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A. Esterhuizen (13')
Tries
W. Jordan (8', 74'), J. Moorby (22'), F. Holland (47'), L. Jacobson (58')
C. Kolbe (14')
Conversions
R. Love (23', 48', 59', 75')
C. Kolbe (4', 26', 46')
Penalties
South Africa will wonder how they lost this one.
For large parts of the first half, the Springboks had New Zealand under serious pressure. Their scrum was dominant, Jasper Wiese was carrying like a man possessed and the All Blacks were spending far too much time defending around their own 22.
But South Africa didn't turn that pressure into enough points.
New Zealand did.
The All Blacks walked away from Ellis Park with a 33-16 win, five tries and a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series. The margin eventually became comfortable, but this wasn't a game where New Zealand simply dominated South Africa. They survived them first.
That was probably the most impressive part of their performance.
South Africa's forwards came out looking to hurt New Zealand. Wiese was at the centre of it, constantly getting over the gain line and requiring multiple defenders to bring him down. The Bok scrum was causing problems as well, giving them repeated opportunities to attack from inside New Zealand territory.
The problem was what happened next.
South Africa kept getting into good positions without finishing. Passes went down, opportunities disappeared and the All Blacks somehow kept getting off their own line.
Jordie Barrett was massive.
Twice South Africa looked like they were about to score and twice Barrett got involved to stop them. The biggest came with Malcolm Marx driving for the line. Marx looked certain to score, only for Barrett to get himself underneath the ball and force the knock-on.
Those are the moments that win Test matches.
Instead of South Africa turning their pressure into a bigger lead, New Zealand went into half-time only 13-12 behind.
That felt important.
The Springboks had thrown almost everything at them and had one point to show for their dominance.
Then New Zealand started taking their chances.
Fabian Holland's chargedown try early in the second half changed the feel of the game. Grant Williams tried to clear from inside his own 22, Holland got the block, regathered and finished it himself.
Suddenly South Africa were chasing.
And that is a much more dangerous game to play against the All Blacks.
Will Jordan was excellent. He scored twice and once again showed why he needs so few opportunities to hurt teams. South Africa had spent long periods working their way into New Zealand territory; Jordan could change the scoreboard from a fraction of the possession.
His finishing was clinical, but New Zealand's win was really built at the other end.
Their defence kept finding answers.
Jordie Barrett finished with five turnovers and 15 tackles from midfield. Ardie Savea was everywhere. Even when the New Zealand scrum was being pushed backwards early on, they refused to allow South Africa to turn that dominance into the points it probably deserved.
Then the scrum itself changed.
The All Blacks bench helped stabilise an area that had been a genuine problem in the first half, and by the final quarter New Zealand were no longer simply hanging on physically.
Luke Jacobson's try showed that shift. New Zealand had gone from being marched backwards at scrum time to using their own set piece as an attacking platform.
South Africa started to unravel after that.
Marco van Staden and Cobus Reinach were both sent to the sin bin late on, leaving the Boks with 13 men and effectively ending any chance of dragging themselves back into the match.
That shouldn't completely overshadow what South Africa did well.
Wiese was outstanding. Their scrum was dominant for long periods and they repeatedly found ways into the New Zealand 22.
But Test rugby isn't about how many times you get there.
It's what you do when you arrive.
South Africa had the pressure and couldn't finish. New Zealand spent long periods defending, stayed in the contest and then became ruthless when their opportunities came.
Five tries to one tells you everything about that difference.
The Boks don't need to suddenly reinvent how they play before Test two. There was enough here to show they can put New Zealand under enormous pressure.
They just need to stop letting them escape from it.
