The Sunday Mail
THE All Blacks extended their record home winning run to 36 matches, but it wasn’t before having to dig deeper than they have in ages as a desperate defensive effort in the last five minutes secured a 14-10 Castle Lager Rugby Championship triumph over the Springboks in Wellington yesterday.
The All Black defence was desperate in the last five minutes of an epic test match that for once was well refereed and wasn’t impacted by yellow cards. New Zealanders would have had their hearts in their mouths as the Boks pressed for the try that would have secured their first win over the Kiwis since 2011 and their first on New Zealand soil since 2009.
But it was the Bok defensive effort for the bulk of the 80 minutes that was truly heroic on a night where for most of the way it was the hosts who dominated both territory and possession.
The difference between winning and losing at the highest level is taking your opportunities. The Boks did that excellently in the first half, with Handre Pollard setting up a rare attacking chance for his team with a long kick to the corner, and then the young flyhalf featured again twice as the South Africans attacked off the lineout. — Supersport.
