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How the world’s media reacted to the All Blacks 24-17 victory over South Africa at Eden Park.

All Blacks ‘below their best’

SA Rugby Mag

The All Blacks extended their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 51 matches with a hard-fought win against the Springboks on Saturday.

The 24-17 victory took New Zealand to the top of the Rugby Championship log with 10 points after three rounds, followed by the Wallabies (who beat Argentina 28-24 earlier in the day) with nine. The Boks and Los Pumas each have five.

The world champions’ bid for history in Auckland was derailed by costly first-half defensive lapses, lineout malfunctions and handling errors.

New Zealand were below their best, but still good enough to snap a four-match losing run against their greatest rivals.

‘Grit and discipline’

Ian Ransom, Reuters

New Zealand stayed firm at their Eden Park fortress to claim an attritional 24-17 win over South Africa in a heavyweight clash between the world’s top two rugby sides on Saturday.

Under pressure after conceding a first-ever defeat on Argentine soil against the Pumas two weeks ago, the All Blacks responded with a performance of grit and discipline to stretch their unbeaten run at their Auckland stronghold to 51 matches.

Two well-taken tries by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan set up a 14-3 lead at half-time before Quinn Tupaea grabbed a third five-pointer for the hosts 13 minutes from time.

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Well-held for most of the night, the Springboks rallied with second-half tries to Malcolm Marx and Cobus Reinach to pull within a converted try but the All Blacks held on, with Ardie Savea making a heroic turnover in his 100th Test to seal the win.

Savea saves the day

Tony Harper, The Roar

The All Blacks’ incredible Eden Park record remains intact with the hosts claiming a well-deserved 24-17 win over South Africa at their Auckland fortress on Saturday, capped by a match-winning play by Ardie Savea in his 100th Test.

The World Player of The Year won a penalty a minute from the end as the Springboks pushed to level the scores – a fitting moment for the All Blacks star to seal the win.

“It was a gutsy performance first and foremost,” said Savea. “We knew the Springboks were going to come here and give it to us, I’m just proud of how our boys turned up. We have to front up for the brothers, stand up for each other.”

The hosts flew out of the blocks with a stunning try after just 98 seconds, and led 14-3 at halftime, and although they wobbled twice in the second half they surged back to the top of the Rugby Championship table with a famous victory in a bruising battle played in slippery conditions.

The win ended a four-match losing streak against the Springboks, although it was a familar story on NZ soil where the All Blacks have now beaten their mortal enemy 11 times in 13 games with just one defeat.

‘All Blacks get rub of the green’

David Skippers, PlanetRugby

New Zealand extended their unbeaten record at Eden Park to 51 matches when they clinched a 24-17 victory over South Africa in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test at the famous venue.

There was plenty of hype in the build-up to this fixture and, as expected, it was an uncompromising encounter characterised by great physicality from both sides.

The collisions were brutal but, in the end, the All Blacks got the rub of the green and outscored their arch rivals by three tries to two with Emoni Narawa, Will Jordan and Quinn Tupaea crossing the whitewash for the hosts.

Their other points came via the boot of Jordie Barrett, who slotted one conversion and Damian McKenzie also succeeded with a couple of two-pointers and a penalty off the kicking tee.

For the Springboks, Malcolm Marx and Cobus Reinach scored tries while Handre Pollard added a penalty and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu goaled two conversions.

The result consolidates the All Blacks’ position at the top of the Rugby Championship standings and they now have 10 points, while the Wallabies are one point adrift in second spot with the Boks and Los Pumas level on five points apiece.

‘Rugged arm-wrestle’

Daniel Gilhooly, AFP

New Zealand scored two early tries and kept an error-prone South Africa at bay to win a rugged arm-wrestle 24-17 Saturday and stay top of the Rugby Championship.

All Blacks back-rower Ardie Savea won a decisive turnover in the dying minutes of his 100th Test to halt a late attack and ensure New Zealand extended their unbeaten streak in Auckland to 51 matches.

Slippery conditions meant the contest between the world’s two top-ranked sides never shone as a spectacle, but there was no shortage of physicality.

The reigning two-time world champion Springboks were desperate to end New Zealand’s remarkable record at Eden Park, where the hosts haven’t lost since 1994.

However, the visitors paid a high price for a slew of handling errors in a match they dominated in terms of territory and possession, scoring two tries to the home side’s three.

‘Job done’

Liam Napier, NZ Herald

Fortress Eden Park preserved. Ardie Savea’s century celebrated. Job done, with some serious jitters, for Scott Robertson’s All Blacks.

Fueled by their first loss in Argentina and resuming the game’s greatest rivalry, the All Blacks embraced this emotive occasion to protect the greatest single venue record in test rugby history but not before a late drama and a nervous, frantic finish.

This wasn’t just another test match. The All Blacks had their backs pressed to the wall and with the world champion Springboks arriving in town, with their whole season geared around breaking the fortress, Auckland was gripped by rugby in a feeling akin to a World Cup final.

After four straight losses to the Springboks, nerves were high outside All Blacks camp.

How would Robertson’s All Blacks, who appeared to be very much finding their feet in the highly competitive test landscape, handle the hype, pressure, and expectation enveloping this blockbuster challenge?

Well, the All Blacks started superbly and led the entire match, but they left the door ajar late with the Springboks giving themselves multiple chances to steal a great heist at the death.