Australia beats South Africa 42-38 in Perth

Australia beat South Africa 42-38 in Perth on Sunday, holding on to win after a late Springboks comeback left the Wallabies with 11 players at one point, according to a post-match account. Captain Harry Wilson credited the team’s response to South Africa’s physical challenge and said Australia had followed its game plan for most of the match. The result came a day after Australia reshuffled its lineup when lock Josh Canham was ruled out with a hamstring issue. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto moved into the starting side, Lachlan Shaw was added to the bench and Jeremy Williams took over lineout-calling duties. The change was announced before the match; the supplied post-match account does not detail how each replacement performed. Wilson had backed Williams and Salakaia-Loto to take on South Africa’s experienced forwards. He said Williams had previously called lineouts in international rugby and described Canham’s absence as a loss because he had been playing well. Wilson also said Salakaia-Loto would not offer the same jumping ability as Canham but could contribute in other areas and bring physicality against the Springboks pack.