South Africa’s Springboks claimed a 43-28 victory in Baltimore on Saturday, sealing a 3-1 series win over New Zealand before 68,173 spectators at M&T Bank Stadium, the largest rugby attendance ever recorded in the United States. The fourth Test capped a compelling four-match contest that tested both nations ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
The All Blacks had entered the series with genuine momentum. Their win in Johannesburg last month lifted them to the top of the world rankings and hinted at a shift in rugby’s competitive order. South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus had publicly predicted his side would prevail across the series. That forecast proved accurate, the world champions’ consistency and squad depth proving decisive over four matches.
New Zealand opened Saturday’s game with characteristic speed. Within eight minutes, a rapid passing sequence exploited gaps in South Africa’s blitz defence, allowing hooker Codie Taylor to score the opening try. The visitors’ attacking intent was unmistakable.
South Africa answered by returning to their foundational strengths. Their forward pack dominated in the scrum and won collisions throughout the park, building a platform that reduced the need for high-risk attacking play. Damian de Allende powered over from short range. Scrum-half Morne van den Berg then executed a dummy before slipping past Sam Darry for another try, and his conversion pushed South Africa to a 17-7 lead that reflected their control of the forward battle.
Eben Etzebeth delivered crunching tackles and Jasper Wiese ranged effectively in loose play. Yet South Africa’s execution faltered at moments, with fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu missing a drop-goal attempt and an overcooked kick to the corner costing possession.
New Zealand’s resilience surfaced just before half-time. After 32 phases of sustained pressure, Will Jordan, the All Blacks’ all-time leading try-scorer, found space on his wing and crossed to narrow the deficit to four points. The visitors had clawed their way back into contention despite South Africa’s forward superiority.
The second half settled the contest. Malcolm Marx drove over at the back of a rolling maul shortly after the interval, and three minutes later Pieter-Steph du Toit barged over following a sharp blindside break by van den Berg. Ethan Blackadder’s try in the final quarter narrowed the gap to eight points, but South Africa’s conditioning proved superior as fatigue from the high-paced match and the demanding tour began to tell.
Kurt-Lee Arendse sliced through open field in the closing stages, and Cameron Hanekom secured the result by collecting scrappy ball. Beauden Barrett’s late try for New Zealand was a consolation footnote to a dominant Springboks performance.
The specially designed series trophy, held together by magnets and built to be shared between the two nations, remained entirely in South African hands. The 3-1 series result reinforced the Springboks’ standing as the world’s premier rugby nation, and both teams now turn toward a Rugby World Cup that the two nations have won five consecutive times between them. Whether New Zealand can close the gap before that tournament begins is the question neither side has yet answered.