Five talking points from the test that, after the snorefest the week before, revived the storied All Blacks-Springboks rivalry in all its ferocious glory.
Pity about the 100th test, but the 101st was magnificent
The test on the Gold Coast was worthy of all the legends that go into100 years of rugby, and, if Kiwis are being fair minded, will admit that South Africa deserved the 31-29 victory.
Why? Because, as the great unbeaten All Black coach Sir Fred Allen once said to me, "A good side that wants to win can be tipped up by a team that has to win."
You saw the desperation in everything the Boks did. Look at the breakdowns. By and large it's accepted now that if you take the ball into the tackle, and get your body position right, your team will get the ball to carry on. Unless forwards like Kwagga Smith and Duane Vermeulen smash into the breakdown with such maniacal force the ball becomes hotly contested, or even turned over.
Add in the fact the Boks weren't just a one note samba anymore. While it's true they didn't exactly turn into an all-running, all-passing entertainment machine, and both Handre Pollard and Willie le Roux (until the poor guy, who had a nightmare game, was subbed off), kicked a couple of times when South Africa had massive overlaps, they scored two very good tries. The lead-up to the first, in the fifth minute to Damian de Allende, included a superb backhand pass from Lukhanyo Am. The second, at 52 minutes, started with a perfectly worked lineout drive, finished with real panache by wing Makazole Mapimpi.
So, no, this wasn't the lumpen mob bettered by the Wallabies, and denied victory last weekend by the All Blacks. This was a team playing much more like the 2019 World Cup victors, which was pretty logical, given that 11 of the South African starters on the Gold Coast also started the 2019 final against England in Japan.
Another belter from Jordie
All Black player of the Rugby Championship? Step forward please Jordie Barrett, who grew as the tournament went on. A champion in every department, from goal kicking to aerial accuracy and fearlessness.
Most promising All Black? Ethan Blackadder, who took the step from Super Rugby to test footy with the control of a veteran, while retaining the massive energy levels of a delighted rookie.
Who missed who the most?
Watching Aaron Smith playing like a champion for Manawatū might have tipped the scales to the brilliant halfback, but, given the lineout dominance of the Boks, it was hard not to muse more about whether not having Sam Whitelock's huge presence, both physically and mentally, wasn't a giant-sized issue.
The South African locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager were magnificent in the lineouts, to the point where there was no certainty for the All Blacks on their own throw.
The refereeing cost the All Blacks, but it could have won them the game
English referee Matthew Carley was relentlessly erratic at the breakdown, usually ignoring the street-smart way the Boks rarely rolled away after making a tackle.
It would still have been an injustice for the ages if Jordie Barrett's second-to-last penalty kick in the 75th minute had been crucial to winning the game, when replays made it clear Francois Steyn had robbed Damian McKenzie of the ball in the process of making a tackle, so had every right to feel aggrieved when he was penalised.
The road goes on forever
Beauden Barrett gets his pass away to Rieko Ioane.
New Zealand All Blacks v South Africa Springboks.The Rugby Championship. Photo / Getty Images.
There's a swag of time for the All Blacks to lick their wounds, and obsess over the videos of the season's first loss. They'll be in Australia for another couple of weeks before they fly to Chicago to play the United States on October 24, and then it's off to Europe for four tests against a resurgent Wales, Italy, Ireland and France.
Weeks in each other's company can work either way. In the wise words of the late George Nepia, talking of the seven-week boat trip the Invincibles, the unbeaten 1924 All Blacks took to Europe, "By the time we got off the ship the team could have been blown to bits, but in fact we were best friends, like a club team in which every man is a gifted player." Fingers crossed the 2021 side finds the spirit of '24.
