All Blacks 41-13 Springboks
Thank you for tuning in to tonights live updates. What were your thoughts on the match? Tweet us at @Newshubsport.
Match report and highlights to follow shortly on Newshub.co.nz
FULLTIME - The All Blacks have run away with the game in the second half, winning 41-13.
79mins: Final minute of the game. Can the All Blacks score one more try to put the icing on the cake?
75mins: South Africa are 10 metres out from the line. I'm sure they will want to score one last try to end the game on a high.
72mins: Official crowd number is 20,826. What a fantastic crowd for this great test.
70mins: TRY ALL BLACKS - Tj Perenara sneaks over the line from the scrum. Fantastic try to the All Blacks.
68mins: It was no try, it would have been a remarkable try if it was awarded. But they will get a 5m scrum to the All Blacks. Lima Sopoaga now enters the game. Barrett has moved to fullback and Ben Smith has moved to the wing.
67mins: The last 20 minutes is when the All Blacks outclass other sides and they are doing the same tonight. Tj Perenara has a possible try here. It is looking unlikely it will be awarded.
64mins - TRY ALL BLACKS - All Blacks spread it out wide and Dane Coles throws a Aaron Smith-esk pass to Sam Whitelock who dives over in the corner. That was Dane Coles 3rd try assist tonight.
61mins: South Africa inject some of their star players off the bench and they make an immediate impact.
59mins: Dane Coles gets the ball in space on the wing (no surprise) and he attempts to chip the ball over the top but it fails big time and goes straight into touch.
55mins: TRY ALL BLACKS - Ardie Savea scores his second test try. Many South African fans will question the try, and it did appear that Aaron Smith did Sheppard around his teammates but the video referee had no problem with the try being scored.
53mins: Sorry to the people who put money on Owen Franks to score a try, he has just been subbed. 84 test matches and 0 tries.
52mins - PENALTY GOAL SOUTH AFRICA - Jantjies slots his second penalty of the night from distance.
51mins: Concerns for Jerome Kaino as he heads off injured. He heads off for Matt Todd who will get 30 minutes in front of his home fans.
50mins: Now the All Blacks with a mistake kicking the ball. South Africa with a attacking lineout, but they make a mess of it and the All Blacks win the lineout and then hammer the ball down field.
49mins - TRY ALL BLACKS - It was not Franks, it was Ben Smith. It was the Smith, Savea combo. Aaron Smith gives it to Ardie Savea who offloads back to Aaron Smith and he passes it to Ben Smith to score the All Blacks third try of the game.
48mins: All Blacks with a great run on the counter attack and Ardie Savea with a mammoth carry inside the Springboks 22. They are close to scoring. Is this Owen Franks time?
44mins: South African skipper Adriann Strauss leaves the field with what looks like a leg injury. Warren Whiteley should be the man taking over as captain for the away side.
43mins: The Springboks have been put under pressure and that forces Faf de Klerk into a mistake, kicking the ball out on the full to give the All Blacks good field position.
41mins: Aaron Smith with a great run off the scrum, but Adrie Savea gives away a penalty, so South Africa gets the chance to clear the ball down field.
40mins: Elton Jantjies gets the second half underway and he kicks the ball out over the sideline on the full.
HALFTIME - Faf de Klerk kicks the ball into touch and the All Blacks will take a 15-10 lead into the break. What were your thoughts on the first half? Tweet us @Newshubsport.
39mins: South Africa with a scrum as the halftime siren sounds.
37mins: A fantastic run by Jerome Kaino who finds Ben Smith who is tackled close to the line. But the Springboks turn the ball over at the ruck through Pieter-Steph Du Toit.
36mins - PENALTY GOAL SPRINGBOKS - Elton Jantjies slots the ball over with ease following a ruck penalty.
36mins: All Blacks offside at the ruck and South Africa go for a shot at goal.
34mins: South Africa close to the line. The might score here. Building phases and applying pressure.
33mins: The referee's have gone back to the TMO checking a possible neck roll from Sam Whitelock. The Crusaders lock has been penalized, so South Africa have the chance to clear the ball.
