Horne’s late heroics snatch victory for Wallabies

Rugby Championship: Rob Horne scored a late try, converted by Bernard Foley, to give Australia a 24-23 win over South Africa in their Rugby Championship game in Perth.

The match turned when South Africa’s Bryan Habana, winning his 100th cap, was sin-binned with 15 minutes remaining and his side leading 23-14. The Wallabies capitalised on their numerical advantage, with Foley cutting the lead to six points with a penalty. And in the final two minutes, Horne went over as Australia edged it. It is Australia’s first win in this year’s tournament. Israel Folau gave them the perfect start with a try inside 90 seconds but South Africa hit back with the first of Morne Steyn’s six penalties and a Cornal Hendricks try to put them 8-5 ahead. Another Foley penalty levelled the match but two successful kicks from Steyn left South Africa 14-8 up by the 25th minute, before Foley narrowed the gap to three points with his second penalty of the night shortly before the half-hour mark.

South Africa went into the interval with a 14-11 advantage. Foley hit back with a penalty two minutes after the restart to square the match at 14-14 before a scrambling Wallabies defence was forced to concede another penalty which Steyn kicked to return the Springboks into the lead. The Stade Francais lynchpin then stretched his side’s lead to 20-14 in the 49th minute after a collapsed scrum before he squeezed over his final penalty just to stretch the visitors’ lead to nine points. The momentum then swung back in Australia’s favour when Habana was penalised for a high tackle.

New Zealand will be without lock Sam Whitelock and flanker Liam Messam when they face South Africa in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

Whitelock suffered a rib injury in the 28th minute of the 28-9 win against Argentina on Saturday after falling awkwardly at a line-out and was replaced by Jeremy Thrush.

“(Whitelock) has got a rib cartilage rather than a rib fracture so we’ll have to see over the next couple of days how quickly that comes right,” All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said.