All Blacks make statement with dominant victory over the Springboks

New Zealand sent out a message to the rest of the world as they produced an impressive performance to beat South Africa 35-20 in the Rugby Championship.

The All Blacks were utterly sublime in the opening 20 minutes and the Springboks had no answer, with Aaron Smith and Shannon Frizell tries helping the hosts into a 17-0 lead.

Jacques Nienaber’s men did get on the board through Faf de Klerk’s penalty and then gave themselves hope as Malcolm Marx and Cheslin Kolbe touched down in the second period.

However, the accurate kicking of Richie Mo’unga, who slotted three penalties and three conversions, allied by a try from Will Jordan, effectively sealed the victory for the hosts.

The fly-half then rubberstamped the win as he touched down to confirm their second successive victory in this year’s tournament.

With just Australia standing in their way, New Zealand went a long way to retaining their Rugby Championship title, while also making a statement ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

If the All Blacks wanted to lay down a marker ahead of the World Cup, they very much did that in the first quarter.  They were fearsome in every facet, putting their opponents under pressure through their physicality, intensity, speed of ball and execution.

Even the set-piece, a staple of the Springboks’ game, initially went the way of the hosts, who were simply irrepressible in the early stages.

It was easily the best they had played under Ian Foster with the power of the carrying being matched by the accuracy of the kick-chase.

Up front, Frizell had his best game in a black shirt and with Ardie Savea, Scott Barrett and Brodie Retallick joining him in sending the visitors into reverse, Foster’s men were unstoppable.

Behind the scrum, playmakers Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett dictated play magnificently and it was the latter’s long pass to Jordan which set up the first try.

The wing had shown his aerial prowess by pressurising the South African back three under the high ball, but this time he displayed his running ability by scything through the heart of the defence to set up Smith’s score.

It was a storming start but New Zealand were not done yet.  After their fly-half had extended their advantage with a penalty, they went through the phases once again.  The ball was shifted to the left where Frizell was lurking and the back-row swatted away Willie le Roux to touch down.

Everyone, including the All Blacks’ fans, seemed stunned by the sheer ferocity of the home team and South Africa quite frankly needed to get a foothold in the game.

They at least halted the hosts’ surge and got their own big ball carriers more into the game.  That allowed them to set up the position for Kolbe to challenge Beauden Barrett in the air following a cross-field kick.

As Barrett went to ground the full-back lost possession of the ball, allowing Kolbe to potentially to touch down but, in the act of scoring, the wing was deemed to have knocked on, rather than ground, the ball.

📏 Such a close call.

Was it a try, yes or no? 🤔#NZLvRSA #RugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/jnCuPyw4v8

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) July 15, 2023

The Boks instead had to be content with a De Klerk penalty, which reduced the arrears to 17-3, but that was immediately cancelled out by Mo’unga’s three-pointer as the hosts took a dominant lead into the break.

New Zealand then sought to put the match beyond doubt in the early stages of the second half, but Jordan knocked on after a last-ditch tackle from Kolbe.

It would be the All Blacks’ last opportunity for a while as the visitors began to edge themselves into the contest.  Their set-piece, from scrum to maul, started to function and after a dominant drive, Marx crossed the whitewash to bring his side back into the contest.

The momentum had switched, despite Mo’unga’s penalty, and Le Roux’s excellent pass allowed Kolbe to touch down.  However, the wing then missed the crucial conversion, leaving the visitors outside of converted try range.

It was to prove costly as New Zealand, knowing that they had the eight-point cushion, re-found their composure and put the match to bed.

Firstly, Jordan touched down as he latched on to a kick through before the outstanding Mo’unga well and truly made sure of the win by crossing the whitewash, despite Kwagga Smith’s last minute consolation try.

All Blacks hit back in style with win over Springboks

New Zealand picked up their first win in this year’s Rugby Championship after they overcame South Africa 35-23 at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Tries from Sam Cane, Samisoni Taukei’aho, David Havili and Scott Barrett helped ease the pressure on Ian Foster as the All Blacks ended a three-game drought.

Richie Mo’unga also contributed massively off the tee with 15 points as New Zealand responded admirably after what has been a dismal few months in the camp.

Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi went over for South Africa’s tries while fly-half Handre Pollard added 13 points as they came up short in Johannesburg.

After struggling with their starts to games in recent outings, it was a much-improved opening from the All Blacks in this second fixture as they came out well.

Using the cross-kick to good effect and with plenty of possession and territory to boot, they had a foothold in the contest and matched the hosts’ physicality.

Despite their early dominance, however, the All Blacks could not turn pressure into points and that was with Damian Willemse off the field after he was yellow carded for killing the ball at a ruck.  The Boks managed to hold firm and eventually eased the pressure, thanks largely to Pieter-Steph du Toit’s intercept.

Like last week there was a need for tinkering in South Africa’s side early on as Jesse Kriel was replaced by Willie le Roux after he suffered a concussion.  Willemse, on his return, moved to inside centre with Am shifting to wing to accommodate Le Roux’s introduction at full-back, with more changes set to come.

New Zealand, to their credit, were much better in the forward exchanges and their improvements from last weekend were rewarded on 23 minutes as a run downfield that involved Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane ended with Lood de Jager straying offside.  Mo’unga made no mistake off the tee and the All Blacks led.

Things would get even better for Foster’s charges three minutes later when Cane finished off from Jordan’s pass on the right wing to make it 8-0 to the visitors.

South Africa were forced to act and sent on Malcolm Marx for Joseph Dweba before New Zealand scored again, this time Taukei’aho barging over to make it 15-0.

Cue Jasper Wiese and Steven Kitshoff’s arrival off the bench as Duane Vermeulen and Ox Nche made their way off and those changes paid dividends shortly after, with the ball coming to the right wing where Am was able to slip Caleb Clarke en route to the whitewash.  Pollard’s extras made it 15-7 to the All Blacks.

Following the interval, South Africa looked to build on that score and a Pollard penalty goal made it a two-point ball game after 45 minutes.  However, a late Wiese tackle on Aaron Smith pushed New Zealand back into a five-point lead shortly after as the fixture looked destined to be a tight affair right until the finish.

South Africa thought they had levelled matters on 56 minutes when wing Am’s break from his own half led to Mapimpi crossing.  However, obstruction from scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse was spotted by referee Luke Pearce and the try was chalked off, with Mo’unga slotting the resulting penalty to make it 21-13.

South Africa playing catch-up

The Springboks would not be denied for long though as, following a Marx turnover, Willemse’s superb pass found Mapimpi, who this time finished for the score.

After Pollard’s excellent touchline conversion it was a one-point deficit for the hosts and things looked promising for them when Beauden Barrett was sin-binned for taking out Hendrikse off the ball.  The Springbok fly-half made no mistake in moving them into the lead for the first time as the comeback looked on.

But the All Blacks found one last burst of energy as, following Ioane’s lung-busting break from his own half, the ball was recycled for centre Havili to reach out, making it 28-23 on 74 minutes, before Scott Barrett crashed over late on to rubberstamp a huge result that New Zealand as a team and country will savour.

Clinical Boks draw first blood against All Blacks

South Africa made an excellent start to their Rugby Championship campaign when they clinched a 26-10 victory over New Zealand in Mbombela on Saturday.

In a fast-paced an entertaining affair, the Springboks were full value for their win as they were the dominant side for long periods and eventually outscored the All Blacks by two tries to one.

Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux crossed for the home side’s tries while Handre Pollard finished with a 16-point haul courtesy of two conversions, three penalties and a drop goal.

For the visitors, Shannon Frizell scored a five-pointer which was converted by Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett succeeded with a penalty.

The All Blacks seldom asked questions of the world champions but when they did they were met by a superb defensive display from the men in green and gold.

New Zealand came into this match as underdogs but, if truth be told, they looked clueless on attack and this defeat will put more pressure on under fire head coach Ian Foster whose team have now lost five of their last six Tests.

Despite the visitors’ inadequacies, the Boks’ forwards deserve plenty of credit for this win as they bullied their counterparts from the outset and it was a special occasion for their hooker, Malcolm Marx, who was named as the official man of the match in his 50th Test.  However, a blot on the Boks’ copybook came in the 75th minute when Arendse was red carded for taking Beauden Barrett out in an aerial collision.

The match got off to an eventful start when 43 seconds after the kick off the Boks suffered a massive blow when Faf de Klerk was knocked out cold after coming off second best when trying to tackle Caleb Clarke.

