World champions South Africa struck back emphatically to beat New Zealand 33-26 at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, leveling "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry" series at 1-1 with two Tests remaining.
The Springboks, stung by their first Test defeat at Ellis Park, produced a ruthless first-half performance built on lineout dominance and a ferocious rush defense. Hooker Deon Fourie — at nearly 40, the oldest Springbok to appear in a Test — found his target in the lineout and South Africa's maul powered into the 22 inside two minutes. The recycled ball sent centre Jesse Kriel crashing over for the opening try, and the hosts never looked back.
Kolbe, who took on the kicking duties ahead of fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, converted and then added a penalty to stretch the lead. Damian de Allende barrelled over from another imposing maul to make it 17-7. When New Zealand threatened through Cam Roigard and Will Jordan, it was Kolisi who answered — the captain returning from a hamstring injury to crash over off a five-metre scrum after Erasmus had brought on Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche to strengthen the scrum.
The sequence that produced Kolisi's try was match-defining. Erasmus swapped his entire front row hours before kick-off — a move that surely had the New Zealand management scrutinizing the tour regulations — and it paid dividends when Marx and Nche immediately won a penalty. From the resulting pressure, Kolisi dotted down to give South Africa a 24-14 halftime lead.
New Zealand, despite trailing, showed the attacking verve that had characterized their first Test win. Damian McKenzie's break set up a try for Roigard, and in the second half the All Blacks kept coming. But their lineout was a persistent problem — three attacking throws were spoiled by Eben Etzebeth — and they could not convert territory into scoreboard pressure until it was too late.
Leroy Carter scored a fabulous finish in the left corner and captain Ardie Savea barged over on 77 minutes to cut the gap to seven points, but a crucial breakdown turnover by replacement Cameron Hanekom in the closing stages settled the contest.
Kolbe finished with 18 points — three conversions and four penalties — having now made all 11 shots at goal across the series. He was named player of the match.
"This week we took our chances and brought the fire," said Kolisi, whose presence at inside centre was a significant boost. Coach Dave Rennie praised South Africa's physicality: "They were good tonight, really physical. We're confident we can bounce back."
The first series between these rivals in 30 years now moves to altitude in Soweto, Johannesburg, next Saturday, with everything still to play for.
South Africa: Willemse; Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Hooker; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Reinach; Steenekamp, Fourie, T Du Toit, Etzebeth, Nortje, Kolisi (capt), P-S Du Toit, Wiese.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/south-africa-springboks-all-blacks-2nd-test-b996752150947b828d8c0aff1adda7f0 https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/articles/c1mvred1l7do
