New Zealand gave South Africa the rudest of reminders about the difficulty of playing Test rugby in the Land of the Long White Cloud when the All Blacks comprehensively beat them 35-20 in their Rugby Championship encounter in Auckland.
AS IT HAPPENED | All Blacks 35-20 Springboks
It was a masterclass in rugby homework done by the All Blacks, who raced into a 17-0 lead in 16 minutes and never fully relinquished their grip on the game, the first between the teams in New Zealand since 2019.
The Boks did win the second half 17-15, but a 20-3 half-time deficit was always going to be a tall order to recover from.
The Boks, who flew players over early to prepare for the game, were let down by their starting pack and back row in particular, who failed to live with New Zealand's physicality and intensity.
When the Bomb Squad came on, there was a marked difference as the All Blacks didn't quite have things their own way.
However, this was the kind of game that needed to have questions asked and answered in terms of World Cup places.
There were several individuals who faltered in the face of Richie Mo'unga's play-making class act that was backed up by a fiery forward display.
The only crumb of comfort for the Boks was the fact they scored their first tries in Auckland since 1997 in their first Test in the City of Sails since the 2017 57-0 annihilation, but the margin of defeat was uncomfortably wide despite the second half fightback.
The Boks had the worst possible start when the All Blacks scored in the fourth minute through Aaron Smith as the hosts chose to take the ball wide very early.
Will Jordan had an early break and when he beat the Bok defence on the outside, he motored through and offloaded to Smith, who scored next to the poles.
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