The Springboks and the All Blacks traded blows from the start of their first Test at Ellis Park, but the moment that may matter most for the rest of the tour came when Kurt-Lee Arendse failed his HIA and took no further part. New Zealand had arrived on a four-test tour looking to set the tone, and the opener quickly turned into a match shaped by set-piece pressure, lead changes and one denied South Africa score.
That mattered because this was not a throwaway first outing. It began at 3.10pm and it was the opening game of the four-test tour, so every swing carried weight. New Zealand struck first through Moorby at 25 minutes and Love added the conversion, but South Africa answered almost immediately when Kolbe slotted a penalty from bang in front from the 22 at 28 minutes.
From there the game kept tightening. South Africa had front-foot ball at 31 minutes before Williams hoisted a high kick, then the Springboks devoured New Zealand's scrum at 32 minutes and the home side won a line-out and drew a penalty at 34 minutes. The All Blacks regained the lead at 25 minutes through a move finished by Moorby and converted by Love, with Vaa'i again central after an off-load back infield from Holland and a carry from Holland in the left tram, a sequence that underlined why he was described as having a brilliant game.
The friction arrived at 35 minutes, when South Africa appeared to have gone through the New Zealand pack with their maul and thought they had scored. Jordie Barrett got in the way of what looked like a certain try, and the on-field call was no try after replays showed the ball had been spilled before the grounding. It was the kind of decision that can alter a match like this, where the lead kept changing and both sides were leaning hard on the scrum and maul to settle it.
Arendse's HIA adds another layer to the night for South Africa. He did not return, which means the Springboks had to finish the first Test without one of their key backs while the All Blacks tried to turn their opening tour match into a statement. The result was not given here, but the early evidence is clear enough: this was the kind of first Test that can shape the rest of a four-match series long after the noise at Ellis Park has gone quiet.
