Online Reporter
The Springboks have now won everything there is to win. They are undoubtedly the best team in the world, but they were pushed to the edge in four pulsating clashes against their old rivals, New Zealand.
The Boks’ 43-28 win in Baltimore, Maryland was the most one-sided of the four clashes, with the final score perhaps flattering the All Blacks thanks to a last-minute try from replacement back Beauden Barrett.
The Boks outscored New Zealand by six tries to four in the match and dominated large swathes of the contest, but the All Blacks refused to go away.
Every time it looked like the dam wall was about to burst as the Boks turned the screw, the All Blacks found a way to respond, ensuring that the match outcome remained in doubt. It was a theme of the entire Greatest Rivalry series.
The Springboks remain the gold standard of rugby and will now head into 2027 — regardless of what happens for the remainder of this season —as the favourites to win Rugby World Cup 2027.
But New Zealand are on the rise under coach Dave Rennie, which makes the scheduling of their probable Rugby World Cup 2027 quarterfinal clash next year look even more ridiculous.
That is a headache for another day though because the Boks took this four-match series 3-1. After losing the opening Test 33-16 at Ellis Park, the World Champions responded with three consecutive wins in Cape Town, Soweto and Baltimore.
Series of firsts
It’s the first time since 2009 that the Boks have won three Tests in a row against the All Blacks in the same year. It’s also the first time since 2022 that New Zealand have lost three consecutive Tests.
The Boks have now won eight of their last 10 Tests against the All Blacks to underline their dominance in the rivalry, but under Rennie, the Kiwis have closed the gap considerably.
Over the four Tests the Boks outscored the All Blacks by 121 points to 111, but New Zealand scored 17 tries to the Boks’ 14. The margins were that tight.
Baltimore or bust
In the early hours of Sunday morning (SA time), there was no doubt about who was the better team in the series.
Last week in Soweto, the Boks stamped their authority on the contest with a 29-24 win, which set the tone for the US showdown.
Siya Kolisi’s men carried that momentum into Baltimore where they put the All Blacks under immense pressure for large portions of the game. But like the Terminator, the All Blacks refused to stay down, continuing to throw haymakers despite being on the back foot for much of the game.
The Boks made 11 line breaks to the All Blacks eight, and in 142 ball carries the World Champions made 523 post-contact metres. From 137 carries the All Blacks could only make 369 post-contact metres while all the other metrics were on a knife’s edge.
In a way, All Black wing Will Jordan’s try on the stroke of halftime summed up the series and the dogged willpower of both teams.
The All Blacks took the ball through 32 phases in the face of relentless and accurate defence, before fashioning space of Jordan to score.
The All Blacks appeared to be on the brink of total collapse at that stage, but clung on. — MSN.
