Dave Rennie has made sweeping changes for the fourth and final Test against the Springboks at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, with Richie Mo’unga handed his first Test start since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final and Ethan Blackadder earning his first in more than two years. Codie Taylor captains a revamped side that must win to prevent the Springboks claiming the Greatest Rivalry series outright.

Key squad news:

• Richie Mo’unga earns his first Test start since the 2023 World Cup final; Ruben Love dropped from the 23
• Codie Taylor captains the All Blacks in the absence of the injured Ardie Savea
• Ethan Blackadder makes his first Test start in more than two years at openside flanker
• Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord return after clearing concussion protocols from the first Test
• Five changes to the starting XV; Newell, Tuipulotu, Lienert-Brown also start
• Fabian Holland unavailable due to illness
• All Blacks must win to draw the series 2-2

The changes are driven by necessity and opportunity. Ardie Savea (dislocated shoulder), Luke Jacobson (elbow tendon) and Quinn Tupaea (MCL) were all injured in the third Test defeat in Soweto, while Fabian Holland has been ruled out through illness. Their absence, combined with the return of Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord — who have cleared World Rugby’s concussion protocols after the sickening first Test collision — has prompted a significant reshuffle.

Mo’unga’s selection at first five-eighth is the headline talking point. The 56-cap playmaker replaces Ruben Love, who drops out of the matchday 23 entirely after starting all three Tests in the series. It is Mo’unga’s first Test start since the one-point World Cup final defeat to these same Springboks in Paris three years ago, completing a remarkable journey from three seasons in Japanese club rugby back to the international arena.

“Richie has been patient and professional since arriving on tour,” Rennie said. “He’s earned this opportunity. His vision, his decision-making and his ability to run a game at the highest level are exactly what we need in a match of this magnitude.”

Blackadder’s inclusion at openside is a reward for his extraordinary tour. The Crusaders flanker’s two-try, 16-carry display against the Lions was the standout individual performance of the franchise matches, and he has been unlucky not to feature in a Test matchday squad until now. He forms a new-look loose forward trio with Tupou Vaa’i, who shifts from lock to blindside, and Peter Lakai at number eight.

The front row sees de Groot return at loosehead alongside Taylor and Fletcher Newell, who replaces Tyrel Lomax at tighthead for his first Test start of the series. Lomax provides impact from the bench. Patrick Tuipulotu partners Sam Darry — the only forward to start in the same position as the third Test — in a second-row combination that offers a different profile from the Holland-Vaa’i and Holland-Darry pairings used earlier in the series. Lord’s return from concussion protocols means he can provide lock cover from the reserves.

In the backs, Anton Lienert-Brown replaces the injured Tupaea at outside centre alongside Jordie Barrett, while Josh Moorby comes onto the left wing. Cam Roigard, Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie are retained, with Rieko Ioane and Leroy Carter providing outside back cover on the bench.

Taylor, who captained the All Blacks for the first time against the Bulls earlier on tour, takes the armband for the biggest match of his 111-cap career. “It’s a huge honour to captain the All Blacks in a Test match of this magnitude,” Taylor said. “We’re desperate to get a result. The boys are hurting after last week and we know what’s at stake.”

Barrett dismissed any suggestion the All Blacks might be mentally or physically spent after seven weeks on tour. “We’ve still got a lot to play for,” Barrett said. “We came here to win a series and while that’s no longer possible, sharing it is the next best thing. We owe it to ourselves and everyone back home to finish this tour the right way.”

The match marks the first time the All Blacks and Springboks have met on American soil. M&T Bank Stadium, the 70,257-capacity home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, will host the sixth All Blacks Test played in the United States, following matches in Chicago, Washington DC and San Diego. Baltimore is a candidate city for the 2031 Rugby World Cup.

