The Springboks have muscled their way past the All Blacks 29-24 in a bruising third Test in Johannesburg, using their devastating scrum and lineout maul to seize a 2-1 lead in the four-Test series.
In front of more than 85,000 fans at FNB Stadium in Soweto, New Zealand threatened to run South Africa off its feet early, but the world champions absorbed the pressure before their forward pack increasingly took control.
For the All Blacks, the defeat was made even more painful by the loss of captain Ardie Savea, who suffered a shoulder injury after scoring two tries and will miss the fourth and final Test in Baltimore.
Savea leads flying All Blacks start
New Zealand began with pace and ambition, producing arguably its strongest opening of the series.
Savea was at the centre of it.
The captain crossed twice during an action-packed first half, becoming the leading try-scoring forward in men’s international rugby in the process. But his night ended after around half an hour when a shoulder injury forced him from the field.
The loss of Savea removed one of New Zealand’s most influential ball carriers, defenders and leaders just as the Springboks began turning up the physical pressure.
South Africa fought back through Kurt-Lee Arendse before its scrum produced a penalty try late in the opening half, sending the teams into the sheds locked at 12-12.
Will Jordan strikes after halftime
The All Blacks again hit the front after the break.
Will Jordan finished a clever attacking movement to score his 54th Test try and give New Zealand a 17-12 advantage.
But instead of consolidating, the All Blacks opened the door.
South Africa responded almost immediately, with Jesse Kriel breaking through New Zealand’s defence before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to give the Springboks their first lead of the night at 19-17.
From there, the character of the match changed.
Springbok forwards take control
South Africa’s traditional weapons began dominating.
The scrum generated penalties.
The lineout became a launching pad.
And the Springbok maul became increasingly difficult for New Zealand to stop.
The decisive moment arrived after a Will Jordan kick travelled dead. South Africa returned for the scrum, earned a penalty, kicked to touch and then unleashed a huge rolling maul.
Malcolm Marx finished the movement to stretch the Springboks’ advantage before another penalty pushed the margin further in South Africa’s favour.
New Zealand managed a late try through Samisoni Taukei’aho, but South Africa had done enough.
The Springboks closed out the contest 29-24.
Missed opportunities hurt New Zealand
The five-point margin tells only part of the story.
New Zealand created opportunities but repeatedly failed to turn pressure into enough points.
Ruben Love struggled from the kicking tee, with seven potential points going begging, while mistakes at crucial moments repeatedly handed momentum back to South Africa.
The All Blacks also found themselves unable to consistently escape the Springboks’ set-piece pressure.
Coach Dave Rennie’s assessment afterwards centred on accuracy and ruthlessness. New Zealand had opportunities to hurt South Africa but failed to make enough of them, particularly when it had established momentum.
Against most international teams, those missed opportunities might be recoverable.
Against the Springboks, they can decide a Test.
Power beats pace
The contest also highlighted the contrasting approaches of two of world rugby’s great rivals.
New Zealand wanted tempo.
The All Blacks moved the ball quickly, attacked space and attempted to make South Africa’s larger forwards work across the field.
The Springboks wanted pressure.
Scrums, lineouts, mauls, territory and physical confrontation became their route to victory.
In the end, power prevailed over pace.
Series can no longer be won
The defeat leaves the All Blacks trailing 2-1 with one Test remaining.
That means New Zealand can no longer win the four-match series.
The best possible result is now a 2-2 draw when the teams meet in Baltimore next weekend. South Africa, meanwhile, has the opportunity to secure its first series victory over the All Blacks since 1976.
Doing that without Savea makes the task considerably harder.
His two tries in Soweto demonstrated his attacking influence, while his absence after injury coincided with a period in which South Africa increasingly dictated the physical terms of the contest.
Baltimore becomes a Test of character
The fourth Test now becomes about much more than salvaging the scoreboard.
It is a test of how the All Blacks respond.
New Zealand has demonstrated during the series that it can challenge the world champions.
But South Africa has again shown why it remains so difficult to beat when matches tighten and pressure increases.
The Springboks seized their opportunities.
Their scrum delivered.
Their maul delivered.
And when the decisive moments arrived, they were the side able to turn pressure into points.
For the All Blacks, Baltimore is now about avoiding a series defeat and proving they can turn promising rugby into victory against the world’s most formidable Test side.
South Africa leads 2-1. One Test remains. And the rivalry is far from finished.
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