He was replaced immediately by Jaden Hendrikse but despite losing their talismanic scrum-half, the home side still had the better of the early exchanges.  And in the ninth minute they opened the scoring when Arendse crossed for the opening try.  This, after Beauden Barrett failed to gather a high ball from Pollard inside his 22.  Lukhanyo Am pounced and managed to offload to Arendse, who had a clear run-in for his first Test try.

Pollard added the extras and midway through the half he slotted a penalty, after All Blacks skipper Sam Cane went off his feet at a ruck.

It was all South Africa during the rest of the half as they continued to have the bulk of the possession and territory with the All Blacks battling to build momentum when they did manage to get their hands on the ball.  On the rare occasions that they did, the visitors’ attacks came to nothing due to several unforced errors.

In the 26th minute, Akira Ioane threw a forward pass close to the halfway line ― after Beauden Barrett did well with a counter attack from deep inside his half ― and five minutes later David Havili knocked on when he had an overlap on his outside inside the Boks’ half.

3 consecutive NZ losses for first time since 1998, first time lost 3 in a row by 10 points or more

― Russ Petty (@rpetty80) August 6, 2022

Although the hosts continued to have a firm grip on the game, the All Blacks gained a reprieve against the run of play in the 36th minute when Jordie Barrett opened his team’s account courtesy of a penalty.  This, after Damian de Allende was blown up for straying offside when taking the ball into contact from an attacking scrum.

That meant the Boks had their tails up with the score 10-3 in their favour at half-time but they still had plenty of work to do if they wanted to seal their first home win over New Zealand since 2014.

The opening exchanges of the second half were cagey but the hosts extended their lead in the 51st minute when Pollard succeeded with his second penalty, following a scrum infringement from Tyrel Lomax.

Marx continues to shine

The All Blacks showed more intensity after the interval and tested the home side’s defence with some strong carries but they continued to make mistakes and were bullied at the breakdowns ― where Marx was prominent.

In the 58th minute, Pollard put more daylight between his side and their opponents when he slotted a well-taken drop goal from 35 metres out.  The next 15 minutes were frantic but another Pollard penalty in the 71st minute ― after Beauden Barrett was blown up at a ruck ― hammered home his side’s dominance.

Shortly afterwards, Arendse was sent off after his horror challenge on Barrett and in the 79th minute Frizell crossed for a consolation try after Clarke did well with a barnstorming run in the build-up.

Despite that score, the Boks finished stronger and they sealed their win in injury time when a pass from Cane to Frizell didn’t go to hand and Le Roux gathered before crossing for a try which sealed his side’s convincing win.

Springboks bounce back with epic win over All Blacks

The Springboks ended a three-match losing streak when they claimed a hard-fought 31-29 Rugby Championship triumph against the All Blacks on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

In another drama-filled and exciting encounter, just like last weekend’s match between these sides, this contest also went down to the wire with Elton Jantjies clinching the result for his team with an injury time penalty.

South Africa’s other points came via tries from Damian de Allende and Makazole Mapimpi while Handre Pollard succeeded with four penalties and Jantjies added another three-pointer off the kicking tee and a drop-goal.

For New Zealand, Sevu Reece, Ardie Savea and Brad Weber scored tries while Jordie Barrett finished with a 14-point haul courtesy of three penalties and a conversion.

The Springboks did most of the early attacking although Pollard was off target with a penalty attempt in the fifth minute, after a high tackle on Mapimpi, but the Boks put that setback behind them and soon opened the scoring courtesy of De Allende’s try.

Lukhanyo Am did well to win a loose ball inside New Zealand’s 22 before offloading brilliantly out of the back of his hand to Sbu Nkosi, who drew Jordie Barrett before passing to De Allende, who crossed in the right-hand corner.

Shortly afterwards the All Blacks opened their account courtesy of a Barrett penalty after Am infringed at a ruck.

Five minutes later, Willie le Roux failed to gather an up-and-under just outside his 22 and the Boks were made to pay as the All Blacks launched a counter attack with Beauden Barrett finding Reece with a cross-field kick and he did well to score out wide despite a desperate tackle from Duane Vermeulen.

10 minutes later, Scott Barrett impeded Mapimpi while the latter was competing for a high ball and Pollard gave his side an 11-8 lead when he succeeded with the resulting penalty in the 24th minute.

Five minutes later, the All Blacks launched an attack from a lineout close to the halfway line with Beauden Barrett doing brilliantly to beat a couple of defenders before getting a pass out to Rieko Ioane.  He set off towards the Boks’ try-line before throwing an inside pass to Savea, who dove over in spectacular fashion.

Full-back Barrett converted to give the All Blacks a 15-11 lead and shortly afterwards Weber pounced when Eben Etzebeth failed to gather a throw-in at a lineout close to South Africa’s try-line.  Etzebeth knocked the ball onto the arm of Joe Moody and Weber gathered before crossing out wide.

Just before half-time, Pollard stepped up to add his third penalty which meant New Zealand were holding a 20-14 lead as the teams changed sides at the interval.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first with the Springboks on the attack from the kick off and two minutes after the restart they won a scrum penalty which Pollard converted to narrow the gap to three points.

The Boks continued to hold the upper hand and in the 52nd minute they launched an attack from a lineout close to the All Blacks’ try-line.  Malcolm Marx and Steven Kitshoff put them on the front foot with strong carries before the ball was shifted to the wing where Mapimpi dotted down in the left-hand corner.

The next 15 minutes was an attritional affair as both sides gave their all to win this Test and in the 58th minute Jantjies extended the Boks’ lead when he slotted a penalty, after the All Blacks strayed offside on defence.  Despite trailing by five points, the All Blacks did not panic and they narrowed the gap again when Barrett added his second penalty in the 67th minute.

That set up a nail-biting finish and in the 74th minute Barrett slotted his third three-pointer off the kicking tee after Frans Steyn infringed at a breakdown.  The world champions did not surrender though and soon after Jantjies landed his drop-goal from 40 metres out to give his side the lead again.

There was plenty of drama in the game’s closing stages and in the 79th minute the All Blacks went in front for the third time courtesy of another Barrett penalty after Franco Mostert was blown up for an indiscretion at a ruck.

The Boks refused to throw in the towel and launched one final attack and Jantjies added the match-winning points with the clock in the red after the All Blacks were caught offside on defence again.

All Blacks hold off Boks to win Rugby Championship

Jordie Barrett’s 78th-minute penalty snatched a 19-17 victory for New Zealand against South Africa in their Rugby Championship encounter in Townsville on Saturday.

This was the 100th Test between these sides and it lived up to the hype as the match was in the balance throughout, with the All Blacks’ triumph meaning they have won the tournament.

Both sides scored a try apiece with Will Jordan crossing for the All Blacks and Sbu Nkosi dotting down for the Springboks.  Full-back Barrett scored all New Zealand’s other points courtesy of a conversion and four penalties and Handre Pollard also added four three-pointers off the kicking tee for South Africa.

South Africa came into this game under tremendous pressure ― after losing their two previous Tests against the Wallabies ― but they delivered a much improved and more competitive performance which did justice to their status as world champions.

The All Blacks made a terrific start and three minutes into the game Codie Taylor tore the Springbok defence to shreds with a powerful carry from just inside his half.  He was soon inside his opponents’ territory where he offloaded to Jordan, who outpaced the cover defence on his way over the try-line.

Shortly afterwards, the Springboks struck back in bizarre fashion.  This, when George Bridge failed to gather a routine bomb from Faf de Klerk inside his 22 and Nkosi pounced on the loose ball before crossing for an easy five-pointer.

Pollard’s conversion attempt was wide of the mark but he made up for that miss when he landed a penalty in the 10th minute after Brodie Retallick was blown up for obstruction.

Two minutes later, the All Black second-row was penalised again and Pollard succeeded with a long-range goal-kick which meant the world champions were leading 11-7 by the 12th minute.

The next 20 minutes was a slugfest with the sides giving their all to gain the ascendancy and their contrasting styles was evident throughout, with the Boks’ tactic of trying to slow proceedings down countered by the All Blacks’ expansive style of play.

New Zealand managed to breach the Boks’ defence on a couple of occasions but their execution was not of its usual high standards, although they managed to narrow the gap to a point when Barrett landed his first penalty on the half-hour mark.

Five minutes later, South Africa were reduced to 14 men when Nkosi was yellow carded for a deliberate knock down deep inside his 22 and Barrett slotted the resulting penalty which gave his side a 13-11 lead at half-time.

The All Blacks were fastest out of the blocks after the interval and soon after the restart they were camped close to the Springboks’ try-line only for Nepo Laulala to knock on a short pass from TJ Perenara.

The attritional nature to the game continued with neither side giving an inch and we had to wait until the 58th minute for the first points of the half when Pollard added another penalty after foul play from the All Blacks deep inside their half.

