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JOHANNESBURG (AP) \u2014 New Zealand stunned South Africa 33-16 at Ellis Park on Saturday and drew first blood in their historic four-test series.<\/p>\n
After surviving a ferocious first half to trail only 13-12, the All Blacks’ deep belief and ability to produce something from nothing turned a tense contest into a rout by five tries to South Africa’s one.<\/p>\n
A scrum that was blown away in the first half eventually held firm in the second half and was the platform for New Zealand’s last two tries in the last quarter.<\/p>\n
South Africa paid for failing to take its many chances when it had New Zealand on the ropes in the first half, and to a crashing halt came South Africa’s 12-test winning streak that began by handing New Zealand its heaviest ever defeat, 43-10, in Wellington 11 months ago.<\/p>\n
The Springboks scrum was better than advertised until props Ox Nch\u00e9 and Wilco Louw were substituted. An overconfidence in the set-piece made South Africa waive off numerous kickable penalties at altitude to try and bury the All Blacks with tries. But a backline that struggled to string any passes was easily corralled, putting too much on the likes of forwards Jasper Wiese, Malcolm Marx and Paul de Villiers to produce something.<\/p>\n
When New Zealand returned the pressure in the second half, South Africa gave away two yellow cards in the span of a minute and finished with 13 men. The tension in a packed Ellis Park deflated in the last 10 minutes as Springbok supporters realized a comeback wasn’t possible.<\/p>\n
The series moves to sea level in Cape Town next Saturday and New Zealand is the surprising front-runner in the first full series between the teams in 30 years.<\/p>\n