Comment: Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town - Let’s not beat about the bush: this was a heavier defeat for the under-strength Springboks than most of us would have wished.

GALLERY: Wallabies v Springboks

I wrote earlier this week that the Samoan reverse for the Wallabies had been an ominous development from a Bok point of view, because of the backlash likelihood at ANZ Stadium – and it came, alright.

Australia produced some of their most compelling, trademark ball-in-hand play as they ran in five tries en route to a 39-20 Castle Tri-Nations win, and when they banked the bonus point as worrisomely early as the 48th minute, uncomfortable memories of 49-0 in Brisbane five years ago flickered anew for South Africans.

There’s a case, too, for saying that the game as a whole should best be judged on roughly that chunk of the match, because its one-sidedness put the Wallabies in a position to begin pulling off key customers for challenges ahead; rhythm and continuity was affected as a result.

And up to that point and a little beyond it, there had been more than enough evidence for supporters of the World Cup champions’ cause to shake their heads in trepidation and depression.

In a nutshell, the home side looked sharper, fitter, stronger, respected the ball much more, bossed the set-pieces ... and especially damningly made the Boks’ defensive structure and commitment look a dog’s breakfast of note at times.

I had quietly hoped, and probably not been alone, that Bulls debutant Werner Kruger might begin to provide some answers on the important tighthead side at scrum-time: although it is perhaps unfair to make a sweeping judgment after one start, it seems we are rather back to square one in trying to restock a problematic No 3 cupboard.

On the other side of the front row, Dean Greyling arguably did not retreat quite as obviously - to a team, remember, not supposedly revered for its scrummaging down the years -- and he was personally disrupted a couple of times by required visits to the blood bin.

Yet even this big ball-carrier, one of South Africa’s best at close quarters in the Super Rugby season, had the ball slapped out of his fingers once or twice as Aussie tacklers showed not only resolve but superior “technical” ability in this facet as well. Greyling was also a bit penalty-prone.

The Boks were hampered by the first-half, injury-induced exit of Flip van der Merwe, which put them under second-row pressure – especially when you consider that his intended partner for the day, Johann Muller, had pulled out of the encounter in the lead-up days.

But just another mark to place on the Springbok blackboard of “negatives” to chew on, was the mediocre showing of two of the few genuinely senior personnel they fielded in Sydney: captain and hooker John Smit and flyhalf Morne Steyn.

Back home, as a result, the claims of resting (er, sorry, we’re supposed to say rehabilitating?) players like Butch James and Bismarck du Plessis were done no harm at all as far as the World Cup is concerned.

Steyn didn’t perform his known strengths too badly, but was completely eclipsed for flair and elusiveness by that marvellous Wallaby string-puller Quade Cooper, and his defensive shortcomings against up-tempo opposition were all too plain to see.

I’ll say one thing for Smit: the lumbering veteran soldiered on to the bitter end, and even dotted the second and final Bok try, albeit that by then he had switched to prop as Chiliboy Ralepelle (who registered the first touchdown with a smart bit of opportunism and initiative) came off the bench to noticeably upstage the old trooper for dynamism and mobility.

And that brings us to the smaller Bok “positives” list: the last quarter of the match, when the horse had basically bolted, was punctuated by promising seeds of vibrancy and verve as some substitutes like Ralepelle, Jean Deysel , Ryan Kankowski and Patrick Lambie put themselves about spiritedly in the partially successful quest to stave off a rout.

At last, the Boks looked in decent little patches as though they were capable of a bit more than simply reinventing the wheel against a team seemingly at a more advanced stage of evolution.

Lambie to get a starting crack at No 10 against the All Blacks in Wellington? If the Tri-Nations away leg is indeed about experimenting with RWC strongly in mind, surely that must be the logical step.

A few Springbok starters could look back with some satisfaction: Lwazi Mvovo, especially, and Gio Aplon in the back three looked for work ceaselessly and could be a handful on the offensive, Ruan Pienaar made some gaffes but generally was convincing for thrust and slickness of service, and Alistair Hargreaves hit the “clean-outs” with growing intent as the clock ticked down.

I hope the Bok management will be realistic and not attempt to dwell too strongly on the handful of good things to come out of the game.

Second team or not, these are slightly dangerous times for the South African rugby psyche.

Wallaby skipper Rocky Elsom, after all, reminded immediately afterwards: “At crucial times we stood up.”

Apt words indeed.