That lead did not last long as on the hour-mark Barrett succeeded with his third penalty after the Boks strayed offside on defence.

The final quarter was a tense affair with South Africa upping the ante in possession and in the 67th minute they launched an attack from a lineout inside New Zealand’s 22.  And when the All Blacks’ strayed offside on defence, Pollard stepped up to add his fourth penalty which put his team in front for the last time.

There was plenty of end-to-end action as the game drew to a close and in its dying moments Willie le Roux was penalised for holding onto the ball on the ground, leaving Barrett a difficult shot from distance, but he held his nerve to slot the match-winning three points.

All Blacks stunned as late try sees them draw with Boks

Herschel Jantjies was once again the South African hero as the scrum-half touched down late on to help rescue a 16-16 draw against the All Blacks in Wellington.

The Springboks controlled the opening half-hour and deservedly went 6-0 in front via Handre Pollard but one error saw New Zealand hit back as Jack Goodhue touched down for a 7-6 lead at the interval.

Beauden Barrett then added a penalty early in the second period to extend the hosts’ buffer but Pollard kept Rassie Erasmus’ men in contention.

There was little between the two but the defending world champions appeared to display the greater control and quality in the latter exchanges and moved 16-9 up through successive Richie Mo’unga three-pointers.

There was one last sting in the tail from South Africa, however, as Jantjies crossed the whitewash – Pollard converting – to level matters late on.

It means that the Boks reside at the top of the Rugby Championship table with one round remaining while the All Blacks, who once again failed to fire in attack, sit in second.

There was plenty of excitement before the game with the introduction of Mo’unga and the selection of Barrett at full-back, but the former began rather nervously.

Twice the fly-half’s kicks were charged down and it allowed a confident Springboks side to get on the front foot.  They capitalised on the hosts’ errors and were rewarded by the accurate boot of Pollard, who kicked two penalties for a 6-0 advantage.

His playmaking team-mate was also struggling and their decision-making was quite simply atrocious in the opening quarter.  There were mistakes aplenty and the full-back, who surprisingly took on kicking duties, missed a relatively simple chance to reduce the arrears.

South Africa were almost toying with the home side.  Their defence was exceptional and the half-backs – Faf de Klerk and Pollard – were varying the kicking game nicely.

As a result of the pressure exerted, the Springbok pivot was handed another opportunity, but this time his effort was awry off the tee.

It was to prove costly as the visitors failed to garner the points their dominance deserved.  Even when New Zealand are playing poorly, they are always dangerous off turnover ball and one moment of quality was the away team’s undoing.

🤩 That pace from Barrett and the finish from Goodhue!  Tune into @skysportnz for a massive second half as the All Blacks lead @Springboks 7—6.#NZLvRSA #BACKBLACK 🇳🇿🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/otGYpzx0Wi

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 27, 2019

South Africa knocked on in the midfield and the space opened up out wide for Barrett to scamper down the right.  Goodhue was on his shoulder and, after receiving a pass from the full-back, the centre crossed the whitewash unopposed for a one-point advantage at the break.

Buoyed by that score, the All Blacks displayed much more composure at the start of the second half and extended their lead via Barrett’s three-pointer.

Erasmus’ men were now the side making the needless errors, but they were kept in the game by the errant boot of New Zealand’s kicker, who missed his second penalty attempt.

Following that miss, the visitors responded when Pollard kicked another three-pointer – a minute after Brodie Retallick had sustained a nasty-looking shoulder injury – but Mo’unga immediately restored the four-point gap.

It meant a tense final 10 minutes but the All Blacks seemed to take control through a second penalty from their fly-half.  However, South Africa produced a fine move in the final minute as Cheslin Kolbe raced down the right and chipped ahead.  Jantjies was in support and, although he received a bit of luck by not knocking on under pressure from Aaron Smith, the youngster collected and touched down.

The scrum-half should have taken it closer to the uprights in preparation for the conversion but it did not matter as Pollard added the extras to dramatically tie the game.

The kick is good! 🙌

Nerves of steel from Pollard who nails the conversion on the hooter and it is a draw! 😰

Follow live coverage of the Rugby Championship clash between New Zealand and South Africa live on Sky Sports Action here:  https://t.co/1y9UxtDIBM pic.twitter.com/wE0dU4VyE6

— Sky Sports Rugby (@SkySportsRugby) July 27, 2019

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Goodhue
Con:  Barrett
Pens:  Barrett, Mo’unga 2

For South Africa:
Try:  Jantjies
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard 3

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 George Bridge

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Late All Blacks comeback stuns Springboks

A late Ardie Savea try helped the All Blacks to a hard-fought 32-30 victory over the Springboks in their Rugby Championship Test in Pretoria on Saturday.

In a tightly contested match, the home side made a bright start and dominated the early exchanges but two Handré Pollard penalties were all they had to show for their efforts before the All Blacks struck back with two penalties of their own from Beauden Barrett, which meant the sides were level at 6-6 at half-time.

South Africa upped the ante on attack after the break and eventually held a 30-13 lead by the hour-mark before the world champions' late comeback saw them score 19 unanswered points during the final quarter.

If the truth be told, the All Blacks were far from their best as they were under the cosh for large periods although they did well to fight back and eventually outscored their hosts by four tries to three.

The Springboks were the dominant side early on and took the lead in the fourth minute when Pollard slotted a penalty from 52 metres out after Kieran Read was blown up for offside play on defence.

The All Blacks conceded several further penalties over the next 10 minutes and the Springboks were soon camped inside their opponents' 22.

In the 13th minute, Damian de Allende was held up while crossing the All Blacks' try-line but, once again, the world champions strayed offside on defence and Pollard doubled his team's lead when he added the resulting penalty.

South Africa continued to dominate and had the bulk of the possession and territory during the next 10 minutes and kept the All Blacks pinned inside their half thanks to accurate kicking out of hand from Pollard and Faf de Klerk.

New Zealand soaked up that early pressure and opened their account in the 26th minute courtesy of a penalty from Barrett after Eben Etzebeth infringed at a lineout 10 metres inside South Africa's half.

And 10 minutes later, Barrett drew his side level when he added another three-pointer of the kicking tee after illegal play from Francois Louw at a ruck.

Just like the opening half, the Springboks were fastest out of the blocks after the break and four minutes after the restart Steven Kitshoff got a pass out to Jesse Kriel, just outside the All Blacks' 22, and he did well to shrug off tackles from Waisake Naholo and Ryan Crotty before outsprinting the cover defence to score the opening try.

Pollard added the extras and also slotted another long range penalty three minutes later which meant the Boks were now leading 16-6.

Five minutes later, South Africa went further ahead when Siya Kolisi made a brilliant line break before offloading to De Allende, who dotted down under the posts.

Once again, Pollard was successful off the kicking tee but the All Blacks responded shortly afterwards courtesy of an Aaron Smith try after Codie Taylor tore the home side's defence to shreds with a superb run in the build-up.

Despite that setback, the Boks did not panic and in the 59th minute Cheslin Kolbe ran onto a pass from Willie le Roux and dotted down in the right-hand corner but only after confirmation from the television match official after desperate tackles from fly-half Barrett and Rieko Ioane on defence.

Pollard retained his perfect goal-kicking record by slotting the conversion which meant the Boks had their tails up with the score 30-13 in their favour.

But despite that huge margin, the All Blacks showed why they are the world champions as they came back strongly during the game's closing stages.

Two minutes after Kolbe's try, the All Blacks created space for Ioane on the wing and he cantered in for an easy five-pointer after an inch-perfect long pass from pivot Barrett.

The All Blacks finished stronger and they spent most of the final 10 minutes inside South Africa's half.  And after an extended period camped deep inside the Boks' 22, Scott Barrett barged over the whitewash from close range in the 75th minute with Richie Mo'unga's conversion making it a three-point game.

Just before full-time, the All Blacks were hammering away at the Boks' try-line before Savea showed his class to dot down under a mass of bodies and, once again, Mo'unga added the extras with the last act of the game to clinch the win for New Zealand.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe
Cons:  Pollard 3
Pens:  Pollard 3

For New Zealand:
Tries:  A Smith, Ioane, S Barrett, Savea
Cons:  Mo'unga 3
Pens:  B Barrett 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Matthew Carley (England)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Springboks stun All Blacks in Wellington

South Africa caused a major shock in their Rugby Championship Test with New Zealand as they claimed a 36-34 win in Wellington on Saturday.

In a thrilling match filled with plenty of drama, the Boks were deserved winners as they held the lead for most of the match.

The All Blacks outscored their visitors by six tries to five although poor goalkicking from Beauden Barrett cost the world champions in the end as he missed four shots at goal.