The series stands at 2-1 in the Springboks’ favour. A New Zealand victory would see each nation retain one half of the Greatest Rivalry trophy in a drawn series. Defeat would confirm the first series loss for an All Blacks touring side in South Africa since 1976 and hand the Springboks both halves of the silverware.

“This is why you play rugby,” Rennie said. “A deciding Test match against the best team in the world in front of 70,000 people. We know the Boks will be desperate to finish it here, but so are we. We’ve shown throughout this tour that we can beat anyone when we’re at our best. Now we need to deliver the performance of the tour.”

All Blacks team for the fourth Test

M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore. Saturday 12 September, kick-off 5pm local time (Sunday 13 September, 9am NZT).

1. Ethan de Groot (44 caps), 2. Codie Taylor (c) (111), 3. Fletcher Newell (39), 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (58), 5. Sam Darry (11), 6. Tupou Vaa’i (50), 7. Ethan Blackadder (15), 8. Peter Lakai (13), 9. Cam Roigard (23), 10. Richie Mo’unga (56), 11. Josh Moorby (4), 12. Jordie Barrett (84), 13. Anton Lienert-Brown (92), 14. Will Jordan (60), 15. Damian McKenzie (80).

Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua (25), 17. Xavier Numia (4), 18. Tyrel Lomax (54), 19. Josh Lord (16), 20. Wallace Sititi (22), 21. Kyle Preston (4), 22. Rieko Ioane (89), 23. Leroy Carter (10).

The Wallabies claimed a historic first series win on Argentine soil despite being held to a thrilling 28-28 draw by a defiant Argentina at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, a result that left Les Kiss’s side with mixed emotions after squandering both a 14-0 lead and a two-man advantage in the dying minutes.

Key moments

16 mins – TRY DISALLOWED AUSTRALIA: Wilson appears to streak away and score under the posts after McReight and Lonergan combine down the short side from a lineout, but the TMO rules that Bell’s foot was on the touchline before getting his pass away. Australia denied.

20 mins – TRY AUSTRALIA: The Wallabies won’t be denied a second time. Off the lineout, Suaalii hits the angle at pace before Wilson rides two tacklers and spins in contact to ground the ball. Lonergan converts. (Argentina 0–7 Australia)

27 mins – YELLOW CARD ARGENTINA: Franco Molina is sent to the sin bin for cynically slowing the ball at a ruck as Australia hammer the line with pick-and-go phases. Bell is held up over the line before the referee goes back for the card.

28 mins – TRY AUSTRALIA: Australia make the extra man count immediately. Carry after carry sucks in defenders before Lonergan passes to Tupou acting as a pivot, and the ball is worked wide left for Jorgensen to pin his ears back and finish in the corner. Lonergan converts from the sideline. (Argentina 0–14 Australia)

33 mins – YELLOW CARD AUSTRALIA: Jeremy Williams is sent to the sin bin for diving off his feet and illegally playing the scrum-half after Argentina build sustained pick-and-go pressure inside the 22.

36 mins – TRY ARGENTINA: Argentina’s pack finds its rhythm. A formidable scrum five metres out earns a penalty, and after a series of short carries, captain Matera bursts through from close range right under the posts. Carreras converts. (Argentina 7–14 Australia)

39 mins – TRY ARGENTINA: A set-piece stunner levels the scores right before the break. Argentina win the lineout at the back and Moro drops a superb inside ball to Mendy, who bursts through a gap to score to the left of the posts. Carreras converts. (Argentina 14–14 Australia)

Half-time: Argentina 14–14 Australia. A half of three acts. A dour opening 20 minutes gave way to Australian dominance as Wilson and Jorgensen crossed during Molina’s sin-binning. Argentina fought back ferociously through Matera and Mendy after Williams was binned, and Wright conceded a needless penalty for shoving Benítez Cruz after the play was dead, giving the Pumas a golden chance. Suaalii’s defensive pressure forced the knock-on that ended the half with the scores level.