32mins: All Blacks now with possession. Aaron Smith puts up a high box kick and Israel Dagg plucks the ball out of Francios Hougaard's hands. Now the All Blacks are on the attack. 22 metres out from the line.
30mins: South Africa now on the attack. They are 30 metres from the try line.
28mins: TRY ALL BLACKS - Julian Savea gets a nice ball from Dane Coles and he powers his way over the line, knocking Bryan Habana over to score in the corner.
27mins: Possible try to Julian Savea. TMO George Ayoub is checking the grounding.
26mins: The crowd is very vocal tonight, despite the mistakes both sides are making. All Blacks with an attacking scrum.
21mins - TRY ALL BLACKS - Off the scrum the All Blacks attack. Then Aaron Smith spreads the ball down the right and Israel Dagg dives over for the All Blacks first try of the game.
19mins: From the restart Elton Jantjies drops the ball. So the All Blacks will have a scrum 10 metres out from the line.
18mins - TRY SPRINGBOKS - After some great runs and building phases, The Springboks spread the ball out wide and Warren Whiteley puts Bryan Habana in a massive hole to score under the posts.
17mins: The South African locks make some good runs and now South Africa are five metres out from the try line.
16mins: Great runs by Ryan Crotty and Beauden Barrett are setting up a good attacking chance for the home side. But silly mistakes are costing the All Blacks. They are penalized for not releasing.
14mins: South Africa got no real go forward with that chance to attack and as a result, they knock the ball on. All Blacks with the scum.
12mins: Both sides giving away penalties. South Africa have a attacking lineout. This will be their first chance to put pressure on the All Blacks.
8mins - PENALTY GOAL ALL BLACKS - Barrett sneaks the ball just inside the right hand post to take the early lead.
7mins: Another penalty against the Springboks. It is closer to the posts, so Beauden Barrett is lining up for goal.
6mins: South Africa penalized for offside. It is in range for Israel Dagg, but with a slight breeze and all the early momentum, they opt to kick for touch.
4mins: South Africa knock the ball on inside their 22, so the All Blacks get the scrum. But once again, the Springboks have been let off the hook after Dane Coles gives away a free kick.
2mins: South Africa under early pressure as the All Blacks trap Johan Goosen near the goal line. But South Africa get lucky as the All Blacks give away a penalty for not releasing.
1min: Poor clearance kick by South South Africa gives the All Blacks a good first up attacking chance, but they knock the ball on deep into the South African 22m.
KICKOFF: We are underway here at AMI Stadium. Beauden Barrett gets the match started kicking the ball straight to Warren Whiteley.
(All photos supplied by Getty Images)
7:34pm: Both anthems were beautifully sung. Now it's time for the Haka... and the All Blacks go with Kapa o Pango for the second week in a row.
7:32pm: We just heard the South African national anthem. Now it's time for the national anthem of New Zealand.
7:25pm: Last week, the All Blacks preformed Kapa o Pango. What Haka do you think they will preform tonight?
7:20pm: Thank you for tuning into live updates as the All Blacks host South Africa in Christchurch. It is a lovely night in the Garden city.
Commentary will start from around 7:20pm (NZT). In the meantime check out the latest Crooked Feed above featuring Ross Karl chatting to Ardie Savea ahead of his first start in a All Blacks jersey. Also below, you can read Ross Karl's latest opinion piece on why Ardie Savea deserves to start tonight's crucial match in Christchurch.
