The Springboks complete a dominant 3-1 series victory over New Zealand with an emphatic performance in Baltimore.
The Springboks (2.00) beat New Zealand 43-28 in Baltimore to complete a 3-1 series victory. The result marked South Africa’s first series win over New Zealand since 1976.
A Historic Repeat Of 1976
The Boks’ series victory arrived exactly 50 years after their previous series win over New Zealand. Both series finished with the same 3-1 scoreline across four hard-fought matches.
The achievement carries even greater weight given the physical toll across eight matches in seven weeks. New Zealand (4.02) lost several key players to injury throughout the demanding tour schedule. South Africa also lost Cheslin Kolbe to a broken jaw but barely faltered as a squad.
South Africa’s Bench Proved Unmatched
South Africa made 523 post-contact metres compared to New Zealand’s 362 across the entire match. Damian de Allende and Jasper Wiese led all players with 18 and 17 carries respectively. Coach Rassie Erasmus emptied his bench with 35 minutes remaining, and the gap only widened further.
Replacements Andre Esterhuizen and Cameron Hanekom both played crucial roles in South Africa’s late tries. Deon Fourie, already the oldest Springbok in history, continued extending his own remarkable record throughout the series.
New Zealand Solved One Puzzle But Not Enough
New Zealand produced arguably the best try of the match through a clever attacking shape. Will Jordan finished off an intricate move that exploited gaps in South Africa’s rush defence. Ethan Blackadder made 21 tackles, more than any other player across the entire contest.
Despite that effort, New Zealand’s pack could not sustain their intensity against South Africa’s fresh replacements. Their ambitious approach never wavered, but execution ultimately fell short in the crucial moments.
Van Den Berg Delivers A Man-Of-The-Match Display
Morne van den Berg earned the official Man-of-the-Match award for his all-round performance in Baltimore. He scored a try, added a crucial conversion, and controlled the aerial battle throughout the match.
South Africa won 91% of their own restarts, dominating the skies all afternoon. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also impressed before a hamstring injury forced his early departure from the match.
A Record Crowd Despite Unfamiliar Surroundings
A crowd of 68,173 packed M&T Bank Stadium, setting a new record for rugby in North America. That figure still fell short of the venue’s full capacity and last week’s crowd in Soweto.
Communication failures briefly halted the match during the first half without any major disruption. Officials still made the correct decisions despite operating without their usual technology throughout that period.
The result and the occasion combined to cap an unforgettable inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