The win is a momentous result for the Springboks as it is their first triumph on New Zealand soil since 2009 and this is the All Blacks' first defeat in the Rugby Championship since 2015.

South Africa were under the cosh early on when Handré Pollard's kick to get the game underway went over the deadball line and, after an extended period camped inside the Boks' half, the All Blacks opened the scoring.  Jordie Barrett gathered a pass from his brother Beauden and glided through a gaping hole in the visitors' defence before crossing for the opening try.

The older Barrett failed with the conversion attempt but the All Blacks continued to dominate and spent long periods inside South Africa's half during the next 10 minutes.

And in the 16th minute, Ben Smith made a superb line break down the right-hand wing before throwing an inside pass to Aaron Smith, who cantered in for an easy five-pointer.

Barrett made up for his earlier miss and added the extras which gave the world champions a deserved 12-0 lead.

The visitors did not panic, however, and struck back midway through the half with a well-taken try from Aphiwe Dyantyi after good work from Malcolm Marx and Willie le Roux in the build-up.

That try was converted by Pollard and, although the Boks were trailing by five points, they were the dominant side for the next 15 minutes and were rewarded with two further tries during that period.

First, Jordie Barrett took a quick lineout just outside his 22 but the throw was an inaccurate one and Le Roux gathered the bouncing ball from under the nose of Rieko Ioane before crossing for the visitors' second try.

And in the 32nd minute, the Boks went further ahead when Marx crossed the whitewash off the back of a lineout drive deep inside the All Blacks' 22.  Pollard converted both those tries which meant South Africa had their tails up with the score 21-12 in their favour.

The All Blacks needed a response and that came in the 38th minute when the ball was shifted to Ioane, who found himself in space out wide and he had an easy run-in for his side's third try.

The Boks would have the final say of the half, however, when just before half-time Pollard added a penalty which gave his side a 24-17 lead at the interval.

The visitors made a dream start to the second half when two minutes after the restart Cheslin Kolbe intercepted a pass from Anton Lienert-Brown before racing away to score his side's fourth try.

Pollard's conversion was successful which meant the Springboks were leading 31-17 but the All Blacks struck back 10 minutes later when Ioane gathered a pass from Beauden Barrett before stepping past Kolbe on his way over the tryline.

But despite that score, the Springboks continued to attack and in the 57th minute Dyantyi rounded off a flowing move — in which RG Snyman, Steven Kitshoff, Elton Jantjies and Warren Whiteley all handled the ball superbly — which gave his side a 36-24 lead.

That boosted the Boks' confidence but it did not deter the All Blacks who came roaring back in the 61st minute when Codie Taylor crossed the whitewash after a lineout drive close to the visitors' tryline.

The final quarter saw the All Blacks launching several attacks deep inside the Springboks' half as they looked to retain their unbeaten record in the competition.  In the 67th minute, South Africa were reduced to 14 men when Willie le Roux was yellow carded for taking Ioane out from an offside position close to the Boks' tryline.

With a numerical advantage, the All Blacks upped the ante on attack and were rewarded when Ardie Savea crossed the whitewash in the 74th minute after another lineout drive deep inside Bok territory.

The closing stages were a tense affair with the world champions continuing to attack close to the Boks' tryline but the visitors kept them at bay with a heroic defensive effort and held on for a memorable win.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  J Barrett, A Smith, Ioane 2, Taylor, Savea
Cons:  B Barrett 2

For South Africa:
Tries:  Dyantyi 2, Le Roux, Marx, Kolbe
Cons:  Pollard 4
Pen:  Pollard
Yellow Card:  Le Roux

New Zealand:  15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements:  16 Liam Coltman, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Jack Goodhue, 23 Damian McKenzie

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Beast Mtawarira, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Ross Cronjé, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Cheslin Kolbe

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gaüzère (France), Nic Berry (Australia)
Television match official:  Rowan Kitt (England)

All Blacks squeeze past Springboks

The All Blacks finished with a perfect Rugby Championship record as they secured a 25-24 win over the Springboks at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

The first half saw opportunities but good last-ditch defending from both sides was on show, especially the Boks who kept the All Blacks relatively quiet and just conceded the one try in the opening 40.

The Boks successfully managed to unsettle the All Blacks at the contact and breakdown area with Malcolm Marx and Pieter-Steph du Toit especially good on the ground.  This saw the All Blacks conceding a number of penalties.  In fact, hooker Marx made an incredible four turnovers.

The All Blacks were lucky to win in the end as the Boks actually had them under pressure for large periods of the second half but were unable to turn that dominance into enough points and in the end the All Blacks showed they are just more clinical and able to win games ugly when being second-best.

South Africa won a penalty in the ninth minute when All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock was penalised for having hands in the ruck.  Springbok fly-half Elton Jantjies slotted the penalty between the posts for a 3-0 lead.

All Blacks fly-half Beauden Barrett responded with a penalty just two minutes later.  But this was the only action of the first quarter.

Jantjies missed an easy chance to put the Boks back into the lead after Sam Cane was guilty of going offside.

The game was brought sparkling to life on the half-hour mark as Barrett's kick-through was well chased down by All Blacks centre Ryan Crotty who dotted down to give the All Blacks an 8-3 lead with Barrett missing the resulting conversion.

The Boks applied persistent pressure after the interval and were rewarded with scrum-half Ross Cronje dotting down on the base of the post after 14 sweeping phases.  Jantjies put the home side 10-8 in the lead with the conversion.

The Springboks continued to dominate but were unlucky to trail when completely against the run of play, Rieko Ioane pounced on a loose Bok pass and had the pace to outsprint the opposition defence all the way from deep in his own 22.  Lima Sopoaga added the extras to give the All Blacks a five-point buffer at 15-10.

But the Boks weren't to be denied as finally they had tangible reward for their pressure when substitute Jean-Luc du Preez crossed the whitewash after fellow substitute Handre Pollard did well to get his hands free in the tackle, offloading to Marx who showed good handling skills before he played the final pass for Du Preez to have a clear run to the line.  Pollard's conversion put the Boks back in front at 17-15 with 12 minutes to play.

Soon after, All Blacks full-back Damian McKenzie scored a magnificent individual counter-attacking try capitalising on a disjointed, shifting Springbok defence with his scything run after David Havili did well in the build-up to set up the break.  Sopoaga converted to restore the All Blacks' five-point buffer at 22-17 with 10 minutes to go.

With five minutes to play, Damian de Allende was shown a red card for his follow-through in trying to charge down Sopoaga's drop-goal in which he connected with the All Blacks replacement fly-half.  Sopoaga kicked the resulting penalty to make it 25-18, meaning a converted try would not be enough for the Boks.

Despite being a man down, the Boks fought back to within just one point when Marx crashed over at the back of a lineout driving maul to set up a tense finale.

But the All Blacks held on for victory and denied the Boks a rare victory.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Cronje, Du Preez, Marx
Cons:  Jantjies 2, Pollard
Pen:  Jantjies
Red Card:  De Allende

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Crotty, Ioane, McKenzie
Cons:  Sopoaga 2
Pen:  Barrett, Sopoaga

South Africa:  15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende

New Zealand:  15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 David Havili

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Rampant All Blacks blow Springboks away

New Zealand took a giant step towards winning the Rugby Championship when they claimed a 57-0 win over South Africa in Albany on Saturday.

The world champions were full value for their win and had the result in the bag in the first half as they led 31-0 at the break thanks to an early Beauden Barrett penalty and tries from Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Scott Barrett and Brodie Rettalick.

In the end, they outscored their hapless visitors eight tries to none with Milner-Skudder, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Lima Sopoaga and Codie Taylor also dotting down in the second half and the result is New Zealand's biggest ever triumph against their traditional rivals.

For the Springboks this was a sobering experience as it was their first defeat from seven Tests in 2017.  Allister Coetzee's charges looked a pale shadow of the side that beat France and Argentina, and drew with Australia last weekend.

They made a plethora of handling errors while their lineout — an attacking platform in their previous Tests this year — was a shambles with Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi missing their jumpers with regularity.

The result means the All Blacks now have an eight-point lead on the Boks, who are in second place, in the standings after four matches played.

The sides were evenly matched during the opening exchanges but the Springboks wasted a chance to open the scoring in the eighth minute when Elton Jantjies' penalty attempt struck an upright after Ioane was penalised for holding onto the ball on the ground.

Shortly afterwards, the visitors threw down the gauntlet at a scrum when they pushed their counterparts off the ball at the set-piece just inside the Bok half.

