An epic clash saw Grant Williams dive over the tryline near the death as the Springboks snatched a late victory over the All Blacks in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Late tries from Williams and Kwagga Smith helped the Springboks come from a ten-point deficit to beat their rivals 31-27 at a sold-out Ellis Park.
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It is the third win in a row for South Africa against New Zealand, equalling the record streak that the world champions set back in 2009.
The win also sees the Springboks stretch their lead at the top of the Rugby Championship to eight points, ahead of next weekend’s rematch in Cape Town.
It wasn’t the cleanest performance from Rassie Erasmus’ charges, who for so long in the match looked like they would let it slip, with so many errors leading to soft tries being conceded to the All Blacks.
However, for once it was the rookies who stood tall, as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Elrigh Louw, Ruan Nortjie and Aphelele Fassi refused to go down without a fight, producing their performances in the green and gold.
What a game, and what a performance from Sacha 😍
Thank you Joburg, you showed up 🙏#Springboks#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/ZrgGprR0hr
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 31, 2024
There was also a good performance from Jasper Wiese, who made a physical statement in his return to the No. 8 jersey from a six-game ban.
There were ominous signs from the start, as the All Blacks won a penalty inside the opening 30 minutes and piled on the pressure from there, leading to Fassi being yellow carded and Codie Taylor grabbing the opening try from a maul.
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The Boks hit back through their own from a maul, scored by Bongi Mbonambi, and showed some nice variations from lineouts, but a soft error from Ben-Jason Dixon saw All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke race in for his first of two tries.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted two penalties, one from 60 metres, to close the gap to one point at the break with the All Blacks going into the sheds 112-11 up.
It was far from an ideal start to the second half for the hosts, as Jordie Barrett intercepted Damian de Allende’s pass to extend New Zealand’s lead, before Clarke scored his second try, capitalising on South Africa’s non-existent defence from a lineout.
During this time, the Boks were also forced into a backline reshuffle, as Kurt-Lee Arendse was knocked out in a tackle and was replaced by Handre Pollard, resulting in Jesse Kriel being shifted to the wing.
Trailing 27-17, the Boks made error after error, but managed to hang in there, before Smith drove over the tryline to give hope of a comeback victory.
From there, Fassie and Feinberg-Mngomezulu took the game by the scruff of the neck, with their tactical kicking keeping New Zealand pinned back.
A clutch touchfinder from the Bok flyhalf gave his team a five-metre maul and from there, the South African forwards piled in, giving Williams the space to throw a dummy and dive over for what turned into the winning try.
The highly-anticipated second clash between the two rivals is set to take place at the Cape Town DHL Stadium on Saturday, 7 September. Kick-off is at 5pm.
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Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
Words: SA Rugby Magazine
