@Springboks
The All Blacks retained the Freedom Cup following their hard-fought 35-23 win over the Springboks at Emirates Airlines Park on Saturday.
The visitors rebounded from their loss in Mbombela with a gritty performance that saw them go into the break with a 15-10 lead.
South Africa took the lead briefly for the first time in the 67th minute when Pollard slotted a penalty to take the Boks out to a 23-21 lead.
But second-half tries by David Havili and Scott Barrett saw the visitors over the line.
Rieko Ioanne was named Man of the Match. “We got it done at one of the hardest places to play rugby. We are hugely proud of our effort tonight,” he said in the post-match interview.
Bok captain, Siya Kolisi, said they couldn’t pull it through today. “First half we could not impose our game plan on them,” he said.
Tries for South Africa came from Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi, with the rest of the points off the boot of Handre Pollard.
All Blacks Captain Sam Cane said being proud of their performance was “an understatement.”
He said it was a massive challenge coming to Emirates Airline Park but said his team “stepped up massively.”
The Springboks now travel to Australia for two matches against the Wallabies on 27 August and 3 September.
