Brutal Boks have clawed back the advantage

OPINION: The momentum is with the Springboks following their gladiatorial performance against the All Blacks in Cape Town.

How much have we learned over the past couple of weeks?

In the lead-up to the first Test, a number of critics and fans on both sides of the Greatest Rivalry divide predicted a 4-0 whitewash in favour of South Africa.

Following the All Blacks’ statement win at Ellis Park, the narrative flipped.

Suddenly the Boks were too old and one-dimensional to maintain their grip on the World Rugby No.1 ranking.

Suddenly, the team that had won 31 of its last 36 Tests had become a bad side overnight.

It was a grossly unfair assessment of the greatest and most ambitious Bok team in history.

What’s more, it was a slight on a terrific All Blacks side that’s exceeded all expectations since touching down in South Africa.

In truth, the Boks didn’t meet their own high standards in the first Test, while the All Blacks took theirs to the next level.

The response in Cape Town was inevitable – as the Boks delivered a physical performance for the ages to win 33-26 and level the four-game series.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks showed no small measure of determination to claw their way back into the contest in the final quarter.

So what have we learned?

The first two matches of the inaugural Greatest Rivalry series have served to highlight a few facts about the teams, and about rugby’s world order.

Dave Rennie’s New Zealand have closed the gap between themselves and South Africa, but rumours of the Boks’ demise have been greatly exaggerated.

The desperation and never-say-die attitude that has defined this Bok side for the better part of a decade was prevalent at Cape Town Stadium this past Saturday.

The older and more experienced players stood tallest.

Malcolm Marx reminded all and sundry why he’s one of the world’s best exponents of the defensive breakdown, winning three turnovers.

Eben Etzebeth was desperation personified, contributing a series of powerful carries and leading the charge against New Zealand’s line-out.

The press box at Cape Town Stadium is particularly close to the field, and when Etzebeth went up to contest, his expression seemed to suggest that the result of the match and series might hinge on a timely intervention.

The All Blacks may have drawn the game if they had scored one more try.

While there were many key moments over the course of an epic contest, the Boks will be grateful for Etzebeth’s line-out steal deep in South African territory in the 73rd minute, which brought an end to a promising New Zealand surge.

Siya Kolisi put in a significant 42-minute shift, and while the Boks’ performance around the breakdown was more accurate with the skipper in tow, the defining moment arrived before half-time when he held a sharp pass close to the line and managed to get the ball down.

The Boks dropped those passes in the first Test and spurned point-scoring opportunities.

In the second, they converted four of their five 22m entries in the first half, and went to the break with a deserved 24-14 lead.

The Boks didn’t have everything their own way, though.

One can understand why Erasmus is so unhappy with the officials’ indecisive performance at the scrums, but at the same time, the All Blacks deserve credit for exploiting the situation to their advantage.

The visitors battled at the line-out, and struggled to cope with the high ball whenever Cobus Reinach put up a box kick for the excellent Ethan Hooker to chase and regather.

The Boks kicked 34 times – twice as much as they did in the first Test (17) – and regained possession six times.

The kick-chase tactic was largely successful in the first half, but Erasmus and company will have noted what transpired in the second, and how much of the game was played in their half of the field.

For the second week in a row, New Zealand outscored the South Africans in the second stanza (12-9) and managed to keep the Boks tryless in this period once again.

While the Boks did well to limit the All Blacks in the latter stages, they didn’t win enough territory and relied on Cheslin Kolbe to keep them in front via his accurate boot – and to be fair, Kolbe’s goal-kicking is one of the biggest success stories of the series to date.

Erasmus had plenty to say after the game on a variety of issues, but perhaps the biggest takeaway was his insistence that the All Blacks are a different beast under Rennie, and twice the team they were when the sides last met in the 2025 Rugby Championship.

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The All Blacks have come to South Africa with the intent to play the game at a high tempo, and neither the intensity of the contest nor the altitude factor – in the first Test – has curbed that ambition.

There were moments in the second Test when the Boks looked out on their feet, and when a group of forwards – after being moved from one end of the park to the other – were beaten on the edge by the New Zealanders’ potent back three.

While the Boks have work to do ahead of the third Test, it’s worth reflecting on Erasmus’ words and what we’ve seen in the first two games.

This is a quality All Blacks side under Rennie, and it’s going to take everything a great Bok team has to clinch the series.

The good news is that the Boks look a lot more settled and match-fit after two games in succession – and their key players have grown in stature and influence as the series has progressed.

The Boks have the momentum after winning in Cape Town, but as Erasmus suggested after the game, they can’t afford to be complacent in Johannesburg and Baltimore.

Nothing has changed since the defeat at Ellis Park: the Boks still need to win three “knockout” matches in a row if they are going to win the series.

Erasmus and Rennie may have a few more tactical cards to play, but depth is going to be so important in these final weeks, and the Boks could have the edge in this department.

It would be unwise to underestimate this All Blacks group, especially after what they achieved at Ellis Park and after how they fought back in Cape Town.

But the big question that was asked before the series still looms large: Can they go the distance with a Bok squad stacked with world-class options over a relentless four-week period?