Australia 25 South Africa 32
For Australians, they sounded a lot like New Zealanders.
Why didn't the Wallabies kick a drop goal at the death? Why couldn't they close out matches? Where was the leadership? Why were they losing?
All were questions raised after last weekend's narrow loss to the All Blacks and which
was said to have prompted a change in style from Robbie Deans' Wallabies - from the free-wheeling, free-thinking, "play what you see in front of you" style to "do what you are told".
But all that transpired last night was another question: what does Robbie Deans do now?
The noises coming out of the Wallaby camp last week suggested that the team had not successfully pressed the former Deans philosophy into effective, active service - leading to a rethink that the team would work back to a more structured style of play.
Sound familiar? It's bewilderingly close to the noises that came out of New Zealand after the All Blacks had their reverses against the Springboks before preventing a three-losses-in-a-row losing streak by closing out the Australians 19-18 in a much more disciplined, structured display last weekend.
But it didn't work. The Wallabies might have sought structure. They didn't find it. Their defence, or lack of it, was a stricture, not a structure.
Deans' men have now slid to four defeats on the trot after comfortably losing to the Boks last night, even if the visitors tried to help matters along with the looney-tunes selection of Ruan Pienaar. Originally a halfback (and a fine one), then a first five-eighths, now apparently the talented Pienaar is a fullback, selected as such instead of the big, strong and sure-footed Francois Steyn.
The latter is leaving for a stint in French rugby and Pienaar's selection was probably with an eye to that future. But not even that piece of selectorial eccentricity could save the Wallabies.
The Boks struck first with a series of raids and drives, underlining their superiority up front. Halfback Fourie du Preez underlined why he is regarded as the best in the world - and why Pienaar can't get to wear a No 9 shirt - when he tapped from a penalty and weaved through a whole phalanx of confused Australian defenders for a soft try.
The Boks, dare we say it, seemed to be playing what was in front of them. They sent the ball wider and through more pairs of hands than previously seen from them this Tri Nations season. After 10 minutes, it was 12-0 when a simple scrum move saw centre Jacques Fourie gallop through for another candy floss try.
Matt Giteau couldn't kick his goals but Morne Steyn could (although he missed one from right in front, oddly) and it took two penalty attempts before Giteau got the Wallabies on the board at 15-3.
It didn't help. The Wallabies' malaise was such that they couldn't even catch the Bok kicks for the most part last night. Loose forwards Richard Brown (twice) and Rocky Elsom murdered catches before winger Lachie Turner did likewise.
The bounce ballooned into the arms of charging speedster Bryan Habana. The scavenging winger needs no encouragement to feast on such generous offerings - and he scampered through for yet another soft try.
Down 22-6 at halftime, the Wallabies needed a lift - and got one when Giteau got the dancing feet working and sliced through to score early in the half.
It was a good riposte from the little pivot who was clearly shaded by Dan Carter last week and who had kicked shakily in this match.
It also gave the Wallabies, finally, some belief and they began to make the Springbok defensive line creak and groan.
But it was hardly a structural triumph. The Boks worked a dummy runner from an attacking scrum and Habana had a hole the size of a South African game park to stroll through for the try as the Australians muddled their defensive work again.
Even the scrummaging, which looked improved, didn't hold up and new tighthead prop Ben Alexander was penalised for dropping the scrum - a trademark of the man he replaced, Al Baxter - and Steyn kicked the easy goal.
Du Preez, in his 50th test match, was splendid, Steyn controlled matters comfortably, Fourie and Jean de Villiers had the better of the midfield and the Springbok loose trio were comfortably ahead on points.
The Wallabies couldn't catch, couldn't kick for much of the night and, apart from Giteau, didn't look like they could score either, until the Boks relaxed and let in two tries at the end, including Giteau's second.
It was indicative of their evening that, after that try following good work by replacement Quade Cooper, Giteau should try and drop kick the conversion from under the posts - and missed.
At the end of it all, there didn't seem to be many answers for the Wallabies and quite a few people even seemed confused about what the questions had been.
But it all added up to four losses in a row this year. Five on the trot looms in Brisbane.
Australia 25 (M. Giteau 2, L. Turner tries; Giteau 2 con, 2 pen), South Africa 32 (F. du Preez, J. Fourie, B. Habana 2 tries; M. Steyn 3 con, 2 pen). Halftime: 6-22.
