All Blacks stun South Africa 33-16 at Ellis Park and snap Springboks' 12-test win streak
· Yahoo Sports
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — New Zealand stunned South Africa 33-16 at Ellis Park on Saturday and drew first blood in their historic four-test series.
After surviving a ferocious first half to trail only 13-12, the All Blacks' deep belief and ability to produce something from nothing turned a tense contest into a rout by five tries to South Africa's one.
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A scrum that was blown away in the first half eventually held firm in the second half and was the platform for New Zealand's last two tries in the last quarter.
South Africa paid for failing to take its many chances when it had New Zealand on the ropes in the first half, and to a crashing halt came South Africa's 12-test winning streak that began by handing New Zealand its heaviest ever defeat, 43-10, in Wellington 11 months ago.
The Springboks scrum was better than advertised until props Ox Nché and Wilco Louw were substituted. An overconfidence in the set-piece made South Africa waive off numerous kickable penalties at altitude to try and bury the All Blacks with tries. But a backline that struggled to string any passes was easily corralled, putting too much on the likes of forwards Jasper Wiese, Malcolm Marx and Paul de Villiers to produce something.
When New Zealand returned the pressure in the second half, South Africa gave away two yellow cards in the span of a minute and finished with 13 men. The tension in a packed Ellis Park deflated in the last 10 minutes as Springbok supporters realized a comeback wasn't possible.
The series moves to sea level in Cape Town next Saturday and New Zealand is the surprising front-runner in the first full series between the teams in 30 years.
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