Central Plains FFA Chapter

09/27 07:42 CDT 11-man Australia hangs on to upset South Africa 42-38 in extraordinary rugby test 11-man Australia hangs on to upset South Africa 42-38 in extraordinary rugby test PERTH, Australia (AP) --- Australia hung on for an extraordinary upset win over rugby World Cup champion South Africa 42-38 on Sunday despite being reduced to 11 men against 15 for much of the last 10 minutes. The Wallabies were leading 42-17 after Max Jorgensen swooped on a Springboks error and then sprinted 60 meters to score in the 64th. The momentum was all going the way of Australia but then the Wallabies lost four players to yellow cards in a dramatic finish as South Africa responded with three late tries. "It was a crazy last 10 minutes," Australia captain Harry Wilson, the first of the four players shown a yellow card, said in a post-match television interview. "But that first 70 minutes, the way we played, we implemented our game plan. We did exactly what we wanted. "We stepped up in the physical battle and I'm so proud of the boys." Outside center Len Ikitau scored two tries in three minutes to help Australia take a 24-17 halftime lead in the Springboks' first test since beating the All Blacks in the so-called Greatest Rivalry series earlier this month. The top-ranked Springboks made 13 changes to the starting lineup from their 43-28 win over the New Zealand All Blacks at Baltimore two weeks ago, with only lock Eben Etzebeth and winger Ethan Hooker retaining their starting roles from the team that clinched the series 3-1. Despite the overhaul, the South Africans jumped to a 10-3 lead after 10 minutes in Perth, which will host the opening game of the Rugby World Cup next year, before the Australians rallied on a pair of quick tries from Ikitau --- until the dramatic finish. No. 8 Wilson was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle in the 69th minute, and he was quickly followed by scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan, who was yellow carded for a professional foul, winger Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i and center Hunter Paisami, who was sent off on video review after Tom Wright appeared to score an against-the-run-of-play intercept try that was subsequently overturned. That left Australia with 11 players trying to defend an 11-point lead with four minutes remaining. The margin was reduced to four points in the last minute, before the Springboks ran out of time. ___ See AP's full rugby coverage here