Rugby: Top 10 Bok battlers since 1992

Springbok supporter Pieter Van Zyl is removed from the field by officials after assaulting Irish referee David McHugh during the Tri-Nations rugby match in Durban. Photo / Getty Images

Never mind the 1995 World Cup, since their return from isolation in 1992, the Springboks have found it hard to match the All Blacks - even at home. Wynne Gray recalls the best of the recent clashes on their turf

1 1992, Ellis Park
All Blacks 27
Springboks 24

This was the first time the All Blacks had visited the Republic since 1976 and the first meeting between the two famous sides since 1981. The All Blacks had travelled on from an absorbing tour of Australia and won a quartet of warm-up games, while the Boks suffered through a lack of international experience but wheeled out Naas Botha and Danie Gerber who were survivors from that tumultuous '81 tour of New Zealand. There were all sorts of pre-match threats about the crowd singing Die Stem before referee Sandy MacNeill blew time to the chants of 72,000 spectators. Grant Fox opened the scoring with a penalty before Zinzan Brooke scored a cheeky try when the Boks turned their backs thinking Fox would attempt another goal. The All Blacks held the advantage for most of the match and led by 17 points with just five minutes left before Muller scored then Gerber crossed for his second try as the tourists ran out of gas.

2 1995, Ellis Park
Springboks 15
All Blacks 12

An extraordinary match and an outrageous day, which began with a South African Airways jumbo jet roaring over the ground, twice, in low-level pre-match manoeuvres to the appearances of President Nelson Mandela clad in his Springbok jersey, with the number 6 to match Bok captain Francois Pienaar. The hosts scraped into the final with a controversial win against France; the All Blacks had swaggered through the tournament and were favourites to add to their 1987 title. However, they were suffering from food poisoning, blamed by coach Laurie Mains on a waitress named "Suzy" while Bok wing James Small was on a bounty offered by a local radio station for each time he managed to tackle the tournament colossus Jonah Lomu. There were no tries in the match and Andrew Mehrtens narrowly missed with a dropkick for victory three minutes from time. Referee Ed Morrison blew for 20 minutes of extra time and Mehrtens soon had a penalty equalled by Joel Stransky. Soon after, from a scrum, Stransky drove a dagger drop goal through the All Blacks hearts, and Johannesburg and the Rainbow Nation went into delirious delight.

3 1996, Loftus Versfeld
All Blacks 33
Springboks 26

The end of a 68-year wait, the last rugby mountain for the All Blacks to scale. Somehow, the opening test at Newlands only counted as part of the Tri-Nations tournament so the previous week's victory in Durban meant the All Blacks could create history with a series win in Pretoria. The hope was strong with a half-time lead of 21-11 after a gem of a try to Jeff Wilson and another to Zinzan Brooke. Replacement first five-eighths Simon Culhane was injured and utility Jon Preston had to play his first test in that role in five years. No sweat. He kicked a couple of precious goals before the gifted Brooke nailed a drop goal. Two minutes were left. For some All Blacks it seemed like two hours as they grimly defended their line from one last Bok onslaught before referee Didie Mene blew the sweet music on his whistle. Captain Sean Fitzpatrick pounded the turf in relief, Brooke and Justin Marshall saluted the rugby gods while others just rolled over exhausted. Former All Blacks who made the trip to the Republic and those at home who sweated unprofitably during the 1928, 1949, 1960, 1970 and 1976 tours, could celebrate the crossing of this last frontier.

4 1998, Kings Park
Springboks 24
All Blacks 23

With 15 minutes left the All Blacks were leading 23-5 and looked certain to halt their three-test losing sequence. Coach John Hart had dropped Michael Jones and made a number of other changes. After conceding a try in two minutes, the alterations looked to have stopped the rot. The visitors held a sizeable lead when Isitola Maka was injured and the side lost some momentum. Joost van der Westhuizen scored, then Bobby Skinstad, but the All Blacks held the lead as they went into the final minutes. They conceded a penalty, the Boks kicked to a lineout, drove the take and in a flurry of action, referee Peter Marshall signalled a try to Bok hooker James Dalton. The conversion missed but Gary Teichmann's men had the joy of victory. Dalton later conceded he had not grounded the ball correctly. It didn't matter. The deed was done. A year before, the All Blacks had won from 7-23 down at Ellis Park, this time the Boks had the fairytale finish.

