A try that should not have been awarded sealed a 30-23 win for New Zealand over South Africa in a World Under-19 Rugby Championship semi-final thriller here on Thursday.
Television replays showed Baby All Blacks prop and captain Jamie MacKintosh dropping the ball over the line, but English referee Andrew Small signalled a try and fullback Miah Nikora converted to give the visitors a 10-point lead.
South Africa fly-half Albertus Delport narrowed the gap with a penalty that maintained his 100 percent place-kicking record in the match at Absa Stadium, but the host nation ran out of time after a titanic physical struggle.
New Zealand will be favored to win the world title on Monday when they face France, who beat England 18-12 earlier in another tense duel with wing Mathieu Bourret scoring all the points.
South Africa paid dearly for a disastrous start as poor tackling allowed New Zealand to score three tries and build a strong lead.
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