South Africa beat New Zealand 33-26 at DHL Stadium to level Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry at 1-1, with Cheslin Kolbe kicking 18 of their points and landing all seven of his attempts at goal. They did it having scored one try fewer than the All Blacks, having made four visits to the opposition 22 to New Zealand’s nine, and having held five per cent of the ball across the final ten minutes.
Every number in this match report says New Zealand were the better side. The scoreboard says they lost, and Test rugby counts only one of those.
Which is it — did South Africa win this, or did the All Blacks lose it? The comments are open.
How South Africa won a Test they were second best in
Two men. Kolbe took three conversions and four penalties without a miss, which is twelve points from All Blacks infringements at and around the breakdown and six more from the tee after tries. Cobus Reinach supplied three try assists in 56 minutes on the field, setting up Jesse Kriel on the first minute, Damian de Allende on 21 and Siya Kolisi on 37.
That is South Africa’s entire attacking contribution to a 33-point afternoon. The rest was defence and a goal-kicker who did not miss.
New Zealand won 111 rucks to 77 and crossed the gainline repeatedly. What they could not do was stop conceding penalties where Kolbe’s range makes any offence a three-point one.
The key moments, in order
1′ Reinach puts Kriel over from close range. Kolbe converts on 2. 7-0.
15′ Will Jordan breaks and Cam Roigard finishes to level it. Ruben Love converts on 16. 7-7.
18′ Kolbe penalty. 10-7.
19′ Eben Etzebeth breaks the line, and two minutes later de Allende picks from the base to score. Kolbe converts. 17-7.
29′ Ardie Savea collects a loose ball from a lineout, slips through the middle and beats two tackles. New Zealand move it wide and Quinn Tupaea sends Damian McKenzie over in the corner. Love converts from out wide on 30. 17-14.
35′ Erasmus withdraws Gerhard Steenekamp and Deon Fourie. Malcolm Marx comes on immediately, Ox Nché two minutes later.
37′ Reinach again, and Kolisi picks and goes for the try. Kolbe converts on 38. 24-14 at half-time.
48′ and 50′ Two more Kolbe penalties. 30-14.
65′ Fabian Holland carries and offloads, Tupaea sends Leroy Carter clear, and the wing beats the cover to the corner. Love’s conversion from the touchline drifts left. 30-19.
71′ Kolbe, 40 metres out and straight in front. 33-19.
76′ Kyle Preston, nine minutes onto the field, breaks the line. Savea picks up at the base and crashes over. Love converts. 33-26.
79′ Lood de Jager catches Carter head-on-head and Angus Gardner sends him to the bin. New Zealand have the last play, a man up, from halfway.
80′ Knock-on. Full time.
READ ALSO: how the All Blacks lost the first hour at Ellis Park and won the Test anyway
The turning point
Not the finish. The five minutes either side of the 50th.
New Zealand had just emptied their front row, sending on Asafo Aumua and Fletcher Newell on 48 and Peter Lakai on 51, which is a bench being used to chase a ten-point game rather than protect anything. Inside those same minutes South Africa were awarded two penalties and Kolbe kicked both.
Ten points became sixteen. A team that had been one score away for an hour was suddenly two scores away with half an hour left, and the entire shape of New Zealand’s afternoon changed. They scored twelve unanswered points after that and it still was not enough, because the arithmetic had already moved out of reach while they were reorganising their pack.
Three things that came out of Cape Town
Erasmus changed his entire front row five minutes before kick-off
The team confirmed on Friday had Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw starting. The team that ran out had Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit, with all three named starters on the bench.
Deon Fourie started at hooker at 39 years old, becoming the oldest Springbok in history, in his first Test since the 2023 World Cup final — a match also against New Zealand. He played 35 minutes. South Africa were ten points up when he came off.
The goal-kicking gap was the match
Kolbe: seven from seven. Love: three from four. The miss was Carter’s conversion from the touchline on 65, a hard kick Love had every right to miss. But it left the score at 30-19 rather than 30-21. When Savea scored on 76, New Zealand needed a converted try to draw rather than a penalty to win. Two points, decided an hour earlier.
New Zealand were better and it did not matter
Four tries to three. Nine entries into the 22 to four. One hundred and eleven rucks won to 77. Ninety-five per cent of the ball in the closing ten minutes. South Africa led for 79 of the 80 minutes and never once looked like the superior rugby team.
Dave Rennie’s side will watch this back and find very little to change. That is the hardest review of all.
What it means for Test 3 in Johannesburg
One-all, and the series becomes the thing it was sold as in April. FNB Stadium next Saturday, then Baltimore seven days later.
South Africa go back to altitude, which sounds like comfort until you remember they lost the opening Test up there by 17. New Zealand’s problem is a different shape. They will have led this tour for a fortnight and have a share of it to show for the trouble. Whoever takes Johannesburg only needs a draw in America.
Scorers and cards
| Springboks | All Blacks | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries | Kriel 1′, de Allende 21′, Kolisi 37′ | Roigard 15′, McKenzie 29′, Carter 65′, Savea 76′ |
| Conversions | Kolbe 3 | Love 3 |
| Penalties | Kolbe 18′, 48′, 50′, 71′ | — |
| Yellow cards | de Jager 79′ | — |
| Red cards | — | — |
Half-time: South Africa 24-14. Full time: South Africa 33-26.
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town. Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia).
The teams
South Africa: 1 Gerhard Steenekamp, 2 Deon Fourie, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortjé, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese, 9 Cobus Reinach, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 11 Ethan Hooker, 12 Damian de Allende, 13 Jesse Kriel, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 15 Damian Willemse.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Ox Nché, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, André Esterhuizen, Cameron Hanekom, Morné van den Berg, Manie Libbok. All eight used.
New Zealand: 1 George Bower, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 4 Fabian Holland, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 6 Simon Parker, 7 Luke Jacobson, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 9 Cam Roigard, 10 Ruben Love, 11 Leroy Carter, 12 Jordie Barrett, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 14 Will Jordan, 15 Damian McKenzie.
Replacements: Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Fletcher Newell, Patrick Tuipulotu, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown. Josh Moorby was an unused replacement.
Read next: Kolbe takes a 9 and the man who kicked three try assists is rated above the whole pack
Ruben Love gets a 6 in the All Blacks ratings, and the reasoning is one missed touchline conversion in a Test his side lost by seven. That will not be a popular mark for a fly-half who kicked three from four and did almost nothing else wrong. The argument is laid out in full there. Take it apart.
