| South Africa: (10) 23 |
| Tries: Am, Mapimpi Cons: Pollard 2 Pens: Pollard 3 |
| New Zealand: (15) 35 |
| Tries: Cane, Taukei’aho, Havili, S Barrett Cons: Mo’unga 3 Pens: Mo’unga 3 |
New Zealand ended a three-match losing streak with a 35-23 win over South Africa in the second round of the Rugby Championship.
A last-minute try by lock Scott Barrett sealed victory for the All Blacks in a thrilling encounter.
The win may have saved the job of embattled coach Ian Foster.
New Zealand had lost five of their last six matches before the Johannesburg showdown, including a 16-point defeat by the Springboks last weekend.
But a much-improved All Blacks side turned things around on Saturday in an exciting match in which world champions South Africa led by two points with six minutes remaining before conceding two converted tries.
“We worked hard. It’s never easy when you’re coming off a couple of losses,” Foster said.
“I’m just so proud of the effort. It’s swings and roundabouts, but we hung in and finished strong.
“I know I got mocked for saying it after a loss, but we made a big shift through our forward pack last week.
“The work [assistant coach] Jason Ryan’s done there was strong, and I felt we were creating a few opportunities. We wanted it so much, we were rushing things, while today we were just more patient.”
New Zealand opened the scoring in the 25th minute via a penalty and soon raced into a 15-0 lead when a try from captain Sam Cane was followed by hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho barging over from close range after incessant pressure.
The Springboks had a good close to the half, though. Lukhanyo Am showed great strength to score, and fly-half Handre Pollard landed a penalty from 55 yards to make it 15-10 at the break.
The teams traded penalties before Makazole Mapimpi scored South Africa’s second try, and they took the lead for the first time on 68 minutes at 23-21 thanks to a Pollard penalty.
But the All Blacks produced a big finish when David Havili and Barrett scored late tries to complete the win.
