South Africa rallied to score three tries in the last 10 minutes to record a bonus-point 28-10 win over Australia in their Rugby Championship match at Newlands on Saturday.
Leading 10-5 at half-time, the Wallabies held a slender two-point (10-8) lead going into the final quarter.
The Springboks finally claimed the lead (11-10) with a Patrick Lambie drop-goal in the 69th minute.
However, in a dramatic final 10 minutes - completely dominated by the Boks - the home team scored 17 points through tries by captain Jean de Villiers (two) and replacement Patrick Lambie, who also landed a conversion.
A 12th minute driving maul from 12 metres out from the Wallabies' try-line provided the Springboks with a platform to claim the opening try.
Flank Marcell Coetzee rounded off the move with a touchdown on the whitewash.
Flyhalf Handré Pollard missed the conversion as the home side led 5-0.
In the 25th minute, flyhalf Bernard Foley converted a close-range penalty, and then two minutes later right wing Adam Ashley-Cooper dotted down at the corner flag after Wallaby outside centre Tevita Kuridrani left the Springboks' defence in tatters. Foley slotted the conversion for a 10-5 lead.
During the up-field surge which led to the Wallabies' try, Pollard and left wing Bryan Habana collided (clash of heads) and the latter was forced to leave the field.
Substitute JP Pietersen was called to stand in for Habana.
Pollard set about hauling in the Aussie lead with a 42nd minute penalty, after Welsh referee Nigel Owens ruled that Foley had gone offside (10-8).
In the 54th minute, Springbok run-on debutant Teboho Mohoje, who had given a noteworthy account of himself, made way for substitute Schalk Burger.
At a time when the Springboks were looking to shake off the Aussies' vice-like grip on the match, Pollard failed to find touch from a penalty for the third time in the match.
It came as no surprise, as he was replaced by Lambie in the 58th minute when Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer also sent on hooker Bismarck du Plessis for Adriaan Strauss.
There were signs the Springboks were managing to build momentum, and captain De Villiers looked like he might have secured a breakthrough by off-loading a scoring pass to right wing Cornal Hendricks, but the referee ruled a forward pass in the 61st minute.
No.8 Duane Vermeulen, picked up an injury and was substituted by lock Bakkies Botha.
The Springboks had a chance to regain the lead but Lambie missed a penalty sitter from in front of the Wallaby posts.
He did atone for the lapse in the 69th minute with a drop-goal which allowed the Boks to regain the lead (11-10).
From the restart the Springboks regained the initiative and an electrifying run by Hendricks and a subsequent break by centre Jan Serfontein ended up with De Villiers scoring at the corner flag. Lambie failed to push out the lead when he narrowly missed the conversion (16-10).
Substitute scrumhalf Cobus Reinach joined the fray in the dying minutes for his Springbok debut, and he produced a fairy-tale appearance with a few dazzling breaks that bamboozled the Aussies, who leaked further tries to Lambie and De Villiers, one of which was converted (28-10).
De Villiers' touchdown, his second of the match, was worth the bonus point for the Springboks.
The scorers:
For South Africa:
Tries: Coetzee, De Villiers 2, Lambie
Con: Lambie
Pen: Pollard
DG: Lambie
For Australia:
Try: Ashley-Cooper
Con: Foley
Pen: Foley
Teams
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nic White, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
