This was a bad beating.Ireland must learn that mistakes are punished at the top level, as four Australian tries came from their errors. Ireland did lead 3-0 with an early David Humphreys penalty, before Peter Stringer allowed George Gregan in for the game's first try. Fly-half Elton Flatley converted.Ireland then lost four line- outs on their own throw. But Australia lost five of their own in the first half, and allowed Ireland to go 10-7 in front when wing John Kelly looped around Humphreys to score. The No 10 converted.But Ireland's mistakes quickly came back to haunt them. Within two minutes Flatley had crossed for Australia's second try, and then added the conversion.

Yet still Ireland remained in the match, a high tackle by Toutai Kefu on Keith Gleeson providing Humphreys with a second penalty for 14-13.But then, after Flatley had kicked a penalty, Girvan Dempsey was yellow-carded 12 minutes into the second half for killing the ball In his absence, Australia scored twice. First Toutai Kefu picked up from a scrum for centre - and brother - Steve Kefu to score a converted try.Ronan O'Gara kicked a penalty for Ireland, but Australia extended their lead as Gregan scored again Flatley nailed the conversion. Dempsey should have scored on his return, following a superb pick-up and pass from Geordan Murphy, but a superb tackle from Flatley stopped him just short. Then the Wallaby full-back, Chris Latham, ran 75 metres for another try, which Flatley converted. Ireland's woes increased as Reggie Corrigan, substituted earlier, was forced to return for Marcus Horan.Replacement wing Lote Tuqiri then drove Dempsey back ferociously, and Flatley had the line at his mercy. But when Kelly stumbled into his back, causing him to fall, referee Nigel Williams awarded a penalty try.

Replacements: L Tuqiri (NSW Waratahs) for Sailor, 55; B Darwin (ACT Brumbies) for Noriega, 58; D Vickerman (ACT Brumbies) for Sharpe, 60; B Cannon (NSW Waratahs) for Paul, 72; P Waugh (NSW Waratahs) for Smith, 72; C Whitaker (NSW Waratahs) for Gregan, 72; N Grey (NSW Waratahs) for S Kefu, 77.Ireland: G Dempsey (Leinster); J Topping (Ulster), G Murphy (Leicester), K Maggs (Bath), J Kelly (Munster); D Humphreys (Ulster, capt), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), R Corrigan (Leinster), G Longwell (Ulster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), A Quinlan (Leinster), V Costello (Leinster), K Gleeson (Leinster). Replacements: R O'Gara (Munster) for Humphreys, 16-22, 40; E Byrne (Leinster) for Corrigan, 50; P O'Connell (Munster) for Longwell, 60; Corrigan for Horan, 70.Referee: N Williams (Wales).. Typical Springbok resilience allied to a second-half tidal wave of utter desperation saw the home side squeak home against the plucky Scots, but not even the most one-eyed fan in Durban was deluded into believing their team deserved the spoils. There were four minutes of frantic play after the full-time hooter had sounded, but the visitors could not convert penalty after penalty in front of the posts into the try they needed for back-to-back victories over the Springboks, and their first ever win on South African soil.The match ended with the TV referee adjudging that lock Nathan Hines had lost the ball as he stretched over the line, thus denying the Scots. The Boks were down to 14 men , their captain, Joost van der Westhuizen, having been sin-binned two minutes earlier for killing the ball.As poor as the Boks were, credit must be given to them for the tenacity with which they fought back to overturn a 25-12 deficit. The Scottish forwards improved as the game wore on, perhaps with the realisation that these Boks were emminently beatable.Nobody had expected this brand-new Springbok combination to set Durban on fire, perhaps, but by the same token nobody could have predicted such a complete and utter shambles from this sad, sorry bunch.After the horrors of last year's record losses in Europe, the Boks yesterday were supposed to lay the first concrete foundations on which to build a credible World Cup challenge. Instead, the rubble around Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli lies thicker than ever, while Scotland will go to Johannesburg next week with their heads held high.South Africa 29 Scotland 25 Tries: Terblanche, Halstead Tries: White, Craig, Paterson Cons: Koen 2 Cons: Paterson 2 Pens: Koen 5 Pens: Paterson 2Half-time: 6-12 Attendance: 37,528South Africa: R Loubscher (Sharks); S Terblanche (Sharks), A Snyman (Sharks), T Halstead (Sharks), A Willemse (Lions); L Koen (Lions), Joost van der Westhuizen (Bulls, capt); L Sephaka (Lions), D Coetzee (Bulls), R Bands (Bulls), B Botha (Bulls), V Matfield (Bulls), H Gerber (Western Province), W van Heerden (Lions), P Wannenburg (Bulls).