KEY POINTS:
Tick off another week in the phoney rugby skirmishes, the interlude before the Tri-Nations can breathe some life into the sport.
The Springboks and Wallabies both claimed hollow victories against inferior rivals while a pick-up French squad lost even more players to injury on the eve of their departure for a twin-test series against the All Blacks.
The devalued international scene lurched through an inferior evening as the Wallabies avoided the distress of losing at home against Wales for the first time since 1969, scraping home 29-23, although they should not ignore the dismay about their performance.
There was no Waltzing Matilda from the Wallabies, just a procession of mistakes from players who looked uncertain of their roles and their rights to be internationals.
After that wreckage, the South Africans tonked England 58-10. It was always an unfair match-up with the tourists leaving more than 30 top players at home and when many of the replacements succumbed to gastric flu, the task became even greater.
Anyone doubting the troubled international landscape needed only to consider the crowds in Sydney and Bloemfontein.
The stadium in Sydney was half full, with 40,000 uninspired spectators, while there was a lack of emotion from a less-than-capacity crowd in the Free State.
Even the idea of crushing England could not attract enough Boers to fill the park.
In Sydney, the Wallabies gifted Wales a 17-point start through the inept passing of Sam Norton-Knight and Julian Huxley and a high error rate. Bad passes were thrown, good passes shelled, players under little pressure made mistakes.
The experiment of asking the gifted Matt Giteau to use his running class from halfback confused his team-mates as well. The midfield bunching and anxiety was standard defensive fare for Wales, who had a useful side but not one which should have troubled the Wallabies.
In the end, Wales' inability to close the game down cost them a famous win to mark captain Gareth Thomas' record test cap for his country.
Wales lost but the Wallabies did too. They forfeited a chance to crush the rivals they will face on September 15 in their World Cup clash at Cardiff.
This was the time for the Wallabies to put them under the cosh. Now they have left themselves under serious scrutiny before the repeat meeting in Brisbane this weekend.
In the cooler climes of the Highveld, the Springboks added to their confidence.
They may have played an ailing, ageing mob of plumbers and decorators, they may have had a scoring drought for 30 minutes, but they still piled on seven converted tries to send a message to their World Cup pool opponents.
There was not too much that was subtle about the Boks; they were besotted with their power as they bashed the invaders.
England had enough possession but their attack, apart from Matthew Tait, was stodgy.
Jonny Wilkinson's direction and kicking were haphazard though his defence was teak tough again until he was flattened by one of his team-mates with an accidental flying headbutt.
Schalk Burger and his mates brought a formidable physical presence, while the pace of Bryan Habana and the reconstituted Ashwin Willemse, with the smooth skills of centre Jean de Villers, offered a cutting edge out wide.
Getting the right link between the power and pace units will be the main inspection thrust for coach Jake White in the next few weeks.
There is an imbalance about Butch James at first five-eighths, a rough edge about his play which may be softened when Fourie du Preez is available at halfback, but that may be some time.
With the Springboks in no danger of defeat from England in the second test this week, White may be tempted to try Ruan Pienaar or Francois Steyn in the crucial link role.
