“Hold the Fortress”, the signs outside Eden Park said, and the All Blacks did with a 24-17 win over the Springboks after an extraordinary finish which showcased Ardie Savea’s supreme ability.
In his 100th Test, veteran loose forward Savea made the crucial penalty turnover within metres of his own line as the Boks launched a last-ditch attack.
The All Blacks had to defend another phase after that but it was Savea’s intervention, and some would say it was a divine one, which saved them.
The win takes the All Blacks’ unbeaten record at the old stadium to 51 Tests, the Boks’ dry spell at the place stretching all the way back to 1937.
The foundation for the victory which also took New Zealand to the top of the Rugby Championship above Australia following the Wallabies’ remarkable victory over Argentina in Townsville earlier in the evening, was laid in the first quarter.
Converted tries for Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan were enough to ease the home side to a relatively comfortable cushion and there was nothing in the Boks’ attack that could trouble them apart from a predictable penchant for kicking.
However, the visitors, down 14-3 at halftime and then by 17-3 after Damian McKenzie’s penalty, gave the All Blacks a scare via an enormous scrum and try for Malcolm Marx as the game ticked into the fourth quarter.
It appeared that normal service prevailed after Quinn Tupaea scored, though.
Tupaea, on for Jordie Barrett, pushed the margin out again with a try by the posts which should have set the All Blacks on track for a regulation win but replacement halfback Cobus Reinach’s try with six minutes remaining narrowed the deficit to seven points and it was all on again.
Tupaea and the All Blacks had taken advantage of a yellow card for replacement flanker Kwagga Smith but perhaps could have made more of it and Du’Plessis Kirifi was lucky not to see a similar colour after giving away a penalty in front of the posts with two minutes remaining.
In the end it was all the All Blacks could do to hold them out; it was a fitting Test between the two so-called greatest rivals and a hugely significant win for the All Blacks coaches, especially head coach Scott Robertson.
There was pressure on the backline to deliver something a bit different after a couple of ordinary Tests in Argentina and on the whole they did via an extremely accurate start.
From the first lineout, the attack shaped to go narrow and the Boks defended appropriately, only for Beauden Barrett to send a kick pass to Emoni Narawa wide on the right.
The wing did well to catch and find his feet to dummy inside and go over untouched for a try well converted by Jordie Barrett.
A replacement for Sevu Reece, Narawa left the field shortly after, which brought Damian McKenzie to the field, but the All Blacks were in again thanks to another slick move from a lineout.
A deep throw found Wallace Sititi who found the flying Will Jordan coming through on the angle, the fullback, who had moved to the wing at that point, going over for his 43rd try in 46 Tests.
The home side had an edge in the lineouts, with Tupou Vaa'i outstanding here, but were perhaps shaded in the scrum by the Boks, who, predictably turned to the boot at virtually every opportunity.
With halfback Grant Williams having a difficult time of it, the Boks struggled for line breaks against a fast advancing black wall and the All Blacks, who had an edge in the driving maul, also had an answer to just about everything, including the visitors’ notorious “midfield lineout”.
It all changed in the final quarter, though, as the Boks grew in confidence and built an almost irresistible momentum.
It’s on to Wellington, then, and no doubt another dramatic chapter in this remarkable rivalry.
All Blacks 24 (Emoni Narawa, Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea tries; Jordie Barrett con, Damian McKenzie 2 cons, pen)
South Africa 17 (Malcolm Marx, Cobus Reinach tries; Handre Pollard pen, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2 cons)
Halftime: 14-3
SHARE ME