The Springboks secured a 33-26 (halftime 24-14) win over the All Blacks in the second Test to level the Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1.
A ferocious first-half onslaught by the Springboks was enough to withstand a late rally by the All Blacks in a pulsating encounter that underlined the intensity of the old rivalry in 80 riveting minutes.
The Boks, stunned by a 33-16 loss in the first Test at Ellis Park, ripped into the New Zealanders from the outset and laid down a marker.
There would be no soft moments on this day as they deservedly took the spoils to inflict a first defeat on new All Black coach Dave Rennie in his ninth outing.
Victory ensured that the Boks retained their record of not losing back-to-back home Tests to the same opponent since the Lions in 1997. More importantly, it keeps the series well and truly alive.
It was far from perfect, but the intensity was higher, and in the first half, they wasted far fewer chances than a week earlier.
The pack was magnificent. From the immense Eben Etzebeth and No 8 Jasper Wiese to the indefatigable Pieter-Steph du Toit, playing his 100th Test, the Boks’ big men set the tone.
Captain Siya Kolisi led from the front. Although he was withdrawn early in the second half, his shift was another monumental effort.
The fact that the Boks had conceded just one penalty by the sixty-second minute underlined how accurate and intense they were on the day.
For much of the opening stanza New Zealand survived off turnovers to create some opportunities, but they were firmly on the back foot before halftime.
The Boks led by 10 points at the break even though there was hardly a scrum to speak of, and certainly no scrum penalties from the four completed set pieces in the half.
The All Blacks’ lineout struggled at times, but the scrums were much better from a New Zealand perspective.
Won and lost
Yet that’s not where the game was won and lost. The Boks’ contestable kicking was on point.
Victory was set in the contact areas. The Boks’ breakdown work was as good as it’s been this season, and it had to be, because the All Blacks matched the intensity everywhere on the field.
In fact, the All Blacks outscored the Boks by four tries to three – but the Boks led from the second minute and never let up. Two late tries from the All Blacks added some gloss to the final score.
Victory ensured that the Boks retained their record of not losing back-to-back home Tests to the same opponent since the Lions in 1997. More importantly, it keeps the series well and truly alive.
Wing Cheslin Kolbe landed seven out of seven kicks at goal for a haul of 18 points, in addition to a fine all-round performance.
Mind games
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus swapped his entire advertised front row before kick-off, bending the series rules to the maximum. It’s a ploy that might not have gone down well in the New Zealand camp, and could be construed as going against the spirit of the game, if not the letter of the law.
Whether it worked is also a moot point from a set-piece perspective, but it did allow the Boks to have a reasonably fresh Malcolm Marx on the field in the second half, and he won two crucial breakdown penalties that resulted in six vital points from Kolbe’s boot.
The Boks’ kicking game was generally excellent, and their scramble defence held firm – even though it’s a dangerous ploy to give the All Blacks the chance to run back at you.
Scrumhalf Cam Roigard and flyhalf Ruben Love have the makings of a great halfback pair, while up front, the likes of lock Fabian Holland and tireless lock/flank Tupou Vaa’i were immense.
The Springboks pre-match warm-up was unusually intense, almost a full contact session at times. The intensity was immense and the Boks took that on to the field.
From the start they tore into the All Blacks with savage ferocity in a feral atmosphere at DHL Stadium.
All Black centre Jordie Barrett fielded the kick-off and punted the ball to touch immediately, perhaps sensing that he didn’t want to initiate the first contact of the match against the salivating Boks.
That meant a Bok lineout just outside the All Black’s 22-metre area – the first examination of hooker Deon Fourie’s throwing in. Fourie, one of the late swaps, did enough to find his jumper and the Boks set up a rolling maul, marching the All Blacks 15m back.
From there Fourie charged forward, was stopped, but Siya Kolisi was next to carry with intent. Boks players came ploughing around the corner and eventually centre Jesse Kriel smashed over with less than two minutes played.
It was the perfect start for the under-pressure world champions, but starts are one thing – sustaining the pressure was the trick.
And for the next 12 minutes the All Blacks turned the pressure back on the home team, keeping the Boks pinned back in their territory.
New Zealand were happy to go wide or use the boot to keep the Boks inside their half, and it eventually paid off.
From a lineout just inside South Africa’s half, the All Blacks moved the ball to the right, creating an overlap for wing Will Jordan.
The great finisher stepped through Kriel’s despairing dive and then did enough to ride Damian de Allende’s tackle before offloading to the supporting Roigard, who dotted down under the crossbar.
Making more of chances
Unlike the first Test though, the Boks made more of the chances they had. From the restart, which the All Blacks failed to control, the Boks won a penalty for offside.
Kolbe called for the kicking tee and added three points to his earlier conversion.
The Boks then put some daylight between the teams when they scored their second try through De Allende. The move again had its genesis from a rolling maul and good phase work before the great centre punched over the line.
The Boks were in charge, but little mistakes kept the All Blacks in with a sniff – and they don’t need much invitation to stay in the fight.
When Kolbe kicked out on the full, giving the tourists a lineout on the Boks’ 10-metre line, the All Blacks switched on.
All Blacks captain and N0 8 Ardie Savea burst through a hole at the back of a lineout, and in a flash, the Boks were swamped in black jerseys. The ball went wide where fullback Damian McKenzie had acres of space to score in the corner. With Ruben Love’s second conversion, it was a three-point game again.
The Boks finished the half strongly when Kolisi smashed over from a move that started with a five-metre scrum. The captain roared his delight after scoring, which symbolised the Boks’ entire first-half performance.
Cagey second half
The pressure the Boks were applying made more inroads early in a second half that was mostly played between the two 22-metre lines.
Vaa’i blocked Kolbe when chasing a high kick to hand the Boks another three points, and minutes later Marx won the first of his penalties to help extend the lead.
Those points were racked up as the All Blacks gave up three penalties in quick succession – what ultimately proved to be the key period in the game.
The All Blacks, at least the All Blacks under Dave Rennie, are never going to simply fade away, and the backlash duly arrived, but too late.
Tries from wing Leroy Carter and Ardie Savea in the last 15 minutes made it a nervy finish. DM
Scorers
South Africa – Tries: Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Siya Kolisi. Conversions: Cheslin Kolbe (3). Penalties: Kolbe (4)
New Zealand – Tries: Cam Roigard, Damian McKenzie, Leroy Carter, Ardie Savea. Conversions: Ruben Love (3).
Craig Ray’s travel was sponsored by Monster Energy.
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