South Africa beat New Zealand 43-28 on Saturday in Baltimore, and the scoreline settled the fourth and final test of rugby’s Greatest Rivals series 3-1. In front of almost 70,000 fans at the home of the Baltimore Ravens, the Springboks used field position, time in the 22, set-piece edge, aerial strength and defense to grind down the All Blacks and keep hold of their status as world champions.
Who Had the Upper Hand
South Africa led by three points at halftime, then pulled away early in the second half with tries from Malcolm Marx in the 49th minute and Pieter-Steph du Toit in the 53rd minute. Those scores opened a 15-point lead and turned the match into a lesson in control. New Zealand answered with a try from Ethan Blackadder, but Kurt Lee Arendse settled the match and the series with a long-range try of more than 50 meters. Cameron Hanekom added a try in the 78th minute, and the All Blacks had the final word with a try in the last minute from Beauden Barrett.
South Africa started with two penalties in the first four minutes, the second kicked between the posts by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. That early pressure set the tone. New Zealand turned over its first possession in South Africa’s 22, then struck in the eighth minute when quick hands found Damian McKenzie on the left wing. He stepped infield past Damian Willemse and Malcolm Marx before finding captain Codie Taylor, who scored.
What the Scoreboard Hid
The match kept exposing the same old hierarchy: one side controlling territory, the other scrambling to survive it. South Africa exploited New Zealand’s weakness against quick-phase ball and strong carries inside the 22. Scrumhalf Morne van den Berg went close before Damian de Allende dashed through a hole left by a defensive misread. Van den Berg was named Player of the Match and remained a constant threat.
A long delay caused by communications issues among the referee stopped play just as the game was heating up. Once communications were restored, South Africa used its lineout drive to score again. When New Zealand stopped the maul, van den Berg darted around the fringe and found the defense absent for the Springboks’ second try. The apparatus of order stumbled, then kept moving anyway.
The All Blacks battered the South Africa defense near the line and held it for 32 phases before quick hands from Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett sent Will Jordan over. The teams went to halftime with South Africa leading 17-14. That was the closest New Zealand got before the Springboks pulled away after both teams went to their benches.
What the Captains Said
After New Zealand conceded a scrum penalty, South Africa chose the lineout drive, and on the second push the backs joined in to force Marx over the line. The next try came almost immediately. A knock-on gave South Africa a scrum, van den Berg went short side and found Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at pace, Andre Esterhuizen carried into the 22, and South Africa worked the ball to du Toit, who finished the move.
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi said, “We’ve got coach Rassie (Erasmus). He knows us and gets us up. When he speaks to us he reminds us where we come from.
“The players who are in the group but not playing today, we do it for them, the guys who are injured and also for the people of South Africa who would love to have the opportunities we have.”
That’s the human cost behind the spectacle. The players on the field get the applause. The injured, the unused squad members and the people Kolisi named get the distance between opportunity and access. By the end of the fourth and final test, the optimism New Zealand had at the start of the tour six weeks earlier had faded. South Africa won the series 3-1 and kept hold of its status as world champions.