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5 talking points: Springboks v Wallabies

Cape Town - Sport24's Herman Mostert highlights FIVE talking points following the Springboks' 35-17 win over the Wallabies at Ellis Park:

1. Magical debut for Springbok scrumhalf

No doubt the biggest talking point from the Test was scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies stealing the show on debut.

The 23-year-old scored two tries, the first after some good follow-up work and the second after a sniping break down the blindside.

His second score was a classical scrumhalf try.

Jantjies was all over the park and his overall game management was superb, while he never looked out of his depth or overawed by the occasion.

2. Clinical Springboks hunt bonus-point

It was welcome to see South Africa go over for their fifth try after the hooter had sounded.

It enabled them to secure an important bonus-point by scoring three tries more than the opposition.

They lost the bonus-point advantage when the Wallabies scored in the 70th minute but there was some real intent in those final few minutes.

In seasons gone by we'd often see the Springboks finish a game defending for their lives but they were clinically efficient at Ellis Park this past weekend.

3. Defensive frailties

A negative from a Springbok perspective was the fact that they slipped several tackles, especially in the first half where the Wallabies were doing most of the playing.

According to the tournament's official website, the Springboks missed 26 tackles compared to the 15 of the Wallabies.

The All Blacks lie in wait next weekend and similar statistics on defence would be disastrous for the Boks.

4. Potent scrum

They had a few lineout issues, but South Africa completely dominated the scrum set-piece.

Props Tendai Mtawarira and Trevor Nyakane were rock solid, as were their replacements Lizo Gqoboka and Vincent Koch.

With the likes of Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff waiting in New Zealand, the Boks can tackle the remainder of the Rugby Championship confident they can dominate at scrum time.

5. Strong squad depth

In seasons gone by, there's no way an experimental Springbok side would have thumped the Wallabies by 18 points.

Coach Rassie Erasmus did not pick his best team for the match, with several frontline stars already in New Zealand.

But the coach will now be more confident with the depth in his squad.

This will be vital heading into the Rugby World Cup.

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