47 mins – TRY AUSTRALIA: Australia tap and go from a penalty five metres out. Bell is stopped short, Canham goes close, and McReight pounces on the retreating defence to burrow over. Lonergan converts. (Argentina 14–21 Australia)

49 mins – Lonergan’s restart strikes Jeremy Williams on the head for an accidental offside, handing Argentina a scrum inside the Wallabies 22.

55 mins – TRY ARGENTINA: Relentless forward pressure from the Pumas eventually tells. After Isgró and Cruz inject some spark, Ruiz picks and goes at pace from close range and drives over with the support of teammates. Carreras converts. All square again. (Argentina 21–21 Australia)

65 mins – TRY ARGENTINA: Argentina take the lead for the first time. After 23 phases of sustained pressure and one-up runners hammering the line under a penalty advantage, Matera completes his brace by slamming the ball down under the posts. Carreras converts. (Argentina 28–21 Australia)

68 mins – YELLOW CARD ARGENTINA: Cinti is sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-down that denied McReight a clear run to the right. Australia kick to the corner.

70 mins – PENALTY TRY + YELLOW CARD ARGENTINA: The Wallabies work the ball from right to left through the hands with the overlap on, but Carreras deliberately knocks down the final pass to prevent a certain try. The referee awards a penalty try and sends Carreras to the sin bin. Argentina down to 13 men. (Argentina 28–28 Australia)

76 mins – Cale wins a turnover and Australia launch an attack with a two-man advantage. The ball reaches Wright on the left but Lonergan’s pass goes behind, knocked on. Crucial missed opportunity.

78 mins – Lonergan throws a poor pass at first receiver, causing Wright to knock on for a relieving Argentina scrum outside their 22.

80+1 mins – Argentina hold their scrum, run the ball from their own 22, and Roger eventually boots the ball into the stands to end the match, collapsing to his haunches in tears.

Full-time: Argentina 28–28 Australia

In a contest played in four-degree temperatures and sleeting rain that featured eight tries, four yellow cards and a penalty try, the Wallabies twice looked to have the match won — first when Harry Wilson and Max Jorgensen crossed in a dominant opening 30 minutes, and again when back-to-back deliberate knock-downs from Lucio Cinti and Santiago Carreras reduced Argentina to 13 men with 10 minutes remaining. But poor execution with ball in hand let the hosts escape, and Nicolás Roger booted the ball into the Mendoza stands to end a match he could barely believe his side had survived.

The draw extended Kiss’s unbeaten record to five matches — four wins and a draw — and secured the Puma Trophy for the first time since 2022. Tom Wright marked his 50th cap in fitting fashion, running out first ahead of his teammates, though even he was not immune to the chaos, conceding a needless penalty for shoving Simón Benítez Cruz after the play was dead at the end of the first half.

“Securing that trophy is definitely one of the things that we came here to do, without a doubt,” Kiss said. “We probably took control of patches of that game and put ourselves in a good position to win it but as it is over here, it’s tough. The boys are a little bit disappointed that they just didn’t go on with it for sure. Mixed feelings in a way, but there is something that we did come here to achieve, and we got that.”

The Wallabies started slowly, with Filipo Daugunu dropping the kick-off to hand Argentina a scrum 13 metres from the Australian line inside the opening minute. The hosts pressed hard through their scrum in a scrappy opening quarter but could not breach the gold defensive wall, with Josh Canham producing a crucial early turnover to relieve the pressure.

Australia thought they had broken through in the 16th minute when Wilson streaked away to score under the posts after Fraser McReight and Ryan Lonergan combined down the short side from a lineout. But the TMO spotted that Angus Bell’s foot had fractionally crossed the touchline before getting his pass away, and the try was chalked off.

Wilson would not be denied a second time. Four minutes later, off the top of a lineout, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii hit the angle at pace before Wilson rode two tacklers and spun in contact to ground the ball. Lonergan converted, and the Wallabies were up and running.

