Springboks Cheslin Kolbe, Siya Kolisi and Andre Esterhuizen have all earned praise from former All Blacks centre Sonny Bill Williams following their performances in Wellington.<\/b><\/p>\n
The trio were singled out by the double World Cup winner, who hailed Kolbe\u2019s 14-point swing in the first half.<\/p>\n
The winger picked off a Billy Proctor pass in the 24th minute when New Zealand led 7-0. While South Africa started the match well, they were denied two tries, the first after Cobus Reinach was deemed to have knocked the ball on in the build-up to RG Snyman powering over the line.<\/p>\n
Jordie Barrett also sensationally stopped Kolbe from opening his account with an outrageous try-saving tackle, with the All Blacks going in front through debutant Leroy Carter.<\/p>\n
After intercepting the pass, Kolbe raced over 70 metres to the try-line, scoring a five-pointer eerily similar to his first Test try at the same venue, against the same opposition in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u2018Big-time\u2019 Cheslin Kolbe<\/p>\n
Williams<\/a> dissected the match on Stan Sports\u2019 Between Two Posts show along with former Wallaby Morgan Turinui, who said, \u201cThe Boks looked good early; they had a couple of tries denied. They had real intensity and intent.\u201d<\/p>\n The former All Black<\/a> added that the start of the match mirrored that of the Round Three Rugby Championship clash at Eden Park.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was after the Springboks<\/a> had three opportunities, the big one being Jordie\u2019s unbelievable try-saver on Cheslin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut from an All Blacks\u2019 perspective, you\u2019d think that this is same, same as last week, the Boks had so many opportunities and didn\u2019t capitalise, and then we go down the other end, against the run of play and score a try, then it\u2019s like \u2018We are here, we are on fire tonight, boys\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Turinui highlighted Kolbe\u2019s try as a turning point in the match and likened it to Julian Montoya\u2019s try in the earlier Rugby Championship match.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a bit like Julian Montoya\u2019s try; they just needed something. They started well but hadn\u2019t had any reward on the scoreboard,\u201d said the former Wallaby.<\/p>\n Rugby Championship Team of the Week: NINE Springboks and ZERO All Blacks as Rassie Erasmus\u2019 men rewarded for \u2018record\u2019 victory<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou think New Zealand go down and gets three, five, seven the other way, it starts getting a bit away from them. It was exactly what the Boks needed to settle them down.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams hailed Kolbe, saying: \u201cBig-time players come up with these big plays; this isn\u2019t only a 14-point swing, but if he knocks that down, you\u2019re going to the bin, bro.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to take your hat off to him, the way he covered that pretending with that step.\u201d<\/p>\n