At a pulsating Ellis Park the Springboks shook off a run of poor results to record a stunning 46-40 win over hot-favourites New Zealand.
In all, the Springboks ran in six tries to the All Blacks' four, securing for the Boks their highest tally against the old enemy, and their first victory since beating England in June.
Ever since the horrors of the Antipodes, coach Nick Mallett and his players have had to endure criticism and even ridicule as they battled to convince a sceptical public, let alone SARFU, that they were on the right track.
In the build-up to the game, Mallett said that he felt that his side deserved a win. In Johannesburg this evening, there won't be many to disagree. The Boks played with a passion and commitment that characterised Mallett's early reign in charge.
That the Boks may not have any chance of winning the 2000 Tri-Nations is neither here nor there. What matters is that the Boks, to all intents and purposes, are back and finally a worthy opponent in this year's Tri-Nations.
While the second half failed to live up to frantic scoring of the first (how could it possibly?) the intensity was undiminished. For long stages in the second period it was as though the Stadium was holding its breath as the Kiwis refused to give up, always smashing their way back into the reckoning.
As expected, it was Christian Cullen who spearheaded the All Black advance and, had he not left the field midway through the second half, may have turned it around for the Kiwis.
Before the game Mallett warned that kicking a ball down Cullen's throat spelt trouble. From the first set piece, that is exactly what Werner Swanepoel did. The All Blacks countered and the Boks conceded a penalty which Andrew Mehrtens converted.
The Boks, though, countered immediately. From a Bok scrum on the Kiwi 22, Andre Vos picked up from the base, creating an extra man in Swanepoel. He slipped through a tackle, drew another defender before sending the ball wide to Chester Williams. The right wing, starting his first Test since 1995, easily rounded Cullen to score South Africa's first try since the inaugural Mandela Cup in Sydney in June.
Mehrtens kicked the restart directly out and the Boks were on the attack again. Cullen sliced the clearance and Charl Marais managed to find Mark Andrews in the line-out. The ball passed down the line and Robbie Fleck nipped between the defence to give the Boks an unbelievable start and a 14-3 lead.
Two minutes later, Thinus Delport failed to gather a Braam van Straaten pass. Mehrtens picked it up, handing on to Tana Umaga who strolled over to close the gap.
The frenetic toing-and-froing continued as Justin Marshall uncharacteristically fumbled at the scrum. The Boks turned it over and Fleck skipped past Taine Randell without breaking a sweat to dot down for his second.
The Boks though weren't done yet. Corne Krige made a blinding break from within his own half, almost outstripping the entire New Zealand defence before being brought to ground metres from the line. The Boks put on an almighty push, with Swanepoel darting round the side of the maul for a 26-13 lead.
Then enter Delport; South Africa's most exciting player of the Super 12 finally came good at his home ground. The fullback received the ball in his own half and, ala the Cats versus Highlanders game, slipped through tackles until finally rounding Cullen.
Cullen however made up for those defensive lapses immediately, hammering through a South African gap. South Africa were further let down when Marais let Umaga through for the simplest of tries as the hooter sounded, with the Boks leading 33-27.
After the break, Cullen turned on the pace to score a brilliant try in the corner. It signalled a period of sustained pressure on the Bok line. To their credit, the Boks soaked it all up and when Williams turned Leon MacDonald and Esterhuizen kicked into touch, the relief was almost palpable.
It was short-lived however, as Mehrtens sunk a drop-goal from 35m out to silence the crowd.
Down 39-40 with 10 minutes on the clock, Van Straaten set off on a wonderful break, punching a huge hole through the Kiwi tacklers. From the breakdown, John Smit almost bulldozed over before Swanepoel once again twisted over for the try that finally gave the Boks victory.
Man of the match It was a close call between Fleck and Swanepoel. Fleck came into particular censure and only won his place through injury to De Wet Barry. Despite playing at inside centre, Fleck was magnificent, his darting breaks a constant thorn in the New Zealander's side. This much-valued accolade though goes to "Smiley" Swanepoel for his two tries, his clever kicks over the top and his incredible work rate.
Villain of the match That part of the western grandstand that pelted officials with bottles. They showed how superior they were to the Kiwis in Wellington by mimicking their actions when they disagreed with a decision.
Moment of the match For any South African. That final whistle from Andrew Cole. What blessed relief.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 Carl Hoeft, 2 Anton Oliver, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Todd Blackadder (c), 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Josh Kronfeld, 7 Taine Randell, 8 Ron Cribb, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Jonah Lomu, 12 Pita Alatini, 13 Alama Ieremia, 14 Tana Umaga, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves: Troy Flavell, Leon MacDonald, Greg Somerville, Mark Hammett, Scott Robertson
Unused: Tony Brown, Byron Kelleher
South Africa: 1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Mark Andrews, 5 Andre Venter, 6 Johan Erasmus, 7 Corne Krige, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Werner Swanepoel, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 Grant Esterhuizen, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Chester Williams, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves: John Smit, Jaco Van Der Westhuizen, Warren Brosnihan, Willie Meyer, Albert Van Den Bergh
Unused: Percy Montgomery, Joost Van Der Westhuizen
Attendance: 57250
Referee: Cole a.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Cullen C.M. 2, Umaga T.J.F. 2
Conv: Mehrtens A.P. 4
Pen K.: Mehrtens A.P. 3
Drop G.: Mehrtens A.P. 1
South Africa
Tries: Delport G.M. 1, Fleck R.F. 2, Swanepoel W. 2, Williams C.M. 1
Conv: Van Straaten A.J.J. 5
Pen K.: Van Straaten A.J.J. 2
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