Australia captain Harry Wilson is confident his team "can do special things" after holding out for a thrilling 42-38 victory over South Africa in Perth.

Despite being reduced to 11 men at the end of the match, Australia held firm against South Africa's comeback in what is already being labelled the craziest Test in rugby history.

Australia were cruising with 16 minutes to go, having scored five tries through Len Ikitau (two), Ben Donaldson, Wilson and Max Jorgensen.

South Africa had 17 points on the board at that stage, all scored in the first half after Johan Grobbelaar and Edwill van der Merwe both crossed.

However, with Australia 42-17 up, Wilson was then sin-binned, opening the door for South Africa before Ryan Lonergan was yellow-carded as well.

Things went from bad to worse when Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i went into the sin bin, leaving Australia with 12 on the pitch, though they had another try disallowed, with Hunter Paisami shown a fourth yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the build-up.

Ox Nche scored the last Springboks try to cut the gap to four points, but time ran out before they could finish what would have been a stunning comeback.

"I'm so proud of the group, mate. We're excited, up for it," Wilson said.

"That first 70 minutes, the way we played, exactly what we wanted, so proud of the boys.

"We knew as a forward pack, we had to step up, we had to back ourselves, we have some special players, and in space, they can do special things."

All heart

What a game, @Springboks pic.twitter.com/zdRTrfzgsc

— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 27, 2026

It was a statement victory for the Wallabies against the two-time world champions, especially given the circumstances under which they finished the game.

South Africa were unable to stop Australia from extending their unbeaten streak to six matches, their best run since 2017.

"It was a very intense game, quite quick for a Test match. It let us down; we let them in too much. It hurt us," Springboks captain Andre Esterhuizen said.

"We were too disjointed; discipline was the key factor that let us down.

"The last 18-19 weeks, we know each other well, the plan well; it's about executing. Proud of the fight at the end, but we need to be better than that."