In 1899, the first team to officially represent Australia as a collective was formed – it would be eight years later that the team was coined the Wallabies. Never in the history of Australian Rugby Union has their representative team suffered such a defeat as Saturday's 53-8 thrashing by South Africa.

It was a defeat made even worse by the simple fact that the Wallabies, conquerors of both the All Blacks and Springboks this season, are coached by a man regarded by many as the finest rugby coaching mind in the world.

Of course, appropriate credit must be given to the Springboks, who for the first time in a month looked every part the world champions. To stage such a turnaround in a week is nothing short of miraculous, but this year’s edition of the Tri-Nations has unveiled a remarkable turn of fortunes for its three competitors. Indeed, every team has beaten each other – and in all circumstances the triumph has come from a beating in the previous game. If this stunning turn of events continues, then, according to script, the Wallabies should thrash the All Blacks in Brisbane!

Credit must to some degree end there. While the South Africans were superb in all departments, it was the nature of the brilliance that leads to simple criticism. On Saturday night’s form, the Springboks should have convincingly won the Tri-Nations. It should not have taken three consecutive losses to spur a world champion team to such a feat.

However, it is a shame that the Springboks' Tri-Nations contribution has now ended. Their vaunted loose-forward trio stood up in emphatic fashion, again showing how valuable a class open-side flanker like George Smith or Richie McCaw is to combat an abrasive Springbok back row.

The South African scrum continues to improve, with its destruction of the Wallaby pack early in the first half providing the impetus – and “The Beast”, Tendai Mtawarira, surely now cementing his place in the starting 15.

In the backs, Butch James had his best game of the season, finally playing with tactical intelligence and not just trying to physically intimidate – although there will be concerns over Fourie Du Preez’s missing form this year. Conrad Jantjes had such an assured game that retiring Percy Montgomery would have been comforted by the fact that he is no longer the No.1 Springbok fullback.

But it was the pure menace of the Springbok midfield that tore apart the heart of the Wallaby defence. Never has Stirling Mortlock been made to look so completely average. It is a shame that Timana Tahu debuted on a night where Jean de Villiers decided to remind why he is far and away the best inside centre in world rugby.

But, while plaudits could continue to be heaped on the Springboks for the complete annihilation of what is a well-coached and potent Australian team, the sheer ineptitude of the Wallabies takes much gloss over the one-sided romp.

So many players, on the evidence of Saturday night, should have played their last game in Wallaby colours. Tatafu Polota Nau was again the instrument of Wallaby lineout destruction, as he was in Eden Park, showing he cannot field the basic skills of a Test rake. Matt Dunning, so maligned everywhere except in Australia, was surely the earliest substitution of a frontline Test player and for the sake of the Wallaby scrum should not play again. Phil Waugh, so potent at Super 14 level, has shown he has neither the height nor the physical presence to compete against international loose forwards.

In the backs, Tahu was shown up at the highest level – especially considering that the benchmark of Robbie Deans’ coaching patterns requires a second five-eighth. To field a player who is naturally an outside centre showed the folly, and his defensive misreads cost the Wallabies at least two tries. However, there was not a single positive to take out of the Australian three-quarter line, with class players such as Matt Giteau and Mortlock unable to calm the chaos that the Springbok runners were creating.

Some claim that the Wallabies had one eye on the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe decider against New Zealand in Brisbane – shaping up to be the decisive Test match for both teams. But to lose in this fashion is inexcusable, and the honeymoon for “dingo” Deans is now well and truly over. For all of the successes of the Wallabies this season, defeat to the All Blacks in Brisbane will ensure that 2008 is deemed a failure in the eyes of the ARU corridors of power.

The All Blacks will not be concerned on the evidence of this most recent performance, and mentally it will take a complete overhaul for a despondent Australian team to salvage any pride over their worst-ever Test performance.

The Springboks will now – hopefully, for the good of domestic rugby – return to the Currie Cup to prepare for their end of year tour. At least it means that we may hear the end of Peter de Villiers for a while.

Whether or not his plight resembles Jesus is the typical vague rhetoric that we have come to expect from the enigmatic South African jester – but unfortunately for all of us, his comments have been given veracity, thanks to the execution and riposte of a world champion team.

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