Cape Town: World champions South Africa delivered a powerful first-half performance as they edged past New Zealand and levelled Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1 with two Tests to play.
According to BBC, the All Blacks traveled to Cape Town knowing a win would write them into the history books as the first New Zealand team to win back-to-back Tests in South Africa since the Incomparables of 1996. However, South Africa dominated the basics and showed a more clinical edge this week, even though the lively All Blacks again outscored them on the try count by four to three.
New Zealand's fightback ultimately came too late, with captain Ardie Savea barging over on 77 minutes to get the game within a score. On the All Blacks' final attack, Boks replacement Cameron Hanekom won a superb turnover that settled the nervy closing stages.
Springboks wing Cheslin Kolbe took on the kicking duties over fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, notching up 18 points in a player-of-the-match performance. The series is shaping into an epic, with the third Test back at altitude in Soweto, Johannesburg next Saturday.
The Springbok team that took the field at the Cape Town Stadium was markedly different from the one originally named by head coach Rassie Erasmus on Monday. Fly-half Handre Pollard was fit and then injured and withdrawn in the week, while Kolbe was injured, then fit, and eventually named on the wing. Erasmus also switched around his whole front row in the hours before kick-off, resulting in five changes from the matchday squad announced on Monday.
Despite producing a famous rearguard effort in the first-Test victory at Ellis Park, New Zealand boss Dave Rennie warned that his side would need to "go deeper" to cope with the inevitable Springbok backlash. South African onslaught came from the off, with hooker Deon Fourie, the oldest Springbok in history, finding his target in the line-out. The South African maul powered into the 22, and lightning-fast ball led to center Jesse Kriel crashing over.
New Zealand grew into the contest, with referee Angus Gardner presiding over a fast and fluent game. Damian McKenzie made a clean break, and Ruben Love leveled the scores. However, the Springboks showed far more ruthlessness compared to a week ago, with Kolbe kicking a penalty and Damian de Allende barrelling over after another imposing maul.
As the match progressed, the All Blacks backs, led by Roigard, tried to drag New Zealand back into the match. Some excellent attacking play resulted in Leroy Carter scampering into the left corner, and skipper Savea crashed over to cut the gap to seven points with two minutes remaining. However, the Springboks held on, despite lock Lood de Jager being sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle.
The All Blacks' impressive win in the first Test had temporarily shot them above South Africa in the world rankings, something Erasmus urged his side to rectify. With the momentum now back with South Africa, the eyes of the rugby world turn to Soweto for the next thrilling encounter in this storied rivalry.