18 min: SA win the restart after Tupaea’s spill and are inside NZ’s 22. They keep it alive long enough to foce a NZ error. Lomax strays offside so it’ll be a SA penalty within range. Kolbe points to the sticks.
They’re looking at a possible shoulder hit from Savea on de Allende, but that looks OK to me.
TRY! South Africa 7-7 New Zealand (Roigard, 16)
Superb from New Zealand! My goodness, there is no side in this sport as clinical as these All Blacks. This time Taylor, on halfway, find his jumper at the line-out. From there they go down the line, from left to right until Jordan has it. He beats one then beats another, running around both Kriel and de Allende before he plays a pass inside for Roigard on support like all good scrumhalves. He has a simple run to the line from the 22. The conversion from in front levels things.
15 min: Taylor misses his jumper and T du Toit snaffles it and runs forward. He has no support though so when he places the ball after being tackled Jacobson stoops low and steals the ball. Willemse has a kick to deal with and he just about does. SFM hoofs another touch finder to halfway.
12 min: SA win the ball on their line! Rather than take the hit from NZ’s maul, they show bravery and lift Etzebeth who disrupts the ball and NZ knock on at the line-out. SA still have to exit from a scrum on their own line, which they do after de Allende runs into traffic before SFM hoofs clear about 10 metres short of halfway. Big moment for the home side.
11 min: From nothing, McKenzie explodes through as hole and he’s in space approaching SA’s 22. He gets his head up and nudges a kick to the corner where Jordan picks up off his feet. He’s nailed though five out from the corner by SFM. SA scramble to win the ball but Kriel loses his feet and gives away a penalty. NZ can’t take advantage so they line-out five out.
Updated
10 min: The ball comes out the back of the NZ scrum and away they go. Tupaea gets free and makes metres post contact. Barrett is involved. They go right then left before a kick ahead is fielded by Willemse. For the third time he skews the clearing kick. So NZ have the ball again off the line-out and remain inside SA’s half.
7 min: Through the ABs hands until Barrett rakes a low kick. Willemse collects in his own 22 but again scuffs the return which presents an opportunity for Jordan to counter. He makes ground down the left tram but NZ run out of room as Kriel tackles his man out of touch. Off the line-out, Reinach and Kolisi get in a tangle and the ball is spilled. So we’ll have a first scrum. NZ with the feed 20 metres inside SA’s half about 10 metres in from the left touch.
5 min: Barrett goes in search of space in the corner but Willemse makes a sound mark as the ball dipped over his shoulder. His kick, though, was scuffed. Not the first time that’s happened. Conditions aren’t helpful. The wind is swirling around. ABs with the throw inside SA’s patch. They win it and go down the line around halfway.
4 min: From the restart, Hooker grabbed Reinach’s box kick and kept a move alive. De Allende straightened and played a short pass inside for the onrushing Wiese who spilled in contact. Kolbe’s counter came to nothing and the All Blacks are on the ball for the first time after winning a line-out and taking advantage of a snipe from Roigard.
TRY! South Africa 7-0 New Zealand (Kriel, 2)
WHAT A START FOR THE BOKS! Emphatic! The maul made great ground before they got go forward with Wiese. Then Kolisi beat a tackler and came within two metres of the line. Reinach kept it thrumming and found Kriel with a pass to his left and the midfielder darted through a gap to dot down.
Kolbe converts from bang in front and the Boks have made an early statement.
Updated
1 min: Barrett’s return kick from kick-off is scuffed so Fourie – the oldest Springbok in history a month short of his 40th birthday – gets a throw to the line. He finds Etzebeth a the front and they maul.
Kick-off!
Ruben Love gives his mates some last minute words of encouragement before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (SFM from now on) gets us under way!
Codie Taylor and his cauliflower ears and frowny face lead the haka.
The camera cuts to Kolisi who seems to be reciting something. Then we see Savea, his good mate, who sends back a death stare.
After the respectful silence of the crowd comes the jeers and fanatic response. Kapo a pango is a challenge and the Cape Town faithful have met it.
Updated
Anthems done.
Yoh! The stadium looks unreal. What a vibe. If you are a rugby fan there isn’t anywhere else you’d want to be.
Except here, reading this blog, of course.
The home fans are already chanting ole, ole, ole!
Might seem premature, but it’s a South African rugby thing. My hunch is that they are all incredibly nervous.
Anyway, time for the anthems.
Ardie Savea leads out the All Blacks. Siya Kolisi follows after the Impi warriors flex their muscles and shake their spears.
This Springboks’ back row of Kolisi, PS du Toit and Wiese is now tied for the most Test starts together for SA. They’re on 17.
Pieter-Steph du Toit walks out with his wife and children on the occasion of his 100th Test.
I got to chat with him back in 2021. He has quite the story:
Late changes to South Africa team
Another switcheroo from Erasmus!
He’s swapped his front rows.
Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit were supposed to start on the bench.
Instead they’ll run out as Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw will form part of the Bomb Squad.
Updated
And what about the Saffas?
Rassie Erasmus: “Most of the things we inflicted on ourselves, and that’s frustrating. Our plans didn’t work, and that’s on me.”
Cobus Reinach: “They put us under pressure and made us do things that led to my yellow card.”
Siya Kolisi: “We’re not only playing for each other, we are playing for the whole of South Africa.”
Thomas du Toit: “We try and stay within the laws of the game as much as we can and as much as we perceive it.” – on the allegations that the Boks’ scrum pushes the limits of the law.