The All Blacks were soaking up the early pressure from their fired up visitors and eventually took the lead in the 14th minute courtesy of Barrett's penalty after Jesse Kriel was blown up for offside play on defence.

And three minutes later, the world champions increased their lead thanks to a well-taken try from Ioane.  This, after a moment of magic from Aaron Smith, who played quickly after his side were awarded a penalty inside the Springboks' half.

The diminutive number nine spotted a gap behind the visitors' defence and delivered an inch-perfect chip kick which Ioane gathered before crossing the whitewash.

South Africa tried gallantly to strike back but things went pear-shaped in the 21st minute when Milner-Skudder intercepted a wayward pass from Jean-Luc du Preez close to New Zealand's 22.

He was hauled in from behind by Courtnall Skosan but did well to offload to Barrett who returned the favour before the flyer went over for his side's second try.

The All Blacks further extended their lead in the 33rd minute when Beauden Barrett launched a teasing cross-field kick, deep inside the Boks' 22, which Skosan knocked on before Scott Barrett gathered the loose ball and cantered over for an easy five-pointer.

The Boks seemed shell-shocked and they were soon standing under their posts again when Retallick crossed for the All Blacks' fourth try after a brilliant break from the impressive Ioane in the build-up.

New Zealand continued to dominate after the restart and in the 53rd minute Milner-Skudder went over in the right-hand corner after gathering a long pass from Beauden Barrett.

The Boks were battling now but there was more to follow with the All Blacks' replacements coming on to complete the visitors' misery.  Ten minutes later, Tu’ungafasi gathered a pass from TJ Perenara before crashing over from close quarters for his first Test try.

New Zealand were not done yet and in the 74th minute Anton Lienert-Brown tore the Boks' defence to shreds with a mazy run before offloading to Sopoaga who dotted down next to the posts.

Barrett added the extras which brought up a half century of points for his side and just before full-time Taylor added the final nail in the Bok coffin when he dotted down from the back of a driving maul deep inside the visitors' 22.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Ioane, Milner-Skudder 2, S Barrett, Retallick, Tu’ungafasi, Sopoaga, Taylor
Cons:  B Barrett 7
Pen:  B Barrett

New Zealand:  15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

South Africa:  15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Jean-Luc du Preez, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks humiliate Springboks to equal Test record

New Zealand equalled the record of 17 consecutive Test wins with a 57-15 victory over the Springboks at Kings Park on Saturday.

This was as one-sided a game as you will see at Test level.

It was a record Test defeat for South Africa and New Zealand's fourth win in a row over the Springboks as they finished the Rugby Championship unbeaten with six bonus-point victories.

It was a phenomenal second-half performance by the All Blacks who scored 45 points in the second 40 and conceded only six.

For the Boks it doesn't get much worse than this.  Adriaan Strauss will want to forget his final Test on home soil as soon as possible.

They say statistics don't lie and there certainly is nowhere for the Springboks to hide.

No team can hope to win a Test against any team, let alone the All Blacks, when you miss 33 tackles (85 out of 118), have to contend with 31 percent possession while playing more than 70 percent of the game in your own half.

It was a comprehensive display by the world champions against a Bok side who, like a week ago against Australia, offered absolutely nothing on attack despite making 14 turnovers.

South Africa were forced to defend the whole game and whether they wanted to or not it was never going to be sustainable for 80 minutes.

The start was encouraging as the Boks showed plenty of energy and drive which was rewared with two Morné Steyn penalties.  Steyn again kept South Africa in the game and they were extremely lucky to only be trailing 12-9 at half time.

New Zealand were far from their best in the first 20 minutes and made some uncharacteristic mistakes as a few offloads didn't go to hand while they were also guilty of too many handling errors.

Despite not being very clinical early on the All Blacks dominated the ball and played all their rugby in the Springboks half.

They were relentless on the attack and tested the Bok defence constantly which was too passive as they failed to keep the All Black ball carriers behind the advantage line.

Israel Dagg opened the scoring for the All Blacks after sustained pressure on the hosts' try line.  It all started when Steyn failed to find touch from inside his 22.

Three missed tackles allowed New Zealand back in Springbok territory as Dagg jogged over unapposed despite some desperate Bok defence.

Another Steyn penalty gave the hosts a 9-5 lead before TJ Perenara scored a controversial try to win back the lead.  The scrum-half was brought down just before the Bok line and seemed to have lost the ball forward before regaining control and grounding it over the line.

After numerous replays the try was awarded which gave the All Blacks the lead for the first time in the match which they never surrendered.

New Zealand ran 758 metres in this Test compared to the 174 the Boks managed to make and they were rewarded with nine tries, seven in the second half, as Israel Dagg, Perenara and Beauden Barrett scored a brace each.  Codie Taylor, Ben Smith and Liam Squire also got on the score sheet.

What is clear for the Boks is that their gameplan simply isn't working.  It's also difficult to see Chean Roux stay on as defence coach.

Allister Coetzee is not known as an attack-minded coach and will need to bring in some outside help for the end-of-year tour.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Pens:  Steyn 5
Yellow Card:  De Jager

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Dagg 2, Perenara 2, Barrett 2, Taylor, Smith, Squire
Cons:  Barrett 4, Sopoaga 2
Yellow Card:  Taylor

South Africa:  15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Stephen Kitshoff, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Jaco Kriel, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Willie le Roux

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Waisake Naholo, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Liam Squire, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 George Moala

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Johnny Lacey (Ireland), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

New Zealand trounce error-ridden Boks

The All Blacks scored 26 points in the second half for a comprehensive 41-13 victory over South Africa in Christchurch on Saturday.

The victory all but secures New Zealand the Rugby Championship trophy with two rounds left in the tournament.

This was South Africa's best first-half performance of the year against a New Zealand side who struggled to stamp their authority on the game early on.  They lost steam in the second half while the All Blacks predictably grew stronger as the match went on.

As good as this All Blacks team is, they weren't at their best here and while they still played well in patches it has to be said that the Boks made it easy for them at times by making silly mistakes at crucial times.

The home side never really had to get out of third gear to win this Test, thanks to costly errors by the Boks which allowed New Zealand to pull away in the second 40 because as good as the Boks were in the first half, so bad were they in the second.

Indeed it was the Boks who scored first after Bryan Habana ran a superb line to receive a well timed pass from Warren Whiteley to go over, after some good phase play on the front ball.

Signs that this Bok team is still some way off their best was evident when New Zealand hit back straight afterwards when Israel Dagg jogged over the line to open his team's account.

It all started when Elton Jantjies knocked the ball on from the kick-off.  A scrum on the visitor's five-metre line saw the All Blacks move the ball wide with some slick, flat passing which left Dagg wide open for an easy try.

South Africa's biggest shortcoming and indeed Allister Coetzee's biggest concern will be their defensive organisation, especially in the wide channels, which resulted in quite a few tries.  Julian Savea exploited this when he scored his first try against South Africa for another easy run-in.

Dane Coles, who had an outstanding night, gave his first of three try-scoring passes with an offload to Savea after he had received a long pass from Aaron Smith.

After a promising start, the first signs were there that the Boks were starting to fall apart.  And fall apart they did.  After doing well to stay in the game by only trailing 15-10 at the break, they disintegrated in the second half and gifted the New Zealand too many try-scoring opportunities.

Jantjies arguably had his worst Test of the season and made another error at the restart which led to another try for the Kiwis, this time Ben Smith going over after some quick hands created a gap on the outside for the full-back to run through.  Jantjies pulled three points back to reduce the deficit to 22-13, but that was the last time South Africa managed to score any points as New Zealand switched to a higher gear.

Ardie Savea scored the bonus-point try after Aaron Smith was again afforded too much space around the fringes, exploiting South Africa's defence out wide.

Further tries by Sam Whitelock and TJ Perenara rounded off the second half demolition to hand the Boks their third defeat in a row.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Dagg, J Savea, B Smith, A Savea, Whitelock, Perenara
Cons:  Barrett 4
Pen:  Barrett

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Con:  Jantjies
Pens:  Jantjies 2

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 James Parsons, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

South Africa:  15 Johan Goosen, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Teboho Mohoje, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Jaco Kriel, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Damian de Allende

Referee:  Angus Gardiner
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzere, Marius Mitrea
TMO:  George Ayou

New Zealand edge another Bok classic

A late Richie McCaw try helped the All Blacks clinch a closely-fought clash with the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday, winning 27-20.

New Zealand have become masters of the fast finish and it was fitting that McCaw — in what was probably his last Test on South African soil — landed the killer blow against their fiercest rivals.

With the Springboks having crossed the Indian Ocean twice in the last fortnight, the last 20 minutes needed a big effort, but — as was the case last week against Australia — the Boks faded at the death of what was a thrilling game.

