The one thing nobody predicted for the showdown at Ellis Park was Springboks fans walking out of the stands with five minutes remaining, their team having been humiliated 33–16 by the All Blacks.
The wonderful thing about the ancient rivalry between the Springboks and the All Blacks is that it so often conjures up the unexpected. And there could have been few who saw this coming.
The All Blacks were outgunned at scrum time and under pressure, yet they hung on and struck ruthlessly on the counterattack, scoring five tries to the Springboks’ one.
The build-up to the match had been a throwback to the spy dramas of the Cold War, with media “spies” planted at Springbok and All Black press conferences to ask questions designed to give their respective coaches intelligence — much of it apparently aimed at referee Matthew Carling.
The Springboks were accused of slowing the ball down; the All Blacks were warned about illegally hitting rucks with tucked shoulders.
But once the talking stopped, both teams delivered a cold statement of intent.
Before the Haka, planes flew low over the stadium, and pyrotechnics fired off like Guy Fawkes Day on steroids. Then the 62,000-strong sell-out crowd fell respectfully silent as the All Blacks performed the Haka, as Rassie Erasmus had implored them to do, before exploding into a frenzy at kick-off.
The Boks were first to score after just two minutes when they won a ruck penalty within long-range kicking distance. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked to the corner, another penalty followed, and — to the consternation of many — Cheslin Kolbe stepped up to kick the opening points of the match.
From the restart, however, the All Blacks won a succession of penalties and applied intense pressure inside the Springbok 22. It eventually told, with Will Jordan crossing in the corner in the eighth minute.
Flyhalf Ruben Love could not convert.
The Boks were then forced into an early reshuffle when Kurt-Lee Arendse went off for an HIA, bringing André Esterhuizen into the midfield and shifting Jesse Kriel to the wing.
“Andre the Giant” immediately proved his worth.
When the Boks went wide from a lineout inside the All Blacks 22, Esterhuizen smashed through defenders to score the Springboks’ only try of the match.
The first scrum came in the 15th minute, with New Zealand putting the ball in. The Ellis Park crowd roared as the All Blacks scrum went backwards, but they managed to get the ball away.
The Boks weathered that spell of pressure, but in the 23rd minute left wing Josh Moorby was worked into space near the touchline and finished off the All Blacks’ second try. Love converted to put New Zealand 12–10 ahead.
The Boks responded with another scrum penalty in front of the posts, and Kolbe stroked it over.
The Springbok scrum was beginning to look irresistible, with Ox Nché leading the charge. Another penalty sent the Boks to the corner, and Malcolm Marx appeared to have powered over from the resulting maul, only for defenders to dislodge the ball. No try.
The All Blacks were suddenly in crisis. Prop Ethan de Groot and lock Josh Lord both left the field with injuries.
Yet somehow New Zealand went into half-time only 13–12 behind.
The Boks were dominant in the forward exchanges and appeared poised to take control after the break. Their one concern was that continued scrum dominance — and the injuries suffered by the All Black tight forwards — could result in uncontested scrums.
Six minutes into the second half, another scrum penalty was won and Kolbe kicked the Boks into a 16–12 lead.
Then came the moment that changed everything.
The Springboks failed to secure the restart and Grant Williams’ clearance was charged down by lock Fabian Holland, who gathered the ball and scored.
It was a coach-killer of an error.
The Boks responded by winning more penalties as the All Black scrum continued to creak. But the Kiwis somehow survived the pressure.
And then, against the run of play, they struck again.
From a scrum inside the Springbok 22, Jacobson went over for his second try. Love converted, and suddenly the All Blacks were 26–16 ahead with 20 minutes remaining.
The Ellis Park crowd had come expecting another chapter in the Springbok-All Black rivalry to be written in gold and green.
Instead, it was New Zealand writing the history.
The All Blacks continued to punish every Springbok mistake, and Jordan crossed for his second try to put the result beyond doubt.
With five minutes still on the clock, the exits began to fill.
For the first time in the match, thousands of Springbok supporters had seen enough.
The All Blacks had not won the battle at scrum time.
They had won the war.
Point-scorers:
Springboks — Tries: André Esterhuizen. Conversion: Cheslin Kolbe. Penalties: Kolbe (2).
All Blacks — Tries: Will Jordan (2), Josh Moorby, Fabian Holland Luke Jacobson. Conversions: Ruben Love (4).