Here’s what a few Kiwis had to say:
Ardie Savea: “We understand the threat. We understand the wounded beast. We understand that when you lose, everything is amplified.”
Dave Rennie: “It could be an absolute arm wrestle. We’re going to have to go deeper this week. We think if they’re forced to scrum square and not allowed to step sideways and walk around us, then we’ll be able to stay in front of that.”
Leroy Carter: “Just try to catch it, eh?” - on preparing for the Springbok high-ball assault.
SA Rugby has responded to a ticketing controversy that left supporters without entry to today’s Test.
A statement circulating online claimed that tickets bought through a travel agency had been double-sold after the purchasing process reverted to SA Rugby. The company subsequently apologised to customers who had paid for tickets but were unable to attend the match. That includes fans who have travelled from New Zealand.
SA Rugby disputes the account. The union says the agencies involved acted “illegally and recklessly” in pursuit of commercial gain and that their claims unfairly suggested the problem was caused by failures in SA Rugby’s ticketing operation.
The matter has been handed to SA Rugby’s attorneys, with the union seeking legal redress.
The episode is another warning to supporters buying tickets on the secondary market.
I know a couple who arrived at the World Cup final in 2023 – having travelled to Paris just for the game – only to find that their tickets didn’t work.
It really is horrible.
One thing to keep an eye out for today is the post-contact metres made.
Last week, Boks ball carriers made an extra 286 post-contact metres to New Zealand’s 191.
Generally, that points to dominance but on this occasion it only amplified the All Blacks’ tenacity as they scrambled on defence and the wastefulness of the home side as they failed to convert their chances.
I can’t see the same happening again if this stat is repeated.
Building off that, Boks lost 23 turnovers; New Zealand lost 13. Some of those from South Africa were knock-ons and spills, but many were the result of interventions by men in black. Jordie Barrett made five steals on his own! What a player he is by the way.
Was Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s recall a genuine late change or a classic piece of Rassie Erasmus misdirection?
Read Gerard Meagher’s preview:
New Zealand team
The All Blacks make three changes to the starting XV that won at Ellis Park last week, with all three players promoted from the bench.
After prop Ethan de Groot and lock Josh Lord banged heads in Johannesburg, there are changes in the pack.
George Bower, who helped stabalise the scrum in the second half last week, gets a start at loosehead prop while Tupou Vaa’i, who was excellent in the 6 jersey, shifts to the second row.
Simon Parker joins a settled back row alongside the impressive Luke Jacobson and captain Ardie Savea. Leroy Carter replaces Josh Moorby on the left wing.
Patrick Tuipulotu comes onto the bench, while Xavier Numia replaces Bower among the replacements.
Otherwise, the All Blacks retain the core of the side that did the business, including the half-back pairing of Cam Roigard and Ruben Love who are growing in confidence together.
New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie; 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard; 1 George Bower, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 4 Fabian Holland, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 6 Simon Parker, 7 Luke Jacobson, 8 Ardie Savea (captain).
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Josh Moorby.
South Africa team
Pieter-Steph du Toit – in my opinion the greatest Springbok of all time – wins his 100th cap today.
That’s not the only milestone as Ox Nche plays for the 50th time at prop.
Siya Kolisi is back to skipper the side while Ethan Hooker replaces the injured Kurt-Lee Arendse to add more heft and height on the wing.
Cheslin Kolbe was delcared fit midweek to continue his role as the primary goal kicker and Cobus Reinach replaces Grant Williams at scrum-half.
Handre Pollard picked up a niggle in training so Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts at 10.
When he comes off the bench, Deon Fourie, the replacement hooker, will become the oldest Springbok at at 39 years and 338 days.
South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse; 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach; 1 Ox Nche, 2 Malcolm Marx, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Cameron Hanekom, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Manie Libbok.
Updated
Preamble
Has it only been a week since the first Test?
On Monday, 48 hours after his side failed to turn dominance into points in a humbling 16-33 loss to the All Blacks in Johannesburg, Rassie Erasmus named his team for the second dig.
On the starting line-up were were 16 players as he waited on the fitness of skipper Siya Kolisi, who has only played 24 minutes of Test rugby this year. The talisman was then given the all clear to share a field with another double World Cup winner, fly-half Handre Pollard.
Except the metronomic 10 with a laser scope in his right boot picked up a ‘niggle’ on Wednesday and was hooked from the side. So Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who had a stinker at Ellis Park, was drafted back into the mix.
All the while New Zealand’s coach Dave Rennie questioned the legality of South Africa’s scrum tactics. Oh, Nika Amashukeli, who was supposed to referee the game, failed to recover from an illness and has been replaced by Angus Gardner. Oy vey!
As the fun and games unfolded, the discourse on social media – admittedly a toxic place at the best of times - grew ever more febrile. We’ve been told so many times that these two rugby nations respect each. That no other rivalry in rugby, perhaps all sport, is basted in this much respect. Well, a glance online shows that things are fraying at the edges.
This just shows how much it all means to both sets of coaches, players and supporters. One could argue that this is the most important game for the Boks since their one point win over New Zealand in the World Cup final three years ago.
Their claim to global dominance hangs by a thread. They simply cannot afford to lose this one. On the other hand, the All Blacks know that they are on the cusp of something quite extraordinary.
Cape Town Tests are usually stodgy affairs though the rain seems to have held out. Still, it won’t necessarily be a pretty thing this afternoon. Whoever wins it will have to dig deep and go to some dark places.
We’ll find out who comes out on top once things kick off at 3:10 pm local time/4:10 BST.
Teams and other updates to come. Feel free to write in. I’d love to hear from you.