Lineups
All Blacks
1. Joe Moody, 2. Dane Coles, 3. Owen Franks, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Sam Whitelock, 6. Jerome Kaino, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Kieran Read (c),
9. Aaron Smith, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Julian Savea, 12. Ryan Crotty, 13. Malakai Fekitoa, 14. Israel Dagg, 15. Ben Smith
16. Codie Taylor, 17. Wyatt Crockett, 18. Charlie Faumuina, 19. Luke Romano, 20. Matt Todd, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. Lima Sopoaga, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown
Coach: Steve Hansen
South Africa
1. Tendai Mtawarrira, 2. Adriann Strauss (C), 3. Vincent Koch, 4. Eben Etzebeth, 5. Pieter-Steph Du Toit, 6. Francios Louw, 7. Oupa Mahoje, 8. Warren Whiteley,
9. Faf de-Klerk, 10. Elton Jantjies, 11. Francios Hougaard, 12. Juan de Jongh, 13. Jesse Kriel, 14. Bryan Habana, 15. Johan Goosen
16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Steven Kitshoff, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Franco Mostert, 20. Willem Alberts, 21. Jaco Kriel, 22. Morne Steyn, 23. Damian de Allende
Coach: Allister Coetzee
Match facts and stats
Referee: Angus Gardner (AUS)
Assistants: Pascal Gauzere (FRA), Marius Mitea (ROM)
TMO: George Ayoub (AUS)
Past meetings
Head to head: Played 91, New Zealand 53, South Africa 35, draws 3
In New Zealand: Played 41, New Zealand 30, South Africa 9, draws 2
Last time played: New Zealand 20 def South Africa 18, 24 October 2015 at Rugby World Cup Semi-final
Last time in Christchurch: New Zealand 33 def South Africa 6, 24 July 2007
Stats
New Zealand have won seven of their last eight games against South Africa, including the last two in a row; though none of the last four games between these nations have been decided by more than the value of a converted try.
The last time the All Blacks lost at AMI Stadium was in 1998.
South Africa have played eight games at AMI, winning only twice. Their last victory at the venue was in 1965 when they beat the All Blacks 19-16.
The All Blacks have scored 18 tries in the competition so far this year, three more than Argentina, Australia and South Africa combined.
Head to head
All Blacks - $1.04 - South Africa - $9.00
Pre-match banter
Ross Karl: Ardie Savea has the tools to start Test match rugby for the All Blacks
There was a moment during the win over Argentina in Hamilton that really caught my eye, well, ears actually.
As Sam Cane limped off with a hamstring injury after another stellar performance, Ardie Savea ran on to another decent cheer. This wasn't the Cake Tin, where they chant his name, it was Cane's home ground.
Savea is a major fan favourite. It's because of his dynamic play, while there were a few kids with Savea haircuts in the stands.
No other player, even Chiefs co-captain Aaron Cruden, received a welcome near it when coming off the bench.
The powerful runs and refusal to go down in a tackle make him a very special talent. He's the perfect impact player in Tests. This week against the Springboks he must show that at the highest level he's much more than that.
He is resilient. He averaged almost 80 minutes a game in his 17 Super Rugby appearances for the Hurricanes this year. Only Beauden Barrett played more for the Canes.
He works hard. Savea made more tackles than anyone else in Super Rugby this year. That might be helped by his high minutes but it shows he doesn't shy away from the tough stuff.
He is strong at the breakdown. The 22-year-old had the equal most turnovers in Super Rugby, with 25. What makes that even better is his accuracy. He was not in the top ten most penalised, which is a place many opensides, including Sam Cane, feature.
Steve Hansen has said they want him to put on more weight. He currently tips the scales around 102 kg and they're after three or four more kilograms.
Test rugby is far more physical and to be dominant in the breakdown and the tackle you need to be stronger. It's something they've done with Sam Cane. He's now a 110 kg block of muscle and his remarkable dominant tackle statistics allow teams to set defensive lines and slow the opposition's march up field.
Hansen has also talked about young guys learning their system. Playing 60, rather than 20 minutes, of a Test match will change Savea's role considerably.
There's sure to be a lot more graft against the Boks early on than he's experienced running on against tired Welsh, Wallabies and Pumas defences. This All Black side is so good late, it's hard to rate a player until he's done battle in the more even early exchanges.
Savea could have three straight Tests now to prove his worth, with Cane out for four to six weeks. Do that well and the number seven battle when Cane returns will become very interesting.
If he can do what Cane does so well, then having his X-factor on the field longer would be a major asset.
Newshub.
