A brilliant late try by Ricky Januarie saw the world champion Springboks break through a psychological barrier to beat the All Blacks 30-28 in their second Tri-Nations Test yesterday.
In a nail-biting finish, the winning points came with less than five minutes remaining with the Springboks down to 14 men after captain Victor Matfield was sin-binned for a high tackle.
Januarie, one of the smallest players on the field, chipped over All Blacks full-back Leon MacDonald, gathered the ball and sprinted 20m to go over the line.
PHOTO: AFP
Francois Steyn coolly landed the winning conversion for the Springboks to end a 10-year run of defeats, securing their first win on Dunedin’s notorious “House of Pain” ground at Carisbrook and regain the No. 1 world ranking.
It also ended a world record 30-match home winning streak by the All Blacks.
“They are the world champions and they always knew that they had to uplift their game and today they did,” Springboks coach Peter de Villiers said, explaining how his team rose to the challenge. “Their self belief just grew. I was a bit worried with 14 men left, but the guys stuck to their guns and had a great win.”
But de Villiers declined to single out match-winner Januarie for special praise.
“You must look at the team,” he said. “Last week we played backwards and this week we had the ball on the front foot.”
But All Blacks coach Graham Henry was in no doubt who made the difference.
“You couldn’t have got a better Test match. They pulled it out of the fire I guess, through a great play by Ricky Januarie late in the game,” he said. “I’m proud of our guys. They showed huge attitude, they played their best half of rugby this year in the second half, but we didn’t quite clinch it.”
The Springboks also had the satisfaction of scoring two tries to one, with the remaining points coming from a string of penalties and drop goals, in a game where both coaches had appealed for discipline.
The All Blacks suffered when the raw look of their forwards was exposed late in the first half when veteran lock Ali Williams went off after a collision with Schalk Burger.
This brought Kevin O’Neill on for his Test debut to partner Anthony Boric in his second international against the world’s most highly regarded middle-row pairing of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.
With the All Blacks also missing Brad Thorn, who was suspended for a week following last week’s volatile first Test won by the All Blacks 19-8, the Springboks took advantage, particularly in the line-outs.
Although the All Blacks went in front early, the Springboks began to assume control after the first quarter and led 17-15 at halftime.
The All Blacks lifted themselves after the resumption and tested the Springbok defense until replacement back-rower Sione Lauaki went over the try line to regain the lead 15 minutes in, a score that Carter converted.
Further penalties from both sides saw the All Blacks leading 28-23 with the clock counting down, but Januarie’s brilliant individual effort sealed the game.
The lead up to the match had been full of accusations following the first Test, with the Springboks riled by the All Blacks scrum and the New Zealanders incensed by high tackles.
The All Blacks could not wait to prove themselves in the scrum, turning down a free-kick at the first opportunity and the scrum option immediately produced points.
The All Blacks won their own ball and began to run when Carter was felled by a high tackle from Schalk Burger and he kicked the resulting penalty.
Carter and Percy Montgomery traded a series of penalties over the first half-hour and the All Blacks were ahead 12-9 before J.P. Pietersen celebrated his 22nd birthday with the opening try of the match.
Joe van Niekerk ran blind off the back of a 5m scrum to put the right wing over in the corner.
A drop goal from Butch James had extended the Springboks lead to 17-12, before Carter landed his fifth penalty after being the victim of a high tackle just before halftime.
Butch James then traded points with the Springboks fly-half, kicking two penalties and Carter another penalty and a drop goal, before Januarie produced the winning try.
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