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New Zealand held firm at their Eden Park fortress to claim an attritional 24-17 win over South Africa in a heavyweight clash between the world’s top two rugby sides.
Under pressure after conceding a first-ever defeat on Argentine soil against the Pumas two weeks ago, the All Blacks responded with a performance of grit and discipline to stretch their unbeaten run at their Auckland stronghold to 51 matches.
Two well-taken tries by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan set up a 14-3 lead at halftime before Quinn Tupaea grabbed a third five-pointer for the hosts 13 minutes from time.
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New Zealand held firm at Eden Park (Getty Images)
Well-held for most of the night, the Springboks rallied with second-half tries by Malcolm Marx and Cobus Reinach to pull within a converted try. But they had not reckoned with Ardie Savea.
On the night of his 100th Test, the All Blacks’ back-row enforcer made a heroic turnover in the final minutes to thwart a South Africa raid on the try-line and help to seal the win.
“It was a gutsy performance, I’m just proud of the boys, we knew the Springboks were going to come here and give it to us,” said Savea.
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Ardie Savea was talismanic on his 100th All Blacks cap (Getty Images)
“I’m just proud of the way the boys turned up and fronted up.”
Fired up on the night of Savea’s milestone, the All Blacks started with pace and ferocity to score their first try in the second minute and shot to a 14-0 lead by the 18th.
Playmaker Beauden Barrett set up the opener, kicking cross-field to Narawa on the right wing.
Narawa slipped as he caught the ball, but had a clear run at the try-line when covering fullback Willie le Roux ran over the top of him.
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Emoni Narawa scored in the first couple of minutes before being forced off by injury (Getty Images)
While Narawa’s game was over with an apparent rib injury minutes later, the All Blacks rolled on.
Full-back Jordan burst clear from a line-out set play to cross by the posts, leaving bamboozled Boks in his wake.
There was no respite for the visitors until Handre Pollard knocked over a penalty in the 23rd minute and began dictating terms with his boot.
Though able to stop the All Blacks scoring, the Springboks wasted their own chances with skill and set-piece errors.
The arm-wrestle continued for 10 minutes into the second half until South Africa infringed at a ruck, falling further behind when Damian McKenzie booted the penalty.
It took a bullocking run by Kwagga Smith near the hour mark to finally unlock the All Blacks’ defence, with Marx grabbing the ball out of a ruck on the line to barge over and trim the margin to a converted try.
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Quinn Tupaea crossed late on for a crucial score (AP)
But the rally was short-lived as Tupaea, fresh off the bench, sliced through three Springboks tacklers to cross at the right post.
Still, the Springboks came again to raise the tension, with Reinach following Smith’s blueprint with a run down the left channel for his try in the 74th minute.
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The All Blacks emerged victorious from a highly physical affair (Getty Images)
With two minutes on the clock and with his team pinned on their try-line, Savea dug in his heels to claim the vital turnover and keep the All Blacks’ 31-year unbeaten run at Eden Park intact.
Reuters