematics the visitors couldn’t be completely stopped and the Boks did indeed score three tries in that period to make it 42-38.
But that last one?
Yeah, nah.
asserted
it → stop → one
The Wallabies had come too far, played too well and overcome too many challenges to succumb and refused to cede.
asserted
Wallabies → come → challenges
Instead they clung on like cats to a curtain, tackled themselves red-raw, and when granted a blessed penalty kick at the death, it was over to Jorgensen to forget the goal attempt and just kick into the grand-stand instead, to finish the game.
42-38, to the goodies!
As I say, a truly great victory.
asserted
I → cling → goodies
Most wonderfully it was a super lead-in to both the Bledisloe which begins in a fortnight in Auckland – dare we hope? – and next year’s home Rugby World Cup.
asserted
we → begin → Auckland
I have said for yonks that this generation of Wallabies have greatness in them if they can just put it together.
asserted
they → say → it
Tonight, in Perth, we saw it.
asserted
we → see → it
The fact they have not been defeated in their last six Test matches proves the point.
asserted
they → defeat → point
In one of the most dramatic football weekends in Australian history, the Wallabies more than held their own.
asserted
Wallabies → hold → own
The Aporia