After being outscored three tries to two, the home side will rue a number of close calls having had their noses in front for most of the game.

The scores were locked at 10-all at the interval as Willie le Roux's early try was cancelled out by Ben Smith.

South Africa had led for almost the entire half and looked in control but — in typical fashion — the All Blacks struck with the last play of the half to level matters.  It was sign of things to come.

Quick-fire tries from Jesse Kriel and Dane Coles early in the second stanza kept the contest tight before McCaw's late try snatched victory for the world champions.

After a poor tactical kicking display in Brisbane last week, South African coach Heyneke Meyer was looking for huge improvement but he will have mixed feelings as the Boks mixed the excellent with the mediocre when kicking from hand.

It took the Boks less than two minutes to cheaply hand possession over to the All Blacks with a poorly directed box kick.  The ensuing ruck saw the visitors awarded a penalty, which Lima Sopoaga duly slotted for his first Test points.  The home crowd feared the worst.

However, a much better kick from Ruan Pienaar was at the origin of the first try.  Bismarck du Plessis caught Kieran Read in possession after Israel Dagg's pass, forcing the turnover.  The ball was sent wide to Le Roux on the overlap and the full-back split the outnumbered Kiwi defenders to race home.  Handré Pollard added the easy extras.

New Zealand had a golden opportunity to strike back, but Conrad Smith couldn't hang onto the snap pass from Aaron Smith, who had decided to run from a penalty dead in front of the posts.

The Boks were taking no such risks, and Pollard extended the lead with a penalty for offside play, meaning the hosts led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The visitors were clearly intent on keeping the pace of the game as high as possible and avoiding set pieces wherever possible, robbing the Boks of attacking chances from lineouts with a few quick throw-ins.

Pollard fell short with a shot at goal from inside his own half before Sopoaga was also off target with a much easier effort.

The home side looked set to take a seven-point gap into the break but a brilliant run up the middle of the field from Sopoaga changed the complexion of the game as Ben Smith collected his fly-half's pass to cross.  Sopoaga added the conversion to draw his team level.

A knee injury meant that Bok prop Jannie du Plessis did not emerge from the tunnel for the second half, giving Vincent Koch his first taste of Test rugby.  Francois Louw lasted just two minutes after the restart and home-town boy Warren Whiteley was given a huge welcome.

Kriel backed up his brilliant try last week with another great score as he split Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith off Pollard's pop pass to sprint over.  Pollard added the conversion as the Ellis Park crowd roared their approval.

The counter-punch from the All Blacks didn't take long to follow though, as Coles showed incredible pace for a hooker to charge over under the sticks.  Sopoaga's extras meant it was all-square with a half-an-hour to play.

Beauden Barrett was given a run at full-back as Dagg was taken off but it was the visitors' forwards who were in the firing line.

The TMO ruled that Lood de Jager had placed the ball millimetres short of the line — much to the hosts bemusement — but Pollard was able to put the Boks back in front with a penalty as the All Blacks gave away a penalty under huge pressure on their line.

A break from Le Roux put the visitors under more pressure and Sam Whitelock was sent to the bin for his attempts to kill the attack.

South Africa opted for the scrum rather than three easy points, but Eben Etzebeth was held up after a big shove for the line.  A knock on from Koch — who had blood streaming from his face — meant that they failed at their second attempt as precious points were left by the wayside.

South African breathed a huge sigh of relief as a long-range shot from Sopoaga fell short of goal, allowing the Boks to take a slim lead into the final 15 minutes.

Koch's trip to the nurse's office meant the hosts no longer had a specialist tighthead, resulting in uncontested scrums in the last 10 minutes.

Brodie Retallick was held up over the line but New Zealand went for the corner and McCaw ghosted through the middle of the lineout to bump Pienaar out the way to score an all-too-easy try in the 73rd minute.

Sopoaga's third conversion of the night put the men in black four points ahead, forcing the home side to chase a late try.

But it was Sopoaga who slammed home the final nail, sending over a penalty in the last minute.

Man of the match:  A mention for Lood de Jager, who worked tirelessly but Charles Piutau booked his ticket to the World Cup with a faultless display on defence and an electric performance on attack.

Moment of the match:  How do they always do it?  McCaw's try was another example of New Zealand's clinical execution as they came back from behind once again.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Le Roux, Kriel
Cons:  Pollard 2
Pens:  Pollard 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B. Smith, Coles, McCaw
Cons:  Sopoaga 3
Pens:  Sopoaga 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lionel Mapoe.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messsam, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Victor Vito, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

Venue:  Emirates Airlines Park (Ellis Park), Johannesburg
Referee:  Jérôme Garcès
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite, Leighton Hodges
TMO:  Graham Hughes

Sensational Springboks topple champs

South Africa ended New Zealand's 22-game unbeaten streak on Saturday with an incredible 27-25 victory in Johannesburg.

The result also sees the Springboks break a three-year losing streak against the world champions and Rugby Championship winners, claiming their first win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in ten years.

The sides scored three tries apiece but a Pat Lambie penalty from 55 metres out in the 78th minute gave the Boks an epic win and laid down a marker ahead of next year's World Cup in England.

It was hard to imagine that this year's showdown could even come close to the thriller of twelve months ago at the same venue but we were wrong.  The Boks took on the world's number-one ranked side at their own game, playing with volume and pace.

It was breathtaking.

The Springboks led 21-13 at half thanks to brilliant tries from half-backs Francois Hougaard and Handré Pollard, who scored twice.

Deprived of territory and possession, New Zealand typically converted every chance presented to them and Malakai Fekitoa's try on the half-hour meant they were still in the contest at the interval.

The second half became a much tighter affair as Richie McCaw's team concentrated on keeping ball in hand and their patience paid off as Ben Smith and Dane Coles both crossed in the final fifteen minutes to take a one-point lead into the dying minutes.

The rest is history.

The Boks kept everyone guessing over the participation of the influential Duane Vermeulen until the very last minute but the big number eight ran out with the home side as Jean de Villiers hit 50 Rugby Championship caps and McCaw set a new record for All Blacks appearances.

Kieran Read conceded the first kickable penalty for not rolling away but Pollard missed the target from long range.  Beauden Barrett had no such troubles to open the score after eight minutes.

The Boks were first to cross the whitewash, however, with a sensational length-of-the-field try finished off by Hougaard.  The hosts were rewarded for their enterprise as they spread it wide from deep inside their 22 metre area.  Cornal Hendricks collected De Villiers' chip ahead before offloading to Jan Serfontein, who provided the link for his scrum-half to race home and score under the sticks.  Pollard added the easy extras.

The All Blacks had hardly seen the ball as the first quarter drew to a close but Barrett could close the gap to a single point after Marcell Coetzee was penalised for not allowing the ball out of a ruck.

South Africa's second try was as good as the first.  Again it started in the hosts' half with Bryan Habana making good ground.  The finish was out of the top drawer as Pollard slalomed his way past three defenders to score.  The fly-half's conversion from dead in front took the scores to 14-6.  The Boks were simply bubbling with energy.

In typical fashion, New Zealand struck back as Julian Savea, chasing his own chip ahead, charged down the blindside touchline to open up the Bok defence.  Barrett found Fekitoa on a great line and he jinked his way over for a superb try.  Barrett's conversion was a formality.

Pollard had the last laugh though, beating his opposite number and twisting through McCaw's tackle to get the ball down on the line.  The young fly-half's conversion gave the Boks an eight-point lead at the break.

Conrad Smith's fingertips denied De Villiers a try in a footrace back soon after the restart but Pollard could extend SA's lead from the kicking tee after a deliberate knock-down from Jerome Kaino.

The All Blacks thought they had a try on the hour mark but Coetzee was able to get it down in-goal at the bottom of a ruck.

The Boks were running out of gas though and when Conrad Smith split De Villiers and Serfontein to put Ben Smith over in the corner, the words Déjà vu were whispered around the stadium.

Barrett held his nerve to slot the conversion from the touchline to set up a grandstand finish with the scores at 24-20 and twelve minutes on the clock.

Three minutes latter, with the Springboks looking dead on their feet, Dane Coles crossed in the corner to give the world champions a one-point lead.

Lambie tried a drop goal with four minutes, but unlike at Newlands a week ago, he would not snatch the lead back for his team.

He was on target from his own half with the match-winning penalty though as Liam Messam paid the price for a high tackle on Schalk Burger.

Man of the match:  A mention for Duane Vermeulen, who defied injury to make an outstanding contribution.  But we'll go for 20-year-old Handré Pollard, who not only scored two tries but belied his tender years with a mature performance.