The visitors then laid siege to the Argentine line, winning penalty after penalty as the hosts’ discipline crumbled. Franco Molina was eventually sent to the sin bin for a series of infringements, and Australia made the extra man count immediately. Carry after carry sucked in defenders before Lonergan passed to Taniela Tupou, who acted as a pivot, and the ball was worked wide left for Jorgensen to cross untouched in the corner. Lonergan’s sideline conversion made it 14-0 and Australia had not conceded a first-half try for the first time all year.

It would not last. Jeremy Williams was binned for cynical play in the 33rd minute, and Argentina’s pack found immediate traction. A formidable scrum five metres out yielded a penalty, and after a series of short carries, captain Pablo Matera burst through from close range to score under the posts. Four minutes later, on the stroke of half-time, Argentina produced a stunning set-piece move from a lineout: Moro dropped a superb inside ball to Ignacio Mendy, who burst through a gap to score and level the match at 14-14.

The Wallabies were fortunate not to go behind before the break. Wright conceded a penalty for his shove on Cruz after grounding the ball in-goal, and Argentina opted for a scrum five metres out as the clock turned red. Only a clutch defensive read from Suaalii, who flew up to force a knock-on from the last play, prevented the hosts from taking the lead into the sheds.

Whatever Kiss said at half-time worked — again. McReight burrowed over from close range in the 47th minute after Australia tapped a penalty five metres out, restoring the lead at 21-14. But Lonergan’s restart struck Williams on the head for an accidental offside, handing Argentina a scrum inside the Wallabies’ 22, and the hosts used the platform to launch a sustained assault that ended with hooker Ignacio Ruiz driving over from close range to level the scores once more.

Argentina then produced the best passage of rugby from either side in the series. A rolling maul made 15 metres, and after being held up over the line, the hosts kept hammering through 23 relentless phases of one-up runners and pick-and-go pressure under a penalty advantage. Matera, who had been immense all evening with his work rate, finally crashed over for his second to put Argentina ahead for the first time at 28-21.

The match turned dramatically in the 68th minute when Cinti was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-down that denied McReight a clear run down the right. Two minutes later, with Australia working the ball through the hands with an overlap on the left, Carreras stuck his hand out to prevent a certain Daugunu try. The referee awarded a penalty try and sent Carreras to the sin bin, levelling the scores at 28-28 with Argentina down to 13 men.

But the Wallabies could not land the finishing blow. Carter Gordon, who had come on at fly-half, departed with a leg injury, leaving Kalani Thomas and Lonergan to share playmaking duties. Matera won a crucial turnover at a ruck when Jorgensen was isolated, and Lonergan threw a poor pass to Wright that resulted in a knock-on inside the Argentine 22. The hosts held their nerve, ran the clock down from their own 22, and Roger booted the ball into the stands to end the match — the young fly-half collapsing to his haunches in tears.

Wilson was candid about the disappointment. “The boys were hurting with the result,” the captain said. “We really wanted to win that, and there’s a lot of disappointment. But to bring another trophy home, it hopefully brings a bit of momentum and some confidence in the group going to the Springboks.”

McReight, who topped the tackle count with a mammoth 26 and scored a try, reflected on the broader picture. “It was a tough battle out there,” he said. “We started really strong and were lucky right on that half-time break not to concede more points. That second half was quite up and down, but we’re grateful that we maintained an unbeaten record for the past four weeks. But there’s clearly a lot to work on.”

Kiss acknowledged the need to sharpen the Wallabies’ game management ahead of tougher tests to come. “We’re not going to catastrophise it, but there’s one or two key moments, three moments, that just allows them to stay in the game,” he said. “The boys are talking about it. They know there’s a little bit more we can improve in terms of establishing how we get our exits properly, how we turn the ball back in front of our forwards at the right time. Two or three moments is all we’re talking about, but that’s Test rugby — it comes back to bite you.”

