The terrific atmosphere at Ellis Park on Saturday night reflected the rude health South African rugby is enjoying, but the Springboks once more tested the cardiac conditions of their supporters by leaving it late before snatching a 31-27 win.
It was the much-celebrated Bomb Squad that saved the day after the All Blacks for 70 minutes had found the venue to their liking and looked like they were going to burst the Boks’ Rugby Championship bubble.
Until the Boks’ almost unbelievable comeback in the last 10 minutes, the difference between the teams was the efficiency and accuracy of New Zealand’s backline play, while the Bok back division forced their plays, which caused handling errors.
The worry before the game was that if the Kiwis gained at least parity in the forward exchanges, their back division would rip the Boks to shreds.
It came to pass for three-quarters of the game, and at least some of the reason for that is the injury crisis the Boks have at lock, because they looked light in the second row on Saturday night.
What the Boks did not want at the start of the game was to allow the visitors a good start. But they were allowed to explode out of the blocks when a penalty took them into the Bok 22 just 30 seconds into the game, after Cheslin Kolbe did not roll away at a ruck.
The All Blacks camped in the danger zone for seven minutes as the Boks were forced to make a series of try-saving tackles before the dam wall burst, and hooker Codie Taylor went over off the back of a maul.
The penalty had come when Aphelele Fassi got himself into a defensive mess and was yellow-carded for deliberate offsides.
The Boks fought back and were handsomely rewarded for their courage to kick to the corner and not take the easy three points when Bongi Mbonambi barrelled over for a try.
The Springboks were adventurous in trying to spread the ball wide, but were inaccurate in their delivery, with bullet passes bouncing off recipients when softer hands would have better served the purpose.
A classic case was on the half-hour mark when a pass chucked back at Jasper Wiese bounced off his chest. The All Blacks gratefully accepted the possession, and took the ball wide through the hands to the openside touchline, and Caleb Clarke cantered home for a well-orchestrated try.
In the 25th minute, there was an eruption of applause when Eben Etzebeth took the field for his 125th cap for a bloodied Ruan Nortjé, surpassing Bryan Habana to take second place on the list of most capped Boks. He is now poised to overhaul Victor Matfield, who is on 127 caps.
There are no prizes for guessing who the most popular Springbok is. And rightly so, because ‘Eben the Angry’ is Springbok rugby personified in his muscular frame.
On the half-hour mark, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu showed a special glimpse of his wonderful future when he blasted home a 60m penalty that would have had Frans ‘Jet Boots’ Steyn applauding. That gave the Boks the lead for the first time.
The Clarke try was the next score before Feinberg-Mngomezulu pulled back three points, and it was 12-11 going into halftime, that score of course being the final one in the Rugby World Cup title decider at Stade de France last year.
It was a disastrous start to the second half for the Boks when seconds after the restart, an ambitious backline move saw Jordie Barrett pluck a pass out of the air and gallop 50m to the posts.
Just three minutes into the half, Rassie Erasmus unleashed the Bomb Squad. At 19-11, he knew he had to do something and the Bok super subs never fail.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian McKenzie traded penalties before Clarke scored his second try and at 27-17, and just 10 minutes into the half, the Boks needed to find a way to get back into the game.
Inevitably, it was the rugged Kwagga Smith who detonated the Bomb Squad when he wriggled over for a crucial score with 10 minutes to go, and then the irrepressible Grant Williams darted over for one of his trademark tries.
Points-Scorers
Springboks 31 – Tries: Bongi Mbonambi, Kwagga Smith, Grant Williams. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalties: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (4).
All Blacks 27 – Tries: Codie Taylor, Caleb Clarke (2), Jordie Barrett. Conversions: Damian McKenzie (2). Penalty: McKenzie (1).