Moment of the match:  Plenty of great moments but Hougaard's try marked a new age in Springbok rugby.  Box kicks?  No, tries from 90 metres!

Villain of the match:  No one nasty enough for this award.  What an advertisement for rugby.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Hougaard, Pollard 2
Cons:  Pollard 3
Pens:  Pollard, Lambie

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Fekitoa, B. Smith, Coles
Cons:  Barrett 2
Pens:  Barrett 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tebo Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Ryan Crotty

Referee:  Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzere;  JP Doyle
TMO:  Graham Hughes

Springboks fall short in Wellington

New Zealand overturned a half-time deficit to claim a 14-10 victory over South Africa in a thrilling Rugby Championship Test at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

Only two tries were scored — one apiece — but the clash between the two best sides in the world lived up to its billing as the All Blacks were forced to hang on in a nail-biting finish to an outstanding contest.

No complaints about the officials this week, only kudos to all those who contributed to a classic clash between old foes.

The result extends South Africa's five-year drought against the All Blacks on Kiwi soil and leaves New Zealand clear at the top of the tournament standings.

Like John Smit and Bryan Habana before him, Jean de Villiers' 100th Test ended in a narrow defeat, but it was almost a very different story as the Boks produced their best performance of the year.

New Zealand dominated the territory (over 70 percent) and possession statistics in the first half but it was the Springboks who led 7-6 at the interval thanks to a try from wing Cornal Hendricks.

The hosts had uncharacteristically made a handful of errors in the opposition 22 and would have been frustrated by their lack of return from opportunities against an excellent green and gold defence.

Richie McCaw's third try of the tournament put New Zealand back in front after the break but a Handré Pollard drop-goal set up a grandstand finish as they teams entered the final quarter neck and neck.

Crucially, the South African set-piece, traditionally such an important part of the Bok game, was functioning in top gear.  The line-out that had misfired in the opening weeks was rock solid with Victor Matfield and Eben Etzebeth untouchable in the air in the first hour.

A good early scrum from South Africa offered encouragement to the visitors, but it was the All Blacks' ability to keep ball in hand that meant New Zealand enjoyed the lion's share of field position and possession in the opening stages.  Aaron Cruden got the scoreboard ticking after Habana was penalised on the deck.

However the Springboks were first to get over the whitewash as Pollard provided the platform for Hendricks to score his fifth try in seven starts.  It was the young fly-half's excellent kick into the corner that put the Boks into the red zone and it was his inside pass to put Hendricks clear in midfield that saw South Africa take the lead.  Pollard added the extras to make it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

McCaw was held up over the line shortly afterwards but Cruden's second penalty — against Ruan Pienaar for being offside — reduced the deficit to a single point.

Another potential score went a-begging for the New Zealand as Aaron Smith couldn't collect Kieran Read's offload with half time looming.  Cruden sent a penalty after the hooter wide, leaving the world champs trailing at half time.

South Africa lost Ruan Pienaar to a knee injury just before the break and Ma'a Nonu did not return from the changing rooms, meaning both backlines started the second half with a different look and feel.

The All Blacks moved back in front when Cruden's cross-field kick out wide found Read, who offloaded to his skipper to touch down in the corner.  Cruden's conversion effort was off target, leaving New Zealand leading 11-7.

A series of lost line-outs had the Boks on the back foot and only Willie le Roux's pace saved his team a try as he beat Aaron Smith in a footrace to dot down.

Pollard slotted a cheeky drop-goal under pressure to bring South Africa to within a point as they cashed in on a rare opportunity to attack inside the Kiwi half.

Pollard put a long-range penalty attempt just wide but Beauden Barrett made no such mistake after Tendai Mtawarira didn't roll away giving New Zealand a four-point lead heading into the final ten minutes.

Those final minutes were dominated by the visitors as De Villiers twice chose to go for a winning try over a penalty.  But the hosts resisted wave after wave of pressure to hold on to a hard-earned victory.

Man of the match:  Firstly a mention for Handré Pollard, who had a blinder, and underlined his status as South Africa's best 10.  Likewise, a mention for Victor Matfield who tackled his heart out a ruled the line-outs.  But we'll go for Richie McCaw, who scored the winning try and topped the Kiwi tackle count.

Moment of the match:  It went down to the wire, but the New Zealand's defence in the final minute was brilliant.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  McCaw
Pens:  Cruden 2, Barrett

For South Africa:
Try:  Hendricks
Cons:  Pollard
Drops:  Pollard

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Cory Jane.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Damian de Allende.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzí¨re (France), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO:  Peter Marshall (Australia)

All Blacks win classic at Ellis Park

The All Blacks retained the Rugby Championship silverware on Saturday as a six wins from six record ended with a 38-27 victory over South Africa.

It had been billed as possessing the ingredients to create one of the great Tests and the two teams did not disappoint.  Put simply, it was a classic.

There were thrills and spills from minute one with nine tries scored in all, but crucially for New Zealand they picked up the try bonus-point.

In fact they got five, despite being down to 14 men for a quarter of the game.  The Boks though can't fault their own efforts and neither will their fans.

But this is a special group of All Blacks who, despite missing Dan Carter, were led superbly by the likes of Kieran Read, Israel Dagg, Ma'a Nonu and Liam Messam.  Substitute fly-half Beauden Barrett was also critical coming off the bench.

New Zealand did begin the stronger but despite their dominance, the All Blacks failed to trouble the scoreboard.  What they did do was show to any pre-game pessimists they weren't here to just defend.

South Africa were clearly awoken and hit back after Charlie Faumuina was penalised by referee Nigel Owens at the scrum.  Morne Steyn made no mistake to put his side 3-0 up.

Attempting to seal victory before going all guns blazing for tries was clearly the message from Heyneke Meyer and unfortunately for South Africa they weren't prepared for the Kiwis' retort.  Ben Smith it was who crossed for the game's first try on twelve minutes following excellent work down the sideline from Read, who offloaded after drawing two defenders.  Smith then stepped inside and raced over for his eighth try of this year's tournament.

Smith's score saw him become the record marksman for a season in the Rugby Championship and old Tri-Nations format, moving above Habana and Christian Cullen.

Cue the aforementioned Bok to show his unique class as he went over for a brace of scores in two minutes.  His first arrived following Duane Vermuelen's line break 35 metres out, with the number eight then firing out a good pass to his wing who did well to get under the posts.

South Africa were now 10-7 ahead before Habana's second moment of brilliance, this time one of the best of his career.  The Toulon-bound wing was this time sent on his way by a superb offload on halfway from Francois Louw, with Habana's chip over the top bringing his pace to the fore as he made it 15-7.  Unluckily for him, he would soon leave the field injured.

New Zealand, as is their wont, responded in kind through Messam's drive over the line, helped by the hard-working Brodie Retallick, as the lead was down to a single point.

It had looked like South Africa might hit back though in the closing stages of the half but streetwise defence saved the visitors' skin before they launched a late attack of their own.  It bore fruit too, with Messam finishing off a fine team try on the left for a 21-15 half-time lead.

So New Zealand had three tries to South Africa's two, as the importance of the next five-pointer became increasingly critical to the destination of the Rugby Championship trophy.

It would be the Boks who claimed it and that arrived following a yellow card for Messam at a ruck.  Willie le Roux was the man to go in from a quickly-taken penalty and with Steyn's successful extras, the home side were 22-21 to the good with 34 minutes remaining.

The lead exchanged hands once again when Barrett kicked a penalty in the 55th minute.

Jean de Villiers then showed grit two minutes later when he sold a dummy and crashed his way over Barrett and Nonu to score his side's fourth try, with Steyn missing the two points.

The tourists then struck a psychological blow as Barrett scored the All Blacks' fourth try of the match — an impressive individual one at that — to ensure they claimed the silverware.

The All Blacks shrugged off another numerical disadvantage when Ben Franks was sin-binned as Read extended their lead with fifteen minutes left in the Ellis Park encounter.

The Boks made a spirited attempt to cut the gap to secure the consolation of victory but their opponents proved too strong and will celebrate another triumph and a 100 percent record.

Man of the match:  The future long-term captain of New Zealand, Kieran Read, showed once again that he is probably the most complete player in world rugby.  Offloads to savour, pace and just a real dog about him made the number eight's performance stand out.

Moment of the match:  It was going to be Bryan Habana's second try but how can one overlook super-sub Beauden Barrett.  He has been the scourge of South Africa this year, being key in Brodie Retallick's try at Eden Park before scoring one of his own today.  Superb.

Villain of the match:  Nothing dirty to report but if we have to, how about that teamsheet typo?