The Wallabies now have three weeks before a one-off Test against the Springboks in Perth on 27 September, followed by the Bledisloe Cup series against New Zealand. Gordon’s leg injury will be assessed by scans, adding another layer of concern to the fly-half position that has plagued Australia throughout 2026.

Teams

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Nicolás Roger, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Joaquín Moro, 7 Guido Petti, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Franco Molina, 4 Efraín Elías, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Boris Wenger.
Replacements: 16 Leonel Oviedo, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Moreno, 19 Tomás Lavanini, 20 Juan Martín Scelzo, 21 Facundo Cardozo, 22 Gonzalo Bertranou, 23 Mateo Soler.

Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Filipo Daugunu, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Massimo De Lutiis, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Charlie Cale, 21 Kalani Thomas, 22 Carter Gordon, 23 Isaac Henry.

Match details

Argentina 28 (Tries: Matera 2, Mendy, Ruiz; Conversions: Carreras 4/4)
Australia 28 (Tries: Wilson, Jorgensen, McReight, Penalty Try; Conversions: Lonergan 3/3)
Half-time: 14–14

Yellow cards: Molina (Argentina, 27′), Williams (Australia, 33′), Cinti (Argentina, 68′), Carreras (Argentina, 70′)

Venue: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)

The Springboks produced their most dominant performance of the series to beat the All Blacks 29-24 at FNB Stadium in front of 85,967 fans, taking a 2-1 lead into the final Test in Baltimore. Captain Ardie Savea scored two first-half tries but was forced off with a shoulder injury that will rule him out of the series finale, leaving the All Blacks facing the prospect of saving the tour without their talisman.

Key moments

10 mins – YELLOW CARD SOUTH AFRICA: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu sin-binned for impeding an Ardie Savea pass to Peter Lakai out wide. The All Blacks have an immediate numerical advantage.

11 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Ardie Savea picks up from the base of a ruck after Asafo Aumua charges around the back of a lineout and carries close to the line. Savea’s 34th Test try. Love’s conversion misses. (South Africa 0–5 All Blacks)

15 mins – Cheslin Kolbe forced off for HIA. The Springboks’ primary goal-kicker departs early. Later confirmed as a broken jaw — Kolbe will miss the Baltimore finale.

21 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Kurt-Lee Arendse finishes in the corner after Damian de Allende beats Leroy Carter’s tackle and offloads wide. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts on his return from the sin bin. (South Africa 7–5 All Blacks)

26 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Ardie Savea scores his second. Sam Darry breaks into the Springbok 22 and the ball is worked wide through Carter. When Feinberg-Mngomezulu attempts to sweep the ball back, Savea pounces in support to score. Love converts. (South Africa 7–12 All Blacks)

30 mins – Savea leaves the field with a shoulder injury after taking Malcolm Marx’s head to the shoulder at a breakdown. Wallace Sititi replaces him. A devastating blow for the All Blacks. Rennie later confirmed Savea will not travel to Baltimore.

37 mins – YELLOW CARD ALL BLACKS: Ruben Love sin-binned for a cynical defensive action after Manie Libbok’s outstanding counter-attack run takes the Springboks deep into the 22. All Blacks down to 14 men.

38 mins – PENALTY TRY SOUTH AFRICA: The Springbok scrum demolishes the All Blacks from 5m out. Referee Nika Amashukeli awards the penalty try. A statement of intent from the Bok pack. (South Africa 12–12 All Blacks)

Half-time: South Africa 12–12 All Blacks. An extraordinary first half. Savea scored twice but departed injured. Both sides had a man yellow-carded. The Springbok scrum was dominant, earning a penalty try on the stroke of half-time. Kolbe lost to a broken jaw. The series hangs in the balance.

43 mins – Quinn Tupaea leaves the field. The All Blacks lose their starting outside centre early in the second half. Anton Lienert-Brown replaces him.

