South Africa falls to Australia after late 25-point rally

South Africa lost 42-38 to Australia in Perth on Sunday, September 27, after trailing by 25 points before a late rally narrowed the margin to four. Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus said his team’s performance, not match-day disruptions, was responsible for the defeat, while acknowledging that he had taken a selection gamble by making 13 changes to the starting side. Australia led 42-17 after 65 minutes, according to the match accounts. South Africa fought back in the closing stages but could not complete the comeback. The Wallabies were reduced to 11 players late in the match following yellow cards, but the Springboks were unable to turn that advantage into a winning score. Erasmus said South Africa had nobody else to blame, pointing to poor execution and the difficulty of building cohesion among players who had not played together recently. He said the team had chosen its lineup and game plan, and that Australia had been the better side on the night. The coach described the changes as a gamble, but rejected them as an excuse for the result. Captain André Esterhuizen also said the team had been too disjointed and that discipline had let them down.