Springboks fans make early Ellis Park exit after All Blacks masterclass in series opener

The one thing nobody predicted for the showdown at Ellis Park was Springboks fans walking out of the stands with five minutes remaining, their team having been humiliated 33–16 by the All Blacks .

The wonderful thing about the ancient rivalry between the Springboks and the All Blacks is that it so often conjures up the unexpected. And there could have been few who saw this coming.

The All Blacks were outgunned at scrum time and under pressure, yet they hung on and struck ruthlessly on the counterattack, scoring five tries to the Springboks’ one.

The build-up to the match had been a throwback to the spy dramas of the Cold War, with media “spies” planted at Springbok and All Black press conferences to ask questions designed to give their respective coaches intelligence — much of it apparently aimed at referee Matthew Carling.

The Springboks were accused of slowing the ball down; the All Blacks were warned about illegally hitting rucks with tucked shoulders.

But once the talking stopped, both teams delivered a cold statement of intent.

Before the Haka, planes flew low over the stadium, and pyrotechnics fired off like Guy Fawkes Day on steroids. Then the 62,000-strong sell-out crowd fell respectfully silent as the All Blacks performed the Haka, as Rassie Erasmus had implored them to do, before exploding into a frenzy at kick-off.

The Boks were first to score after just two minutes when they won a ruck penalty within long-range kicking distance. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicked to the corner, another penalty followed, and — to the consternation of many — Cheslin Kolbe stepped up to kick the opening points of the match.

From the restart, however, the All Blacks won a succession of penalties and applied intense pressure inside the Springbok 22. It eventually told, with Will Jordan crossing in the corner in the eighth minute.

The Boks were then forced into an early reshuffle when Kurt-Lee Arendse went off for an HIA, bringing André Esterhuizen into the midfield and shifting Jesse Kriel to the wing.

When the Boks went wide from a lineout inside the All Blacks 22, Esterhuizen smashed through defenders to score the Springboks’ only try of the match.

The first scrum came in the 15th minute, with New Zealand putting the ball in. The Ellis Park crowd roared as the All Blacks scrum went backwards, but they managed to get the ball away.

The Boks weathered that spell of pressure, but in the 23rd minute left wing Josh Moorby was worked into space near the touchline and finished off the All Blacks’ second try. Love converted to put New Zealand 12–10 ahead.

The Boks responded with another scrum penalty in front of the posts, and Kolbe stroked it over.