Siya’s Super Springboks are simply the best in the world

No Springboks captain has influenced his team more profoundly than Siya Kolisi. Not Francois Pienaar. Not John Smit. Not any of the great men who wore the armband before him. Kolisi is different.

His presence makes the Springboks stronger and the biggest occasions feel as if they belong to South Africa.

The FNB Stadium belonged to Kolisi and his world champions on Saturday night.

In front of 85 500 South Africans, the Boks beat the All Blacks 29-24, secured the home series 2-1 and gave their captain a record 55th Test victory.

Kolisi was big when South Africa needed him most.

The Boks had lost 33-16 at Ellis Park. They responded 33-26 in Cape Town and completed the turnaround in Soweto.

Kolisi was pivotal in both victories. His value cannot be overstated.

He played close to an hour at the FNB Stadium and emptied the tank. By the time he left, the contest had swung towards South Africa and the All Blacks were beginning to bend.

It had not started that way.

New Zealand led 7-0 and then 12-5. Captain Ardie Savea scored twice before injury ended his tour in the 32nd minute.

The All Blacks were composed in possession, accurate with their kicking and dangerous on attack. The Boks were more frantic than fabulous.

The teams were tied 12-all at half time and New Zealand struck first after the break to lead 17-12.

Then came the Springbok response.

From the 50th minute to the 78th, the Boks increased the defensive intensity, took control of the set piece and overpowered the All Blacks.

A dominant scrum produced a penalty try. A spectacular 30-metre driving maul ended with Malcolm Marx scoring. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted and added a long-range penalty to turn a 17-12 deficit into a 29-17 advantage. Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s penalty kick was clutch. The wind conditions were hectic. Ruben Love, so accurate all tour, kicked one from three.

Television does not tell you the difficulty of the swirling wind. That kick to take the Boks from 26-17 to 29-17 was huge.

The All Blacks scored their fourth try after the hooter, but it altered nothing. Both teams scored four tries. South Africa won because, when the match demanded control, composure and power, the world champions delivered all three.

Left wing Ethan Hooker was irresistible and deservedly named Player of the Match. Jasper Wiese was immense, Damian de Allende thundered into contact and Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Marx produced when the stakes were highest.

Etzebeth, Kolisi, Marx and Du Toit are double World Cup winners, British & Irish Lions series winners and back-to-back Rugby Championship winners.

Marx scored his 28th Test try and seventh against the All Blacks.

They know how to win the biggest Tests because their captain knows how to lead them in those Tests.

The victory was South Africa’s first against the All Blacks in three attempts at the FNB Stadium and only their third in 11 matches against New Zealand at altitude.

Sean Fitzpatrick’s 1996 squad remains the only All Blacks team to have won a series in South Africa.

South Africa did not get to host the 2023 World Cup final at the FNB Stadium. Kolisi’s Boks instead beat the All Blacks 12-11 in Paris.

Three years later, Soweto got its final.

Kolisi’s Springboks won.

Siya’s Super Springboks are simply the best.

How Keo & Zels called a Springboks win.

Rassie Erasmus reacts to the Boks win. The victory meant Erasmus is the Springboks coach with the most wins (sixth) against the All Blacks.

This was the Springboks seventh win in their last nine Tests against the All Blacks.