The All Blacks suffered their heaviest-ever defeat as South Africa ran rampant in a 43-10 dismantling to reignite their Rugby Championship title hopes.
The Springboks hit back in some style, having been edged out at Eden Park a week ago, producing 36 unanswered second-half points to power out of sight in a statement showing from the world champions.
In the process, the records tumbled, with a 33-point margin of victory surpassing the previous worst result in New Zealand’s history – exceeding their own 35-7 win in a World Cup warm-up at Twickenham in 2023.
The All Blacks had been hoping to seize control of the tournament with two matches against Australia, beaten by Argentina earlier, to come, but the manner of their humiliation in Wellington will again raise scrutiny on head coach Scott Robertson.
A strong showing a week ago had quietened a few critics of Robertson’s uneven tenure so far, yet the Springboks proved their champion qualities at Sky Stadium despite significant injury disruption.
Rassie Erasmus lost lock Lood de Jager, fly half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and full-back Aphelele Fassi to first-half injuries but saw his side produce an inspired showing, with Siya Kolisi talismanic and all of Damian Willemse, Manie Libbok and Cheslin Kolbe outstanding.“We knew it was going to come,” said inside centre Willemse, who moved to full-back after Fassi’s injury.
“It was just a very good week from us. Credit to the boys, they stepped up and played a fantastic game of rugby.”
The Springboks move to second spot in the Rugby Championship table, one point behind Australia, and level with the All Blacks with Argentina just a point back after their win in Sydney earlier on Saturday.
After a weekend off, the destination of the title will be decided by back-to-back Bledisloe Cup clashes and meetings between South Africa and the Pumas, the second of which takes place at Twickenham on 3 October.
“We’ve got to be really, extremely honest with each other,” Robertson said. “We thought we had a really good week but obviously it wasn’t deep enough preparation.”
