The Springboks won the inaugural Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series trophy outright with a 43-28 victory over the All Blacks in the fourth and final match at Baltimore on Saturday, clinching the series 3-1 in what was also Rassie Erasmus's 100th test in charge.
The 68 000-strong crowd — with a significant Bok contingent in the stands — witnessed South Africa's most comprehensive performance of the five-week series. The Boks scored six tries and mixed their game plan effectively, moving beyond their typical set-piece and power template to put the All Blacks away in the end, though not without a wobble in the closing stages.
Leading 29-14 three minutes past the hour, the Boks allowed New Zealand back into the contest through a combination of lineout errors and handling mistakes. Ethan Blackadder's try dragged the All Blacks back to within eight points, and with New Zealand generating momentum, the ghost of the Ellis Park opener — where the Boks squandered a match they controlled — briefly loomed.
The decisive blow came from Kurt-Lee Arendse, who seized on a loose ball, beat the New Zealand cover and ran half the length of the field to restore a 15-point buffer. From there, replacement Cameron Hanekom added the sixth try after the All Blacks spilled possession in their own half, and Manie Libbok's conversion made it 43-21. New Zealand scored the last try of the game, as they had done in every match of the series, but it was, once again, a consolation only.
At halftime the Boks led 17-14, a margin that understated their dominance in the opening period. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had converted early gainline pressure into points before New Zealand hit back against the run of play — a pattern that became a recurring theme throughout the series.