The Springboks defeated the All Blacks 29-24 at FNB Stadium on Saturday to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, setting up a winner-takes-all finale in Baltimore next week with the inaugural RGR trophy on the line.
The win confirms Rassie Erasmus as the most successful international coach in history against the All Blacks in terms of victories, while Siya Kolisi claimed the record as the most successful Springbok captain by wins.
The match followed a pattern now familiar in this series — the All Blacks dazzling in attack through large portions of the game before the Springbok power game asserted itself in the closing stages. A 25-minute period in which the Boks turned a five-point deficit into a 12-point lead proved decisive, with the final margin of five points flattering New Zealand after a consolation try scored after the hooter.
The All Blacks drew first blood in the 10th minute through a Ardie Savea try, capitalising on sustained pressure that had followed Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu's yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. The Boks weathered the period a man down before responding in the 21st minute, Damian de Allende drawing two defenders to create the space Kurt-Lee Arendse finished in the corner.
The result mirrors the Boks' Lions series comeback in 2021, when they also recovered from a first-test defeat to win the next two. The All Blacks, who cannot now emulate the 1996 squad's achievement of winning a series on South African soil, travel to Baltimore playing for a share of the trophy. It was also the first time South Africa have won a Test at FNB Stadium.