By John Day
The All Blacks juggernaut rolls on as they claimed a fifteenth consecutive victory and 44th on home soil in a comfortable 41-13 win over South Africa at AMI Stadium in Christchurch.
Hooker Dane Coles produced three try-assists with some brilliant passes, as the Savea brothers, Julian and starting debutant Ardie, both got on the scoresheet.
It was a familiar script for the All Blacks, who were once again tested for 50 minutes before running over the top of their opposition.
The Springboks struggled to get any territory early on as first-five Beauden Barrett got the All Blacks on the board first with a penalty.
But it was the Springboks who scored the first try. First-five Elton Jantjes threw a nice pass to number eight Warren Whiteley who hit prolific winger Bryan Habana with a short ball, and he went over untouched for the first try of the match.
The joy didn’t last long though as Jantjes inexplicably dropped the kick-off, gifting the All Blacks a scrum ten metres out as the 21-thousand sold-out crowd found their voice.
From the scrum Barrett had a crack at the goal-line before halfback Aaron Smith fired a cut-out ball to Dane Coles on the blindside, who passed it nicely to Israel Dagg who dotted down to put the All Blacks back in front 8-7.
A strange decision to run it from their own line by the Springboks proved to be a big mistake as they knocked it on, and the All Blacks made them pay.
Again it was great hands from Coles, this time on the left hand side, as he got inbetween defenders and presented a fantastic one-handed offload to Julian Savea who scored his 43rd try in his 47th test match to put the All Blacks ahead 15-7.
South Africa finished the half strongly after a nice period of sustained attack as Jantjes kicked an easy penalty to go into halftime behind 15-10.
The second-half didn’t start well for the visitors though as a bad clearance and a couple of great runs from Ardie Savea, who was very good in his starting debut, finished in a try to Ben Smith as the All Blacks went ahead 22-10.
A concern for the All Blacks as blindside enforcer Jerome Kaino came off with an injured shoulder, but a big cheer ensued as Matt Todd came on in front of his adoring fans, while Jantjes pulled back three points with another penalty kick.
The All Blacks then did what they do best and ran away with the match, Ardie Savea scoring the bonus point try to put them ahead 29-13 as he left the field in the 60th minute.
Then it was Coles again who delivered a sensational long-ball to Sam Whitelock who crashed over in the corner to the delight of his teammates.
Reserve halfback TJ Perenara got in on the act with a close-range effort, the All Blacks smashing the woeful Boks 41-13 to seal their Rugby Championship dominance.
It was also a momentous night for prop Owen Franks who became a world record holder when he left the field in his 84th test without scoring a try, yet again.
NEW ZEALAND 41 (Israel Dagg, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea, Julian Savea, Ben Smith, Sam Whitelock tries Beauden Barrett 4 cons pen) SOUTH AFRICA 13 (Bryan Habana try Elton Jantjies con 2 pens)
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Newshub.
