Back in the good books after Bok thrashing

Lote Tuqiri takes a high ball during the Tri Nations match against South Africa last Saturday. Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Rugby gloom lasted only seven days for Australia's newspapers as they praised the Wallabies' 49-0 thumping of South Africa.

"Rampaging Wallabies pack their demons back in the Boks," said the lead headline in the Sun-Herald after their record Tri-Nations victory in Brisbane.

Just a week after being pilloried for their demoralising 12-32 loss to the All Blacks in the series opener, the Wallabies celebrated their biggest win over a disappointing Springboks.

"Admittedly, the Springboks were for most of the night abominable, but Australia did have numerous glowing moments, especially out wide where every backline member was on song," Greg Growden wrote in the Sun-Herald.

Wallabies coach John Connolly was quoted as saying it was "a phenomenal victory".

Growden conceded the Wallabies were given a "handy leg-up" by New Zealand referee Paul Honiss for their opening try, to hooker Jeremy Paul from a lineout drive, after a "ridiculous" scrum penalty.

"Really, what was Honiss thinking when he penalised the South African scrum for collapsing, even though it had just driven the Australian pack back at least five metres?"

The Sunday Telegraph was also glowing in its praise.

"Wallabies rebound in record time," said one headline.

"The Wallabies shamed South Africa with an unprecedented pummelling just a week after their own offshore collapse against New Zealand," Peter Jenkins wrote in the Telegraph.

He added the Wallabies were "not only dominant, but irresistible at times" while the Springboks were "embarrassing".

But there was still a note of caution with the All Blacks looming again in Brisbane in a fortnight.

"With the All Blacks on the horizon for a second Bledisloe showdown at the same venue, the Wallabies will savour the triumph without beating their chests too fiercely," Jenkins wrote.

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Ex-coach condemns catalogue of errors

Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett tells the South African Sunday Times where it all went wrong...

Selection

* No openside flanker. Mallett said Joe van Niekerk was shown up in defence, especially in Stephen Larkham's second try. With Schalk Burger injured he reckoned Luke Watson was the next best option.

* Questions over first five-eighths Jaco van der Westhuyzen.

* Picking No 8 Pierre Spies to make his test debut against a side like Australia and away from home.

Distractions

* The debate over coach Jake White's future with the team.

* "They don't want to know he would consider an exit strategy. They want to know he's backing them and right behind them."

Mistakes

Poor spot tackling from the rushing defence. The side's 14 missed tackles.

* Halfback Ricky Januarie's poor passing.

* Poor kicking game, terrible handling.

* Bad ball presentation from the forwards.

Referee Paul Honiss

* "Everything went against us. Take the first scrum, where we put a lot of pressure on them only to have Os du Randt penalised for taking it down. That's completely illogical because we were going forward."

To sum up

* "In the past two seasons we've managed to keep in touch through turnover tries, interceptions and the boot of [Percy] Montgomery, but this time the opposition didn't make mistakes: they were smart, they spun out of tackles and they ran good lines."

- NZPA