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South Africa defeated New Zealand 18-12 in the Rugby Championship to increase their lead at the top of the table and make it four wins in a row against their old rivals.
Much like in the match in Johannesburg, New Zealand started as the smarter side, taking the points on offer and opening up a six point lead from the boot of Damian McKenzie. Handre Pollard cut that down to three with a penalty kick of his own but a third penalty for the All Blacks’ fly-half sent them into the break on top.
That only spurred the Springboks on though. They came out quickly from the restart, overpowering the New Zealand defence and sending captain Siya Kolisi over the line for the first try of the game. A penalty each made the score 13-12 and the game was set up for a tense finale.
However, a stupide shoulder barge from Tyrel Lomax saw him sin binned with 10 minutes to go and New Zealand, now down to 14 players, couldn’t keep Malcolm Marx at bay with the substitute scoring to secure the Freedom Cup for the hosts.
Relive the score updates and reaction from the Rugby Championship match below:
