New Zealand are on course to retain the Rugby Championship trophy after making an explosive start in their 35-20 win over South Africa in Auckland yesterday.
Two months before the Rugby World Cup starts, the All Blacks grabbed early tries by Aaron Smith and Shannon Frizell to dominate early on.
Malcolm Marx and Cheslin Kolbe crossed as the Springboks fought back in the second half, before New Zealand’s Will Jordan and Richie Mo’unga touched down late tries.
Photo: AP
Springboks flanker Kwagga Smith grabbed the visitors’ third try just before the final whistle.
With the championship reduced to three rounds, the All Blacks are set to retain the title, sitting at the top of the table having thumped Argentina 41-12 in their opening match.
“There were a lot of swings and roundabouts in the game, but the way we came through the challenges was something to be proud of,” New Zealand coach Ian Foster said. “We stung them at the start with the tempo we played at.”
New Zealand captain Sam Cane saw a step up in performance from the away win in Argentina.
“We’re pleased to see improvement from last week, but we know we’ve still got a way to go from where we want to be,” he said.
The skipper played down the neck injury which saw him miss the second half.
“It was just a precautionary measure,” he said.
South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber said the world champions were punished for a poor opening spell.
“You can’t start like that. You can’t give away so many penalties and errors,” he said. “I am proud of the way the guys came back in the second half, but we let it slip in the first 20 minutes.”
In yesterday’s other Rugby Championship game, Juan Martin Gonzalez scored a last-minute try as Argentina clocked back-to-back victories over the Wallabies for the first time, in a stirring 34-31 win to ramp up pressure on Australia coach Eddie Jones.
The home side streaked into a 10-0 lead at Sydney’s Parramatta Stadium, but Los Pumas won the next 17 points to take control and held their nerve to finish in style for a confidence-boosting victory ahead of the World Cup.
Both sides ran in four tries in the thrilling arm-wrestle, with a single penalty making the difference.
The home side thought they had won it when Mark Nawaqanitawase ran the length of the pitch for an intercept try with four minutes left, but the visitors never gave in, with Gonzalez flopping over in the final minute from a rolling maul.
Argentina beat the Wallabies 48-17 last year in Mendoza and while the scoreline in Sydney was not as emphatic, it was history-making as the first time they have gone back-to-back.
New Zealand face Australia away two weeks from now, in their final championship game, the same weekend South Africa host Argentina.
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