Springboks fight back against All Blacks to win gripping contest

South Africa cracked New Zealand late to win a gripping contest 31-27 at Ellis Park on Saturday and stay on course to win a first Rugby Championship since 2019.

The All Blacks led for almost the entire back-and-forth match, and by 10 points going into the last quarter.

However, they caved under relentless pressure from the Springboks, who were forcing all of the play in the last half-hour.

After All Blacks replacement prop Ofa Tu’ungfasi was yellow-carded for collapsing a maul in the 67th minute, the Springboks used the player advantage to score two converted tries in six minutes to power from 27-17 behind to 31-27 ahead with five minutes to go.

For the match-winning try, the Springboks turned down a penalty shot to force an attacking lineout, where replacement scrum-half Grant Williams stepped through a gaping hole to score in the 74th minute.

The first contest between the sides since the Rugby World Cup final in Paris in October lived up to the hype, but while New Zealand scored four tries to three, their indiscipline again let it down.

Irish referee Andrew Brace, tired of the All Blacks’ penalty count, warned them with half an hour to go.

The world champion Springboks have beaten New Zealand three straight times for the first time in 15 years.

What’s next?

World No 1 ranked South Africa will once against host New Zealand in the next round, but this time the fixture moves to the DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday September 7, live on Sky Sports (4pm kick-off).

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.