56 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Will Jordan puts a kick behind the Springbok defence from a wide position. Leroy Carter chases through to secure the ball and, while being tackled, lobs it up for the supporting Jordan to take the pass and score. McKenzie converts. (South Africa 12–17 All Blacks)

58 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Jesse Kriel crosses after the Springboks capitalise on a Jordan kick from deep that goes dead. From the scrum, they move the ball wide where Kriel beats Carter’s tackle and runs 25m to score. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converts. (South Africa 19–17 All Blacks)

65 mins – TRY SOUTH AFRICA: Malcolm Marx powers over from a devastating lineout maul after the Springboks win a scrum penalty. The rolling drive splits the All Blacks’ pack apart. Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s conversion misses. (South Africa 24–17 All Blacks)

72 mins – PENALTY SOUTH AFRICA: Feinberg-Mngomezulu lands a 45-metre penalty into the wind. A nerveless kick that stretches the lead to 12 points. (South Africa 29–17 All Blacks)

80+2 mins – TRY ALL BLACKS: Samisoni Taukei’aho crosses from a tap penalty move after the final hooter. McKenzie converts. Too little, too late. (South Africa 29–24 All Blacks)

Full-time: South Africa 29–24 All Blacks. Series: South Africa 2–1.

The dream of matching the 1996 Incomparables died in Soweto. Thirty years on from Sean Fitzpatrick’s squad claiming the All Blacks’ first series victory in South Africa, Dave Rennie’s men came within touching distance of replicating the feat before the Springboks’ relentless power play overwhelmed them in a decisive 20-minute stretch of the second half that swung the series irrevocably in the world champions’ favour.

The match was brutal, absorbing and at times magnificent, played out before a thunderous 85,967 crowd — the largest of the tour — at the iconic calabash-shaped stadium in Soweto. It was won in the same place it has been won all series: at the set piece, at the breakdown, and in the unforgiving collision area where the Springboks’ bench-driven power has proved time and again to be the difference between these two sides.

The pivotal sequence came between the 56th and 72nd minutes. The All Blacks, having broken a 12-12 deadlock through a sublime Will Jordan try to lead 17-12, conceded two tries and a penalty in the space of 16 minutes as the Springboks pounced on errors with ruthless efficiency. A long kick from Jordan that sailed dead handed the hosts a scrum, from which they manufactured a penalty and then unleashed the rolling maul that deposited hooker Malcolm Marx over the line. By the time Feinberg-Mngomezulu drilled his 45-metre penalty into the wind with ten minutes remaining, the All Blacks were 29-17 down and the series was slipping from their grasp.

“The two tries we scored in the second half were special,” Rennie said. “Then straight from the kick-off and a ruck penalty we find ourselves defending, and then we kick the ball dead, and on the back of that scrum they get a penalty. Their rolling maul was outstanding. Two opportunities that we gave them and they capitalised.”

The loss of Savea cast a long shadow over the contest. The 32-year-old captain scored two first-half tries of the highest quality, the first when he pounced at the base of a ruck after Aumua had carried to within inches of the line, the second when he anticipated Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s attempted clearance and intercepted in support of Carter on the left flank. At 12-7, with the Springboks’ fly-half already sin-binned and Kolbe departed with what was later confirmed as a broken jaw, the All Blacks held all the aces.

Then, in the 30th minute, Savea was hurt at a breakdown when Marx’s head collided with his shoulder. The captain tried briefly to play on before leaving the field, and in that moment the balance of power shifted. Wallace Sititi replaced him and competed bravely, but Savea’s combination of experience, leadership and physical menace at the breakdown is irreplaceable. Rennie confirmed afterwards that Savea will not travel to Baltimore for the series finale.

“Ardie is obviously a huge loss,” Rennie said. “He won’t make the trip to Baltimore. It’s a shoulder injury. We’re not sure of the extent yet but we know it’ll be weeks. The boys will be gutted but we’ve got guys who can step up.”

