The Springboks have spoiled Eddie Jones' return as Wallabies coach, coming away with a 43-12 victory in Pretoria.
It started on the perfect note for the visitors when Marika Koroibete dived over after just seven minutes.
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However, from here it was all South Africa as they physically imposed themselves on the game.
They scored 43 unanswered points as winger Kurt-Lee Arendse blazed over for a hat-trick.
Carter Gordon provided something to cheer about after a late try after the siren.
In the end, the Springboks were on another level as the Wallabies look to rebound against Argentina next week in Sydney.
"There was an opportunity to come here and put in a game we were proud of and to be fair, we just defended the entire second half so you got to give credit to the Springboks," co-captain James Slipper said.
"They put us under pressure and we'll learn a lot from that.
"It's a tough start but we've got a long year ahead of us. There's plenty to come so we'll keep working hard."
The Wallabies got off to the perfect start as they exhibited a wonderful counterattack as the John Eales Medalist Koroibete raced away for the opening try in the eighth minute.
The hosts sparked into life in front of a packed Pretoria crowd as Kurt-Lee Arendse started the blitz with yet another try to continue his dream introduction to Test Rugby.
Their up-tempo game caught the Wallabies on the back foot as flyhalf Manie Libbok continued to find space.
Eddie Jones’ side found themselves trailing by 12 after the hosts produced a nice set play that ended with Arendse diving over for his second.
Reece Hodge’s 66m penalty attempt, one of three missed chances in the half, just failed to reach the posts as the Wallabies went into the sheds trailing 17-5.
The hosts picked up where they left off after the break and dominated the contact battle against a Wallabies side struggling for answers.
Arendse completed his hat-trick in the 50th minute, bursting through a couple of defenders to dive over.
They extended their lead four minutes later when the Springboks were awarded a penalty try for Dave Porecki collapsing the maul, resulting in the hooker going to the bin.
Libbok almost got his own five-pointer, only to be brought back for a knock on in the build-up.
The Wallabies once again struggled with discipline and winger Suliasi Vunivalu found himself sitting in the bin for a deliberate knockdown.
It gave the South Africans their second penalty try before Pieter-Steph du Toit touched down for an easy try to complete the rout.
Debutant Carter Gordon ended the match on a positive note, racing away for his first Test try after starting the move with a grubber to Koroibete.
The loss was compounded by a shoulder injury to debutant Tom Hooper, who departed just before the break
SPRINGBOKS 43
TRIES: Arendse 3, Penalty Try 2, du Toit
CONS: Libbok 3/4
PENS: Libbok 1/2
WALLABIES 12
TRIES: Koroibete, Gordon
CONS: Hodge 0/1
PENS: Hodge 0/2
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Damian Willemse
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Suliasi Vunivalu, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Reece Hodge, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Michael Hooper (co-c), 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper (co-c)
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Matt Gibbon, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Samu Kerevi, 23 Carter Gordon
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (NZR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
