South Africa 26-10 New Zealand: All Blacks lose Rugby Championship opener; lose three in a row for first time since 1998
Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux score tries, with Handre Pollard adding three penalties and a drop-goal as the Springboks registered their biggest win over the All Blacks for 94 years; New Zealand lose third Test in a row (Ireland, Ireland, South Africa) for first time since 1998
By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 06/08/22 11:23pm
A dominant display - at set-piece and in contact - saw South Africa kick off their 2022 Rugby Championship campaign with a 26-10 win over New Zealand - the first time since 1998 the All Blacks have lost three Tests in a row.
Defeat in Mbombela to the Springboks follows successive home losses to Ireland for New Zealand which came in their 2-1 series defeat last month.
They fell to a 19-3 deficit in South Africa on Saturday as Boks wing Kurt-Lee Arendse scored early - his first Test try - off a wonderful Lukhanyo Am offload.
Fly-half Handre Pollard added three penalties and a drop-goal, either side of a Jordie Barrett penalty for the All Blacks, before Arendse was red-carded late on for a horrendous tackle on Beauden Barrett in the air.
The All Blacks notched their only try in the limited time that remained, as replacement Shannon Frizell reached out to score following a superb Caleb Clark break, but it was South Africa who would have the final say.
A woeful error from Frizell just outside his own 22 saw him spill the ball back towards his own tryline, where replacement Willie le Roux took the gift to kick on and score.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster will come under ever-increasing pressure for his job in the wake of another New Zealand defeat, with former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt potentially waiting in the wings to take over.
South Africa and New Zealand meet again in Johannesburg in a week's time, live on Sky Sports, where anything other than an All Blacks victory will likely see Foster forced out of his job, despite the next Rugby World Cup in France being just 13 months away from starting.
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"The Springboks threw a hell of a lot at us, we did quite well to absorb it but it took a lot out of us. They kept applying pressure, especially at the breakdown and that disrupted a lot of our flow," All Blacks captain Cane added.
"Were bitterly disappointed, it really hurts. We must get better at the breakdown and the contestables (in the air). I cant ask any more of the team in terms of the belief and the effort. It is just small margins at this level."
