South Africa felt series against All Blacks in the balance until close to the end

BALTIMORE, Maryland,, Sept 12 : South Africa felt their tour series against New Zealand was in the balance up until the final 10 minutes of the last test, before they went on to register a 43-28 win and secure the trophy 3-1.

Coach Rassie Erasmus said he was not confident of victory until the last stages of the final clash, staged in the United States on Saturday.

New Zealand had won the opening test in Johannesburg last month in a blistering start to the six-week tour, but the world champion Springboks bounced back to win the next two games and make sure they could not lose the series.

But an All Blacks victory in Baltimore would have made it 2-2 and seen the spoils shared, and New Zealand fought back strongly in the second half.

“In minute 70, I thought it was still in the balance. In the end, we came out winners because we had more points on the board, and that's probably the most important thing,” he told the post-match press conference.

“Although you have different things that you're trying to do, build your game, get your attacks going, and defend better, but it's all about the scoreboard, and up until the last 10 minutes, I wasn't sure we were going to win.”

South Africa had a narrow 17-14 lead at halftime but stretched that with two quick tries in the second half, only for New Zealand to fight back and reduce the deficit to eight points before a superb individual try by Bok winger Kurt-Lee Arendse allowed them breathing space.

“We appreciate that we won, but we definitely don't think the margin between us and New Zealand is big,” Erasmus added.

The South African camp praised the support received from the 68,000-strong crowd.

The decision to take the last test of “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” to the U.S was designed to fill the coffers of the two unions who share the profits of the tour, the first of its kind in 30 years and now scheduled to be played every four years.

“It was super special. It was crazy the amount of people who came out to support us,” said Springbok captain Siya Kolisi.

“We're hoping that the game grows here, because we know that the (2031) World Cup is going to be here,” he added.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Kim Coghill)