Auckland, New Zealand – Ardie Savea’s dynamic performance marked his 100th Test cap as the All Blacks secured a 24-17 victory over south Africa at Eden Park on Saturday.The win establishes an early lead in the Rugby Championship series, with the teams set to meet again next week in Wellington.
The All Blacks opened the scoring within 90 seconds after forcing an early turnover. Center Billy Proctor’s kick deep into South africa’s 22m lead to pressure and a scrambled kick to touch. A clever lineout variation,featuring Savea at halfback and finlay Christie standing off,created space for right wing Emoni Narawa to score the first try. Narawa’s try was, however, followed by a rib injury that forced his replacement by Damian McKenzie, with Will Jordan shifting to the wing.
south Africa responded with attempts at midfield breakthroughs, but were penalised for not forming a maul. The All Blacks extended their lead with a 50-22 kick from Beauden Barrett, followed by a lineout play that saw No8 Wallace Sititi run into space and offload to Jordan, who broke the defense for a try.
The second half saw a resurgence from the Springboks. They pressured the All Blacks’ line, resulting in a try for hooker Malcolm Marx, 15m out from the All Blacks’ line. Though,South African obstruction from the restart led to an All blacks penalty and a kick to the corner. During the ensuing lineout, All Blacks flanker Smith was sin-binned. Despite being a man down, the All Blacks pack continued to attack, eventually releasing the ball to replacement second five-eighths Quinn Tupaea, who scored in the 65th minute.
Throughout the match, the All Blacks experienced handling errors and struggled with the high ball, conceding knock-ons and turnovers. Despite thes challenges, they capitalized on their opportunities.
Scorers: New Zealand 24 (Emoni Narawa, Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea tries; Jordie Barrett con; Damian McKenzie 2 con, pen ) South Africa 17 (Malcolm Marx, Cobus Reinach tries; Handre Pollard pen; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2 con). HT: 14-3.
