Wallaby legend Stirling Mortlock's match-winning sideline conversion in the last minutes of the Test against the Springboks has kept Australia's Tri Nations hopes alive. It also set the death knell tolling over South African coach Jake White's head.
White praised his side's courage and character, but admitted that fans in the republic demanded nothing less than victory. A valiant 18-20 loss was not good enough.
At the funereal post-game press conference in Sydney on Saturday, White and his captain John Smit were correct in saying there was a lot about the Boks to praise. But the truth hung in the air like a death sentence – three Tri Nations games for three losses; preceded by a shock home-loss to the French. It won't get any worse without repercussions.
That said, there are three Tri Nations games to be played in South Africa and a spectacular performance at home would transform the dead-coach-walking into a national hero. Unfortunately, for Australia, the last of those games is against the Wallabies in Johannesburg.
If the Wallabies beat the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday week, the Johannesburg Test could decide the Tri Nations – and the fate of Jake White – which means the Springbok will be doubly motivated.
If the Wallabies lose in Auckland, the All Blacks take the trophy again.
Though castigated by the Sydney media for their "ugly" performance, Wallaby coach John Connolly said his young players will learn more from gutsing-out the dour win than they would from a one-sided try-fest, like their last 49-0 thrashing of the Springboks.
The next Tri Nations game is in Auckland on August 19. It will be an epic. Both teams will be rested and both will have a lot to prove – and gain. To beat the top side in the world at home after failing to win twice this year (and in the process losing the Bledisloe Cup) would be sweet revenge.
I imagine the re-vitalised Wallabies are already thinking: "We're as good as the All Blacks. They've got 13 points, we've got 10. The scrum's working. We've got many superstars. Captain Georgie Greegan's in top form. No.8 Wycliff Palu was man-of-the match in his run-on debut, fixing the back-row – and the go-forward." And they would be right. And there's much more.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks are starting to streamline their super-slick operation and seem set on re-establishing their invincible aura, which means the pressure on them must be mounting. Still, the whole structure – the management, the coaching staff and the team – has a fighting-unit feel about it. And their objectives seem long-term and single-minded.
But great expectations can be turned into grand delusions by an unanticipated loss. Possibly in Auckland.
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