In a tight match, the All Blacks made the most of the few chances that came their way.
The All Blacks beat the Springboks 24-17 in a Rugby Championship Test at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday to keep intact their 30 year unbeaten record at the ground.
The All Blacks have now gone unbeaten at Eden Park in 51 Tests, going back to 1994.
In a titanic battle, the All Blacks edged the Boks three tries to two, to put them in pole position in this year’s competition at the halfway stage.
The Boks’ tries came from Malcolm Marx and Cobus Reinach, while the All Blacks’ tries were scored by Emoni Narawa, Will Jordan and Quinn Tupaea.
The Boks were good in the scrums and lineouts and also toiled hard in the tight-loose play, including at the breakdowns, but they made several basic errors and found it hard to break down the All Blacks’ defence.
For their part, the All Blacks got lucky in a few moments, while some refereeing decisions also went their way, and took the chances that came their way.
The Boks were on the back foot early, after conceding two tries inside 20 minutes. They fought back hard, but in the second half lost Kwagga Smith to a yellow card, which then also saw New Zealand score their third try. This came moments after the Boks had got back into the game with their first try.
The teams meet again in Wellington next Saturday.
Below is how The Citizen covered the match.
TEAMS
All Blacks: Will Jordan, Emoni Narawa, Billy Proctor, Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Finlay Christie, Wallace Sititi, Ardie Savea, Simon Parker, Tupou Vaa’i, Scott Barrett (capt), Fletcher Newell, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot. Bench: Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tamaiti Williams, Tyrel Lomax, Fabian Holland, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Kyle Preston, Quinn Tupaea, Damian McKenzie.
Springboks: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel (capt), Damian de Allende, Canan Moodie, Handre Pollard, Grant Williams, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Bench: Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker
All Blacks v Springboks — LIVE SCORING
Live updates of the match will appear below. For the latest posts please refresh.
