Springboks made to work for win

South Africa won but their display was so woeful it almost defied belief.

After 55 minutes in Sydney, the team which had given England so much trouble last week were down to 14 men and leading by just 13 points against a side who nearly did not arrive at the competition at all because of a lack of funds. Georgia received a standing ovation and enjoyed a lap of honour at the end but the Springboks slunk off in shame.

Had it not been for a three-try burst in eight minutes midway through the first half the outcome could well have been one of the biggest upsets ever seen in the entire sporting world.

As it was, Georgia were denied by two scores from Danie Rossouw, plus touchdowns for Derick Hougaard, Joe van Niekerk, Jaque Fourie, Bakkies Botha and chalk Burger. Georgia scored through a converted try by David Dudunashvili and four penalties.