By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Springboks rallied to secure a 31-27 Rugby Championship victory over the All Blacks in a thrilling Rugby Championship Test at Ellis Park on Saturday.
As expected, this encounter was a real humdinger characterised by numerous brutal collisions throughout but in the end the hosts got the rub of the green although New Zealand outscored them by four tries to three.
For South Africa, Bongi Monambi, Grant Williams and Kwagga Smith scored tries while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu finished with a 16-point contribution after slotting four penalties and two conversions.
Caleb Clarke led the way with a brace of tries for New Zealand while Jordie Barrett and Codie Taylor also crossed for five-pointers and Damian McKenzie added three conversions and a penalty.
The Boks had trailed by one point at the break, 12-11, so the converted try made it 19-11 and would have given the All Blacks an extra leg after the momentum had appeared to be swinging the South African way at the end of the first half. The Boks struck back with a penalty, but the All Blacks kicked one of their own to restore the eight-point margin.
Another Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu penalty brought the Boks back again, but it was a day where the New Zealanders were dealing in multiples of seven. They got a lucky bounce off a poor lineout and they spread the ball out to create the space out wide that allowed left wing Caleb Clarke to score his second try of the match.
That was also the bonus-point score and with 28 minutes to go and the visitors up 27-17, it was an uphill challenge for the Boks. However, the Boks, after being dominated by the anticipated fast All Black start in the first 20 minutes, did appear to have the physical and gainline ascendancy by that point.
In the 74th minute, with six to go, Boks were awarded a penalty that the excellent Feinberg-Mngomezulu again kicked into the corner. The Boks got their drive right, the play edged across the field, and replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams dived over for what was to prove the winning try.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu had a chance to turn the four-point lead into seven a few minutes later and missed, but the miss didn’t matter – the Boks had the physical and territorial advantage in those final minutes and they played down the clock on the touchline to make sure of the third win in succession against their most respected and feared opponents.
They will get a chance to make it four in a row next week, and while the All Blacks did pick up two bonus points in defeat, which just about keeps them alive in the Championship, the Boks have two hands on the trophy and can effectively make sure of it barring something unexpected happening against Argentina at the end of the tournament.