3. Tyrel Lomax – 4
The New Zealand scrum went backwards for most of the first half, highlighted by a late penalty try. Lomax was part of the failed lift of Vaa’i which almost cost them a restart after Savea’s try. Lomax conceded a penalty for going in the side of a defensive lineout maul.
4. Tupou Vaa’i – 5
Was far from his best in Soweto, mostly due to his handling errors. The lock dropped the restart after Savea’s opening try. He later dropped a goal-line dropout which could have seen him gallop over for a try relatively unmarked. Vaa’i made seven tackles, showed some nice footwork with ball in hand and looked to link with his other forwards.
5. Sam Darry – 6
Was a reliable lineout option and a workhorse around the park. The lock made seven carries, six tackles and hit plenty of rucks with no obvious errors.
6. Peter Lakai – 7
Called in for Simon Parker, Lakai made an immediate impact with a big hit in the opening minutes of the test. He ran strongly with ball in hand throughout an 80-minute stretch. His running and passing in wide channels made the Hurricanes loosie a constant threat.
7. Luke Jacobson – 5
Jacobson was the skipper in the dying minutes, when New Zealand lost composure and started making rushed, panicked decisions. The flanker needed to slow his men down, but instead the All Blacks repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Jacobson failed to win a single turnover but carried the ball six times and made six tackles.
8. Ardie Savea – 8
Savea’s injury 32 minutes into the contest proved a decisive moment. The No 8 was striding into a captain’s knock, having scored two tries through support play. Savea dived over from a pick-and-go off a destructive Asafo Aumua run, which gave him the outright lead for test tries scored by a forward. He notched up his 35th test try minutes later, delivering a stunning cut-out pass to Carter and then pouncing on the loose ball at the breakdown. The All Blacks missed his leadership and poise late.
9. Cam Roigard – 7
Had a strong showing and might have shown more composure than Kyle Preston in the dying minutes. The halfback intelligently milked a penalty by tapping from a penalty just metres from the All Blacks’ line and catching the Boks’ offside. He also baited Cobus Reinach into tackling him off the ball, winning a penalty. Roigard found space sniping around the ruck. He produced a superb kicking game and was unlucky not to be rewarded with a 50/22 early in the second 40.
10. Ruben Love – 4
Love’s seven missed points off the tee ultimately proved the difference. The first five-eighths never properly impressed himself on the contest. He fired his first pass into touch in the opening minute and kicked multiple poor touch-finders from penalties. Love was yellow-carded for offside at the ruck late in the first half.
11. Leroy Carter – 5
Missed two tackles on midfielders, which both directly led to tries and diluted some of his excellent work on attack. Carter’s brightest moment was a miracle chase and offload for Jordan’s try, but a missed tackle on Kriel in the following sequence let in a Springboks try and undid his hard work. The winger also received a cross-field kick from Barrett and punted it downfield to force a Springboks goal-line dropout.
12. Jordie Barrett – 7
Was huge defensively for New Zealand, making a game-high 14 tackles. He made three dominant tackles, including a massive hit on winger Ethan Hooker after a kick-chase. However, his night was marred by missing touch from a penalty when they desperately needed to execute under pressure. Barrett’s highlights also included a beautiful cross-field kick to Carter to help exit their territory.
13. Quinn Tupaea – 5
Tupaea’s night started stirringly as the Kaea for the haka but was cut short by a knee injury early in the second half. Tupaea was unlucky to get penalised for a high tackle early. The centre had some strong carries, including bumping off Eben Etzebeth.
14. Will Jordan – 6
Jordan’s game-high 12 carries and two line-breaks included some stunning moments, particularly his second-half try after Carter regathered his chip kick. His night got going with an eye-catching break up the centre of the park, then a chip and chase. Jordan made solid, high-pressure takes under the high ball, including when tracking back, and won a crucial breakdown penalty 5m out from New Zealand’s line. However, the winger gave away four turnovers, throwing an intercept pass, losing the ball forward in the Boks’ 22 and kicking the ball dead from within the All Blacks’ half.
15. Damien McKenzie – 6
Had a mixed night. The fullback missed touch from a mark in the opening minutes. He also missed a tackle on centre Jesse Kriel on the edge but later made up for it with brilliant defence to keep prop Ox Nche from scoring with four minutes to go in the first half. McKenzie also had a great touch-finder early in the second half.
Bench
16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 6
Taukei’aho scored a belated All Blacks try after fulltime which showed just how much this game was up for grabs.
17. Xavier Numia – 5
Numia entered five minutes into the second half. While the All Blacks’ scrum was marginally better after the reserves came on, there was little consistency.
18. Fletcher Newell – 4
Newell came on alongside Numia, and was penalised for collapsing the scrum. The tighthead was potentially unlucky to be penalised at the breakdown when New Zealand had an opportunity in Boks’ territory late.
19. Fabian Holland – 5
Came on for Darry in the 63rd minute but struggled to impress himself on the contest. The lock was penalised for an illegal cleanout which allowed the Springboks to kick for goal.
20. Wallace Sititi – 8
Brought on to fill the enormous shoes of Savea, Sititi was easily New Zealand’s most impactful bench player. Entering in the 32nd minute, the loose forward made a crucial strip turnover early in the second half with New Zealand effectively down to 13 men after Tupaea got injured. Sititi won a breakdown penalty with a well-timed jackal and made a late break up the park, sparking an attacking opportunity.
21. Kyle Preston – 5
Preston’s decision to take a quick tap in the Springboks’ 22, soon leading to a turnover, was, in hindsight, a poor decision. The All Blacks had time to maintain structure by plugging the corner and taking a lineout but lost the opportunity. However, Preston did impress with his physicality, making a dominant tackle from the kickoff straight after he came on.
22. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7
Entering the game early in the second half for the injured Tupaea, Lienert-Brown was New Zealand’s second-best bench player. The midfielder caught an attacking bomb and won a penalty in the final minutes to give New Zealand a chance. However, there was a defensive misread, as Kriel sailed past his inside shoulder late after the Kiwis failed to mark-up properly.
23. Josh Moorby – 5
Moorby came on for Carter with 12 minutes to play and immediately dropped a pass from Barrett which killed momentum. The winger had some eye-catching moments but struggled to impress his footwork on the game.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.