All Blacks punish South Africa errors to win series opener

The All Blacks defeated the Springboks 33-16 in the opening Test of the Greatest Rivalry series at Ellis Park, with 60,592 supporters watching on Saturday evening. New Zealand scored five tries to South Africa’s one as a succession of costly errors prevented the hosts from turning long periods of pressure into points.

The result will be a bitter disappointment for Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, whose side repeatedly reached the New Zealand 22-metre area but failed to finish promising attacks. Malcolm Marx lost the ball just short of the line after a powerful maul before half-time, while further handling errors undermined South Africa’s second-half pressure.

Cheslin Kolbe opened the scoring with a penalty from directly in front of the posts after South Africa were awarded an early opportunity. New Zealand responded in the 10th minute, when Cam Roigard released a sharp pass to record try-scorer Will Jordan, who finished in the right-hand corner. Ruben Love could not convert, leaving the All Blacks 5-3 ahead.

The Springboks regained the lead four minutes later. Kurt-Lee Arendse left the field for a head injury assessment and was replaced by Andre Esterhuizen, who immediately made an impact. Esterhuizen brushed aside Josh Moorby and powered over the line, with Kolbe adding the conversion for a 10-5 advantage.

New Zealand moved back in front in the 23rd minute. Tupou Vaa’i showed excellent skill in the wide channel before finding Moorby on his inside. The winger had enough pace to beat Pieter-Steph du Toit and score a converted try, putting the visitors 12-10 up.

South Africa’s scrum gave them a platform, and a penalty followed after Damian Willemse knocked on while contesting the restart. Kolbe converted to restore the Springboks’ lead at 13-12.

The hosts controlled much of the remainder of the opening half and repeatedly chose scrums or attacking lineouts when New Zealand conceded penalties. However, their finishing let them down. Marx appeared to have crossed after a maul, but the ball was judged to have been lost short of the line following a review by the television match official.

Kolbe kicked another penalty shortly after half-time to make it 16-12, but New Zealand produced the defining response of the match from the restart.

Grant Williams’ box kick was charged down by Fabian Holland, who gathered the loose ball and scored. Love converted to put the All Blacks ahead 19-16 and swing the momentum in their favour.

South Africa continued to camp inside New Zealand’s 22, winning scrum penalties and creating further opportunities. Yet another knock-on and a forward pass meant their dominance brought little reward.

New Zealand then escaped upfield through Damian McKenzie. Willemse got back to interfere with a final pass, but in doing so knocked the ball back from over his own line. Williams collected and touched down, with several All Blacks players in support.

From the resulting five-metre scrum, Luke Jacobson forced his way over in the 60th minute. Love’s conversion extended New Zealand’s lead to 26-16.

South Africa’s problems deepened when Marco van Staden and Cobus Reinach were both shown yellow cards within a minute. Van Staden was penalised for interfering with Cam Roigard, while Reinach was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-down.

With a two-player advantage, New Zealand completed the scoring through Jordan, who crossed for his second try of the night. Love converted from a difficult angle to seal a 33-16 victory and end any realistic prospect of a Springboks comeback.

The All Blacks’ five tries came from Jordan, who scored twice, Moorby, Holland and Jacobson. South Africa’s sole try was scored by Esterhuizen, while Kolbe kicked three penalties and one conversion. Love added four conversions for New Zealand.

The Springboks started with Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Grant Williams, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Paul de Villiers, Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche. Their replacements were Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen, Cobus Wiese, Andre Esterhuizen, Marco van Staden, Cobus Reinach and Manie Libbok.

New Zealand selected Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Josh Moorby, Ruben Love, Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson, Tupou Vaa’i, Fabian Holland, Josh Lord, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor and Ethan de Groot. Their replacements were Asafo Aumua, George Bower, Fletcher Newell, Simon Parker, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown and Leroy Carter.

For South Africa, the immediate task is to improve their execution. Their ability to apply pressure was clear, but the unforced errors and missed chances ultimately handed the opening Test to the All Blacks.