Springboks move 2-1 up after edging All Blacks 29-24 in Soweto.

New Zealand must win a decider in Baltimore on Saturday 12 September or they will lose the four-Test series, after a 29-24 defeat at Soweto's FNB Stadium that was driven by South Africa's dominant second-half scrum and a relentless rolling maul.

Ardie Savea scored two first-half tries but suffered a dislocated shoulder and will not travel with the touring party, while the match itself produced four tries apiece, Kurt-Lee Arendse, a referee-awarded penalty try, Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx for South Africa, and Savea twice, Will Jordan and Samisoni Taukei'aho for New Zealand, in front of 87,976 fans as sin-binnings and a string of penalties repeatedly shaped field position. New Zealand have named a 36-man squad for the final Test but will be without Savea, Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson.

What Happened

South Africa moved 2-1 ahead in the four-Test series after beating New Zealand 29-24 in the third Test at Soweto’s FNB Stadium. The result hands the Springboks the series advantage and leaves the All Blacks needing a win in Baltimore to level the affair.

The match produced four tries apiece: Kurt-Lee Arendse, a penalty try, Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx for South Africa; Ardie Savea (two), Will Jordan and Samisoni Taukei'aho for New Zealand. Earlier in the tour the All Blacks had taken a surprise victory in the first Test upset at Ellis Park.

All Blacks captain Ardie Savea crossed twice but left late in the first half with a dislocated shoulder and will not travel to the United States, coach Dave Rennie confirmed. New Zealand named a 36-man squad for the final RGR Test in Baltimore on Saturday 12 September, with Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson also ruled out.

South Africa’s scrum and rolling maul dominated the second half, earning a penalty try and delivering Malcolm Marx’s maul finish that effectively decided the contest, while sin-binnings and a run of penalties helped shape field position. The game was played before a crowd of 87,976 at FNB Stadium.

The Key Moment

South Africa's set-piece power was the decisive factor, not a single breakaway try. The Springboks turned a tight scoreline into control by repeatedly forcing New Zealand into defending on the back foot, and the pressure told in the second half.

Their scrum and a rolling lineout maul created a penalty try and then produced Malcolm Marx's maul finish, a close-range plunge that stripped the All Blacks' momentum and put the home side ahead for good. Those phases did more than win points; they flipped field position, compressed New Zealand's attacking windows and invited errors under pressure.

New Zealand had led earlier through two Ardie Savea tries, but Savea left late in the first half with a shoulder problem and will not travel, and the All Blacks subsequently named a 36-man squad for the final Test as they head to Baltimore without him.

Mastheads

At the time the maul scored, sin-binnings and a string of penalties had already tilted territory towards the Boks, making that sequence the match's fulcrum rather than an isolated moment.

By The Numbers

South Africa 29, New Zealand 24, series 2-1 to the Springboks.

  • The match finished 29-24, with four tries apiece for both teams.

  • Try scorers for South Africa were Kurt-Lee Arendse, a penalty try, Jesse Kriel and Malcolm Marx; New Zealand’s tries came from Ardie Savea (two), Will Jordan and Samisoni Taukei'aho.

  • Ardie Savea scored twice in the first half but left with a dislocated shoulder and will not travel to the USA.

  • South Africa’s set-piece dominance produced a penalty try and Marx’s maul score, a second-half surge that decided the contest.

  • Attendance at Soweto’s FNB Stadium was 87,976, and the game featured sin-binnings and a string of penalties that repeatedly shifted field position.

  • New Zealand have named a 36-man squad to travel for the final Test in Baltimore, with Savea, Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson ruled out by injury.

What's Next

South Africa's win leaves New Zealand with a single, simple deadline. The All Blacks must win the fourth Test in Baltimore on Saturday 12 September to avoid handing the Springboks the series.

Team news and travel

  • New Zealand named a 36-man squad to travel to the United States for the final RGR Test, but three players are ruled out after the Soweto Test. Ardie Savea has a dislocated shoulder, Quinn Tupaea a medial collateral ligament injury, and Luke Jacobson a tendon injury that requires further investigation. Coach Dave Rennie confirmed Savea will not travel.
  • Six additional players have returned to New Zealand and will not make the trip: Josh Jacomb, Siale Lauaki, Saula Ma’u, Cortez Ratima, Bradley Slater and Ofa Tu’ungafasi. The squad list retained the bulk of the touring party to cover front‑row and forward options.

Tactical focus for Baltimore

  • South Africa will head to the USA buoyed by a second-half power game that produced a penalty try and Malcolm Marx’s maul score, and by a scrum and rolling maul that dominated key phases. Those set-piece strengths decided the Soweto contest and are likely to shape selection and game plan in Baltimore.
  • New Zealand lose their captain and a proven ball carrier. Savea scored twice in Soweto before his injury, so the All Blacks must replace his ball-carrying and leadership at the breakdown and on the blind side.

What to watch on Saturday

  • The scoreline will decide the series: a New Zealand win levels the four-Test series at 2-2; a New Zealand defeat hands South Africa the series 3-1.
  • Selection choices in the back row and the tight five, and how the All Blacks attempt to nullify South Africa’s maul, will be the clearest signals of whether they can alter the dynamic that decided the third Test.

A single result will settle the tour. Win in Baltimore on Saturday 12 September and New Zealand salvage a shared series; lose and the Springboks take it 3-1, leaving the All Blacks to regroup at home under the weight of a lost opportunity.

Originally reported by BBC.

Ciaran Doyle covers the technology industry and Irish sport for Clovers Report. On the tech beat, he reports on Ireland's role as a European tech hub, data protection enforcement by the DPC, AI policy developments, and the global tech stories that affect Irish consumers and the thousands of workers employed by multinationals based here. On the sports side, he covers the GAA, League of Ireland, and Irish participation in rugby and international football - with a focus on grassroots funding, governance, and the business behind the games.

Ciaran grew up in Galway, where he started writing GAA match reports for a parish newsletter while studying at university. He graduated from NUI Galway with a degree in Journalism and Information Technology. After graduation, he spent three years at a Dublin-based digital outlet covering Ireland's fintech sector, GDPR enforcement cases, and the growing intersection of tech regulation and Irish economic policy.

He joined Clovers Report because he wanted to cover both of his beats under one roof rather than pitching crossover stories that nobody else in the newsroom understood. His technology reporting has covered everything from Apple's Cork campus expansions to the DPC's landmark Meta rulings. His sports writing is analytical - he is more interested in how a county board allocates development funding than in the score of last Sunday's match.

Ciaran is convinced that the best stories sit where different worlds collide. He still believes that hurling is the fastest field sport on Earth and will present the data if challenged.

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This article was created with AI assistance.