Boks beat All Blacks 29-24 in Soweto to lead series 2-1

South Africa beat New Zealand 29-24 at a packed Soccer City in Soweto on Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in the Greatest Rivalry Series. The Springboks scored four tries to the All Blacks’ four and came on strong in the final quarter to overturn a 17-12 deficit and win by five points.

The teams meet again in Baltimore, in the United States, next weekend for the fourth and final Test. New Zealand, who won the opening match of the series, need a win there to draw the series.

As BBC News Africa reported on 5 September, South Africa eventually overpowered a spirited New Zealand at the Soweto stadium. The description is fair. The All Blacks stayed in the contest for an hour and led by five points with 25 minutes to play before the Springboks scored 17 unanswered points.

Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx scored tries for South Africa, with the fourth coming from a penalty try. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked two conversions and a penalty. Ardie Savea scored twice for New Zealand before leaving the field with a shoulder injury in the first half, and Will Jordan and Samisoni Taukei’aho also crossed.

The scoreline does not fully capture how tight the contest was. South Africa led for the first time only in the 57th minute, when Kriel barged through a tackle to score. Until then the match had been level at 12-12 at half-time and New Zealand had edged ahead after the break.

The Springboks’ set piece was the difference. New Zealand coach Dave Rennie had criticised South Africa’s scrum technique in the build-up, saying the front row had been walking around their opposite numbers in the second Test in Cape Town. Marx, Wilco Louw and Ox Nche responded by driving the All Blacks pack backwards, forcing a penalty try in the first half and laying the platform for Marx’s try in the second.

An announced crowd of 85,976 watched at Soccer City. Before kick-off, Springbok captain Siya Kolisi called on his team to honour those who died in nearby Soweto during the fight against apartheid. The stadium is a short distance from the sites of the 1976 student uprising, and the choice of venue gave the match a weight beyond the series score.

The Springboks lost Cheslin Kolbe to a head knock in the first half. New Zealand lost Savea, their captain, to a shoulder injury. Both sides will monitor those players before the final Test.

South Africa’s win means the series cannot be lost. New Zealand have won on South African soil only once before, in 1996, when the Incomparables returned with a 2-1 victory. That record remains intact. The final Test in Baltimore is the last chance for the All Blacks to level the series.