South Africa completed a 3-1 series victory over New Zealand with a 43-28 win in the fourth and final test at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, sealing the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry title in front of a capacity crowd of 71 000.
Having led the series 2-1 after the opening three tests in South Africa, the Springboks produced a devastating second-half display to put the result beyond doubt. Tries from Damian de Allende, Morne van den Berg, Malcolm Marx, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom sealed a comprehensive win. New Zealand crossed through recalled captain Codie Taylor, Will Jordan, Ethan Blackadder and Beauden Barrett, but the All Blacks were chasing the Springboks throughout a fast-paced contest.
South Africa's dominance at the breakdown, setpiece and in the aerial battle proved the decisive margins, with the only blemish a mid-match delay of more than eight minutes caused by a failure in communication equipment between the match officials.
Kolisi paid tribute to Erasmus after the final whistle. "He knows how to get us up, and when he speaks to us he reminds us where we come from, the country that we come from," the captain said. "The players who are in the group who are not playing. We do it for them. The guys that are injured, the guys that couldn't make the tour, and also for the people of South Africa."
Taylor, who took over the New Zealand captaincy for the series finale, was measured in defeat. "South Africa just stacked a few more moments against us over the last couple of games. Full credit to them — they're a great side and they've proven why they're world champions." The veteran hooker pointed to the 2027 Rugby World Cup as the benchmark against which New Zealand's rebuild will ultimately be judged.