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