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.

South Africa’s starting locks were Eben Etzebeth and Franco...