'One of the best Springbok tries in history'

The Springboks breathed new life into their World Cup build-up with a bruising but morale-boosting victory over Australia at Newlands on Saturday.

The pall that recently descended over Springbok rugby after disappointing performances against Scotland and Argentina dissipated as Corne Krige's team held out for a 26-22 victory in the Tri-Nations opening match - but the captain was rather measured in his assessment.

"We don't want to be over-confident," Krige cautioned. "We want to be realistic. I think we can play even better than today. At times our forwards made mistakes that we can improve on. We are going to be critical about ourselves rather than pat ourselves on the back. We have to keep our feet on the ground. This is a year of big, consistent performances and not about ups and downs.

"The press is probably more surprised than us. We were quietly confident," the battle scarred captain said.

The Springboks yesterday summoned all their strength in the tackle but it was the execution of their two tries that enthralled the crowd of 52 000.

Coach Rudolf Straeuli, who had been under the cosh after the team's below par performances earlier this year, was visibly relieved. "I thought the crowd saw one of the best Springbok tries in history. Obviously we want to take a few more of them," Straeuli said of Victor Matfield's long range try.

Substitute fullback Brent Russell who was the architect of that try, and one of the day's star performers, said people who write off the Springboks' Tri-Nations and World Cup ambitions, do so at their peril.

"This was a big stepping stone towards the World Cup and the Tri-Nations. If we win next week against the All Blacks (at Loftus in Pretoria) we'll have a very good chance of winning the Tri-Nations."