But a lopsided penalty count, four yellow cards and a scrum that got taught a lesson will give the side plenty to work on before next weekend’s test against France in Lyon.
Right winger Mererangi Paul got the first yellow card for a knock-on that broke up a promising South African attack in the first half.
The next two came in quick succession in the second half as co-captain Georgia Ponsonby was penalised in the 48th minute for entering a maul from the side and sent to the sinbin as the side had conceded too many penalties.
Left winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga then joined her a minute later for bringing down the South African maul in cynical fashion. The side then ended the game with a player down as lock Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu was sinbinned for a head-to-head tackle for the second time in as many tests in the final minutes.
“Credit to South Africa. They really brought it. They dominated in the set piece, in the scrums and the mauls. They definitely had a game plan and executed it,” Ponsonby said in her post-match interview broadcast on Sky Sport.
“Huge test for us and we needed that going into what’s going to be a long tour coming up. We’ve got some huge test matches coming up so a great first test on the road.
“Hugely proud of our girls and the effort that we brought. It wasn’t pretty at times but we stuck in there and we still managed to score some cool tries.”
The Black Ferns got off to a great start as Joseph sent King over for the opening try in the second minute with a quick tap from a penalty 5m out.
That lead was extended in the 10th minute when fullback Braxton Sorensen-McGee found a little room to move and ran away from the defence to score.
But the discipline issues for the Black Ferns started to hurt soon afterwards. No 8 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u was caught getting off the line a bit too quickly in defence, which saw the hosts kick to the corner and rumble over from the ensuing maul.
After Paul was yellow-carded midway through the half, the Springbok Women struck again. While it looked as though Black Ferns second five-eighths Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i Sylvia Brunt had done a great job to hold up and force a knock-on from her opposite Aphiwe Ngwevu, the TMO ruled Ngwevu had grounded the ball and the try was awarded.
However, tries late in the half through loosehead prop Chryss Viliko and Sorensen-McGee handed the Black Ferns a flattering 14-point lead at the break.
While they were down to 13 players early and conceded the first try in the second half, the Black Ferns added another two through King and Joseph, before replacement loose forward Amarante Sititi and Vaipulu both crossed in the final 10 minutes.
While the hosts scored one more in the final moments of the contest, it was a case of job done for the Black Ferns but plenty to work on as they move on to tests against France, England and Scotland.
Black Ferns 52 (Braxton Sorensen-McGee 2, Elinor-Plum King 2, Chryss Viliko, Maia Joseph, Amarante Sititi, Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu tries; Hannah King con, Sorensen-McGee 5 cons)
Springbok Women 20 (Vainah Ubisi 2, Lindelwa Gwala, Aphiwe Ngwevu tries)
HT: 24-10
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.