The Springboks’ first-half penalty try, earned from a devastating 5m scrum while Love was in the sin bin after Libbok’s electrifying counter-attack had taken the hosts deep into the 22, levelled the scores at 12-12 at the break. It was a passage that distilled the entire series: New Zealand’s individual brilliance against South Africa’s collective power.

Jordan’s try early in the second half was a masterclass of rugby intelligence. Receiving the ball in a wide position, he kicked behind the defence, and Carter chased through to compete for the ball. Tackled on the ground, Carter lobbed the ball up and Jordan — who had sprinted from the opposite wing to offer support — collected and scored. McKenzie converted and the All Blacks led 17-12. For ten minutes, another famous victory beckoned.

But the Springboks’ response was instant and devastating. From the restart, wing Ethan Hooker contested and the hosts won a ruck penalty that allowed them to build pressure. When the ball was moved wide, Kriel beat Carter’s tackle — the winger’s second missed tackle in the midfield channel in the series — and ran 25 metres to score. Two minutes into injury, the lead was the Springboks’ again at 19-17.

Marx’s try from the rolling maul seven minutes later was the coup de grâce. The Springboks’ lineout drive, reinforced by the replacements who had entered the contest, split the All Blacks’ pack apart and the hooker was driven over under the posts. Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed the conversion but landed the long-range penalty that followed, and at 29-17 the All Blacks were out of time.

Replacement hooker Taukei’aho scored from a tap penalty after the final hooter to cut the deficit to five, but it was a consolation that could not disguise the truth: the Springboks had been the better side when it mattered most.

Erasmus, who had drawn headlines all week for his explosive F-bomb press conference in Cape Town, was magnanimous in victory. “I thought it was epic,” the Springboks coach said. “The whole series so far has been epic, and they can draw it in Baltimore. I want to apologise — it wasn’t a well-mannered outburst last weekend. Dave is a gentleman and he coaches in a very brutal way. I have huge respect for what he’s done with this All Blacks team.”

Luke Jacobson, who will likely captain the All Blacks in Baltimore in Savea’s absence, reflected on the challenge ahead. “It’s not over. We’ve still got a chance to draw this series and that’s what we’ll be fighting for,” the flanker said. “It’s been an incredible tour and we owe it to ourselves and our supporters to finish it the right way.”

The physical toll was immense on both sides. Beyond Savea’s tour-ending shoulder injury, the All Blacks lost Quinn Tupaea early in the second half. For the Springboks, Kolbe’s broken jaw rules him out of Baltimore, though Damian Willemse will be available after missing the third Test through injury. The try count across the three Tests reads 14-8 in the All Blacks’ favour, yet the Springboks lead the series 2-1 — a testament to their ability to win the moments that matter through set-piece dominance and relentless defensive pressure.

The series now heads to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for the fourth and final Test next Saturday — the first time these two rivals have met on American soil. The All Blacks must win to draw the series 2-2, in which case each nation would retain one half of the Greatest Rivalry trophy. Defeat would hand the Springboks both halves and confirm the first series loss for an All Blacks touring side in South Africa since 1976.

Without Savea, on foreign soil at the end of a gruelling seven-week tour, the odds are stacked against them. But as this extraordinary series has shown, nothing is decided until the final whistle.

Teams

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Manie Libbok.

All Blacks: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Peter Lakai, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 George Bower.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Josh Moorby.

Match details

South Africa 29 (Tries: Arendse, penalty try, Kriel, Marx; Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 2/3; Penalties: Feinberg-Mngomezulu 1/1)
All Blacks 24 (Tries: Savea 2, Jordan, Taukei’aho; Conversions: Love 1/2, McKenzie 1/2)
Half-time: 12–12

Venue: FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (Soweto)
Attendance: 85,967
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Yellow cards: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (SA, 10 mins), Love (NZ, 37 mins)
Series: South Africa 2–1