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Habana 2, Le Roux, De Villiers
Con:  Steyn 2
Pen:  Steyn

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Smith, Messam 2, Barrett, Read
Con:  Cruden 3, Barrett 2
Pen:  Barrett

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrí¶ Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Franco van der Merwe, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Ruan Pienaar 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Charles Piutau

Referee:  Nigel Owens
Assistant referees:  John Lacey, Leighton Hodges
Television match official:  Graham Hughes

Controversy reigns in All Blacks win

A 29-15 win for New Zealand over South Africa in Auckland was marred by a controversial red card shown to Bismarck du Plessis.

The Springbok hooker, the visitors' first try scorer at Eden Park, was shown two yellow cards within the opening 45 minutes by referee Romain Poite.

The first yellow shown to du Plessis, for a tackle on Dan Carter deemed to be illegal by Poite despite du Plessis' apparent use of the arms, came back to haunt him in the second half after he lead with the forearm going into a tackle with Liam Messam.

With New Zealand already ahead after tries from Kieran Read and Brodie Retallick, the result was never in doubt as one of the most enthralling Test matches in 2013 had the contest cruelly sucked out of it.

Any concern over the choice of Poite as the official was negated by Heyneke Meyer earlier in the week, but how he must have felt watching on from the coaches box must have been near to his worst nightmare.

The All Blacks regardless were as clinical as ever, in the end running in four tries as they capitalised on their numerical advantage.

Read had taken over as captain from the injured Richie McCaw and ran in two tries either side of half-time, with lock Retallick and flanker Sam Cane also going over.

A thunderous first scrum from the Springboks illustrated how the visitors could attack New Zealand at the set-piece, but after Etzebeth failed to take the lineout from the resulting penalty, South Africa paid a price.

New Zealand worked their way upfield and forced Willie Le Roux to run the ball into touch five metres from his own line.

The following lineout was clinical;  a series of forward drives resulting in the captain Read burrowing his way over for the first score.  Morné Steyn's first penalty after an infringement by Retallick then had the Springboks on the board.

Bismarck du Plessis's work at the breakdown has become somewhat of a speciality and the hooker was at it twice in the opening quarter, producing two turnovers of which the second lead to Steyn's second attempt at goal — forcing the distance and as a result paying the price with his accuracy to leave the score at 7-3.

The monster, but legal tackle by Bismarck on Carter then lit a firework under what was an already enthralling contest.

Poite's interpretation that the du Plessis' tackle was illegal, and his consequent sin-binning, was a controversial blow on the chin for the Springboks and the wrong decision, but there was worse news for New Zealand as Carter was forced to leave the field.

The All Blacks, renowned for finishing their chances, made the advantage count.  Beauden Barrett's break sucked in the Springbok forwards and left a space behind which, after Conrad Smith pounced on a loose ball, was capitalised on by Retallick for New Zealand's second try.

Nearly adrift at 14-3, the Springboks desperately needed a response and it came through who else but Bismarck du Plessis.  A rampaging maul near to the All Blacks line ended with the hooker at the bottom of the pile.

Barrett's first penalty shortly after though stemmed any shift in momentum as the All Blacks kept a seven-point lead to close out the first half.

The second began as controversially as the opening 40 minutes finished.  A second yellow card for du Plessis after his forearm on Messam meant the Springboks were down to 14 men for the remainder of the match.

Read's second try shortly afterwards gave New Zealand an unsurmountable lead at 24-10, with the Springboks having to carry out an extra man's work.

The New Zealand skipper Read then had a chance for a hat-trick but the ball just wouldn't bounce in his favour — a moment where the All Blacks run of luck rarely went against them.

An increasingly weary Springbok defence succumbed again when Cane drove over from close-range, adding further gloss to a growing scoreline, although New Zealand lost Read to the bin following a sustained period of Springbok pressure.

Nonu joined his captain on the sidelines for a shoulder charge on Jean de Villiers that in all likelihood will be punished further after an examination by the citing commissioner.

The growing pressure on the All Blacks did yield a second try for the Springboks after Pat Lambie athletically finished off Steyn's cross-field kick as they chased a losing bonus point, but time was against them.

Instead of delivering what might have been an immensely narrow finish with the number one world ranking at stake, we were left wondering what might have been had Poite's influence on the match not been so telling.

New Zealand were the winners, but their success in the wake of the controversy will barely be discussed.

Man of the Match:  Some actual rugby did happen and so credit to Brodie Retallick, who enjoyed his best game in an All Blacks jersey so far.

Moment of the Match:  No guesses here.  The first yellow card shown to Bismarck du Plessis transformed the game for both sides as Carter was forced off, and meant du Plessis had to be sent off in the second half.

Villain of the Match:  All eyes on you, Monsieur Romain Poite.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Read 2, Retallick, Cane
Cons:  Carter, Barrett 2
Pen:  Barrett
Yellow Cards:  Read, Nonu

For South Africa:
Tries:  B. du Plessis, Lambie
Con:  Steyn
Pen:  Steyn
Red Card:  B. du Plessis

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Charles Piutau

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrí¶ Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Juandré Kruger, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray

All Blacks earn 100th win for McCaw

The All Blacks completed an impressive clean sweep in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, overcoming South Africa 32-16 at Soccer City on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

In a performance worthy of their status as the top-ranked team in the world, New Zealand weathered an early storm to overturn a half-time deficit and eventually run out comfortable winners.

The result extends the All Blacks' winning streak to 16 consecutive games, moving them within touching distance of the world record.

The Springboks led 16-12 at the break having dominated for most of the first half but were given a lesson in counter attacking to be outscored two tries to one in the opening stanza.

The All Blacks reversed the trend in the second period, adding two more tries while denying their hosts any points to underline their supremacy.

It was a classic case of shifting momentum — while South Africa started with a bang and ended with a whimper, the Kiwis progressively upped the tempo until there was only one team left in the contest.

The much-vaunted Highveld crowd mirrored their team's effort as they made it very clear to the All Blacks they weren't in Auckland anymore in the early stages but the corridors were filled with fans leaving the stadium with ten minutes left on the clock.

As was the case a week ago, Johan Goosen missed his first two attempts at goal but the hosts would nevertheless open the scoring with a rare sight:  A South African try from a set-piece move.  Willem Alberts bust through the All Black defence before offloading to Jean de Villiers, who showed off some juggling skills but managed to hold on.  Bryan Habana was in space outside his skipper and had an easy run in, scoring behind the posts.

Goosen had no problems with the conversion and could further extend the lead to 10 points at the end of the first quarter when Brodie Retallick was penalised for a dangerous tackle.

The All Blacks had hardly ventured into the South African half but took their first chance to score in typical fashion, with a blistering counter-attack from broken play to send lock Sam Whitelock over in the corner.

If the hosts weren't already alerted to the New Zealand's ability to punish their mistakes, they were given a reminder on 35 minutes.  Habana came flying up in search of an intercept, it didn't work, and Hosea Gear ghosted through the gap left in the Bok defensive line before offloading to Aaron Smith, who finished.  Dan Carter's conversion gave the visitors a lead that made a mockery of the possession and territory stats.

The Boks were dealt another blow as Goosen was forced off injured but replacement fly-half Elton Jantjies held his nerve with his first kick to put South Africa back in front at 13-12.

Jantjies found the target again from 48 metres with the last act of the half to give the hosts a deserved four-point advantage at the interval.

The All Blacks moved back in front almost immediately after the restart however after Jaco Taute missed a tackle on Israel Dagg, who combined with Kieran Read to set up a try for Ma'a Nonu.

Disorganised defending cost the Boks another try as Conrad Smith touched down to put the visitors ten points clear once Carter had added the easy extras.

Two misses from Jantjies suggested the Boks' woes at the kicking tee were far from finished, prompting De Villiers to turn down a shot at goal in favour of chasing a try.  And it nearly paid off, but Habana was not able to hang on when presented with a chance in the corner.

The last quarter was one-way traffic.  Carter added a neat drop and a penalty to move his team well clear … in more ways than one.

Man of the Match There were a number of candidates in black but the official award went to Kieran Read, who was once again the ultimate example of a complete number eight as his ball skills matched his contribution in the tight exchanges.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks' second try, scored by Aaron Smith, summed up where these teams are at the moment.  An instance of a Springbok trying too hard to do something special was punished by a clinical finish.  Give All Blacks scraps, and they will feast!

Villian of the match:  The 'fans' who left early.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Cons:  Goosen
Pens:  Goosen, Jantjies 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Whitelock, A. Smith, Nonu, C. Smith
Cons:  Carter 3
Pen:  Carter
Drop goal:  Carter
Yellow card:  Dagg (66th min — offside)

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Tamati Ellison.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)