5 2001, Newlands
All Blacks 12
Springboks 3

New captain Anton Oliver was relieved and in eloquent, but cautious voice after the victory. "Let's not kiss ourselves good night," he said. "It has brought us a bit of time and we can go home on the long flight with sweet dreams." The skipper could thank his provincial teammate Tony Brown for his accurate kicking with four first-half penalty successes while Percy Montgomery, apart from a first-minute sideline penalty, could not get his radar working in the wet. The Boks were dousing fires on many fronts as erratic coach Harry Viljoen picked an equally erratic Bobby Skinstad as his new skipper. This was a gruelling match in tough conditions and when referee Scott Young called time, the two old rivals had played their first tryless international since the 1995 World Cup final.

6 2002, Absa Park
All Blacks 30
Springboks 23

It was ludicrous. A South African supporter of ample proportions was able to scale the enclosure in Durban, evade the plethora of security, waddle across to play in the middle of the field and crash-tackle referee David McHugh. It took the intervention of Richie McCaw and AJ Venter to nail the intruder while McHugh, with his shoulder dislocated, had to be replaced by touch judge Chris White in a seven-minute delay. Pieter van Zyl was apparently aggrieved about McHugh's decisions and allegedly received a life ban from games. Incredibly, there was a second intrusion near the end when a Bok supporter ran on to the field and staked a flag in the ground. The scores were level at this stage as the All Blacks pleaded for a try to McCaw in the same spot where James Dalton had robbed them three years before. No dice said the replacement referee, but Aaron Mauger scored soon after to claim the late victory.

7 2003, Loftus Versfeld
All Blacks 52
Springboks 16

Those looking for omens for this weekend's clash in the Republic will have noted that Irish referee Alain Rolland was also in charge of this explosive performance from the All Blacks. They scored seven tries as they created the highest winning margin between the two famous nations. There had been signs the tourists were getting into their work with expansive wins against Wales and France but this result seemed to be in Fantasyland. There were few promising signs in the opening quarter before the All Blacks found space and finished their work. The All Blacks scrum demolished their hosts on a day that doubled as Nelson Mandela's birthday. The Boks were unsophisticated - full of testosterone, but deficient in skills and co-ordination.

8 2005, Newlands
Springboks 22
All Blacks 16

After a victorious series against the Lions, the All Blacks arrived in Cape Town as favourites and optimistic they could reverse the previous year's loss in Johannesburg. Graham Henry's men departed with the same feeling, after being outmuscled by the Springbok pack and denied by relentless tackling. Richie McCaw, Leon MacDonald, Carl Hayman, Daniel Carter and Aaron Mauger were all back after missing the last Lions test but the Boks under Jake White were on an undefeated run of nine wins and a draw. Lock Victor Matfield creamed halfback Byron Kelleher in a late tackle, but escaped any ban. The All Blacks made much of the play, but many mistakes too as Juan Smith and Schalk Burger feasted on the error rate and pilfered twice the amount of turnovers. The All Blacks had plenty of ball, but they did not deal with the intensity of the match and the Boks rush defence. It was back to the drawing board for Graham Henry and his crew.

9 2006, Rustenburg
Springboks 20
All Blacks 19

A week before Henry and his men had got the gorilla off their backs. Finally, in Pretoria, they had overturned an early deficit to win in South Africa. So, the visitors made 10 changes for the first test at a ground usually reserved for soccer. They stayed at nearby Sun City and played like they were still at the recreation resort. The All Blacks made 15 linebreaks, but could only convert two, there were constant disasters in the lineout, Sivivatu looked gun-shy, So'oialo conceded 10 points with a converted intercept try and the final clinching offside penalty while he was also penalised for obstruction when Andrew Hore scored. The idea of staging a test here was fine, but, in practice, the arena was unsuitable while the visiting media all struggled to file copy on the final bell because communication lines were choked. The 35-minute drive home, dodging livestock and their owners on unlit single-lane roads, was only manageable by following the All Black bus.

10 2008, Newlands
All Blacks 19
Springboks 0

The hosts were pumped for Percy Montgomery's 100th test and the All Blacks were reunited with referee Wayne Barnes - running touch for this game - for the first time since their World Cup quarter-final exit. Barnes flagged Bryan Habana, correctly, for crossing touch early but referee Matt Goddard chose to go to the TMO instead. He got the same advice. It was a free-flowing game but the scoring only went one way as the All Blacks kept a clean sheet for the first time in a test against the Boks. Carter missed his first four kicks until he converted his own try, which he scored lying on his back and planting the ball against the goalpost padding. Eventually the first five-eighth goaled two-from-seven attempts, the All Blacks had three tries and wrote another proud piece of history.