Baltimore (AFP) – South Africa thrashed New Zealand 43-28 to complete a 3-1 victory in the fourth and final match of the Southern Hemisphere rivals’ Test series in Baltimore on Saturday. The Springboks, who led the series 2-1 after the opening three Tests in South Africa, produced a devastating second-half display at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium to seal victory. Tries from Damian de Allende, Morne van den Berg, Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt Lee Arendse, and Cameron Hanekom clinched a deserved win for the Springboks in front of a capacity 71,000 crowd.
New Zealand’s tries came from recalled captain Codie Taylor, Will Jordan, Ethan Blackadder, and Beauden Barrett, but the All Blacks were always chasing the South Africans in a fast-paced game. There was controversy in the first half when play was held up for more than eight minutes after a failure in communication equipment between the match officials. But that interruption had no impact on the outcome as South Africa’s total dominance at the breakdown, set piece, and aerial battle proved decisive.
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Springbok captain Siya Kolisi paid tribute to South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus following the victory. “He knows how to get us up, and when he speaks to us he reminds us where we come from, the country that we come from,” Kolisi said. “The players who are in the group who are not playing. We do it for them. The guys that are injured, the guys that couldn’t make the tour, and also for the people of South Africa.”
New Zealand skipper Taylor, meanwhile, had few complaints with the defeat. “We talk a lot about moments throughout the week when we review our Test matches, and South Africa just stacked a few more moments against us over the last couple of games,” the veteran hooker said. “Full credit to them — they’re a great side, and they’ve proven why they’re world champions.” Taylor, though, said the All Blacks would take away positives as they build towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup. “It’s a good stepping stone,” he said. “We’re at an interesting place at the moment as a rugby nation. We’ve fallen short in this series, but I can assure you and everyone back home that we’re working hard.”
Earlier, South Africa had got the first points on the board via a penalty from fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. But New Zealand came roaring back with a superbly worked try on eight minutes when Jordan and Damian McKenzie combined to open up space down the left flank. McKenzie was held up just short of the line, but scrum-half Cam Roigard spun a bullet pass to Taylor, who crashed over. McKenzie’s conversion made it 7-3, but the next passage of play belonged entirely to South Africa.
The Springboks worked the ball through the phases, and veteran lock Eben Etzebeth was halted near the goal-line only for centre de Allende to blast over for a converted try that put South Africa into a 10-7 lead. Play was then interrupted for several minutes shortly afterward due to a failure in communications equipment between the match officials, but when play resumed, South Africa were soon back on the attack. An attacking line-out from a penalty led to a try from scrum-half Morne van den Berg that pushed the score to 17-7 after Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion.
But New Zealand hit back with a scintillating try from Jordan, who hit the line at pace from close range to score after a superb 32-phase move. South Africa made a flurry of changes in the pack early in the second half, and the Springboks immediately had New Zealand under pressure. A scrum penalty against New Zealand prop Ethan de Groot was kicked to the corner, and from the lineout, hooker Marx drove over for a converted score. Back row star du Toit then dotted down to help South Africa take a 29-14 lead, and the game looked all but settled.
Yet a try from New Zealand forward Blackadder helped the All Blacks close to within eight points to raise the possibility of a fightback with just under 20 minutes remaining. South Africa, though, slammed the door on that possibility, and a fabulous individual try from right wing Arendse, followed by replacement Hanekom’s 75th-minute score, made the game safe. Beauden Barrett scored a late consolation try for New Zealand.
© 2024 AFP
