Sydney — Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was particularly pleased with the contributions of flyhalf Noah Lolesio and flanker Fraser McReight after Australia beat a disappointing South Africa side in Adelaide on Saturday.
Lolesio, returning to the starting role after being dropped in the wake of the lost July series against England, made one try for McReight and kicked 10 points in the 25-17 Rugby Championship victory over the world champions.
"We had confidence that he could do the job and I thought he was excellent," Rennie said of the 22-year-old playmaker.
"We talked a lot about playing flatter … and smart kicking options so it was good to see that from him. He is setting high standards for himself."
Openside McReight was rushed into the team three weeks ago when captain Michael Hooper abruptly returned home from the tour of Argentina and took an indefinite break from the game.
Playing only his fifth Test on Saturday, the 23-year-old bagged two tries and impressed Rennie with his work at the breakdown.
"Fraser has really grabbed his opportunity," Rennie said.
"Hell of an effort for a young seven to get a double and he got his hand on a bit of pill post-tackle so good performance from both men.
"We talk about earning the right to wear the jersey and they did that today."
Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber was left frustrated by his team's inability to convert the chances they created as they went down to a second successive loss.
"It is something that has happened in our last few games, so we will work hard to correct that," he said.
"We were in Australia's 22 about 13 times, if not more, and we didn't come away with points a lot of the time, and when they were in our 22, they used their chances well and got the rewards for it."
The teams meet again in the fourth round of the championship next Saturday in the first rugby union match at the newly rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium.
Reuters