MOMENTS THAT MATTERED: How the Springboks threw away a golden opportunity

The Springboks will reflect on this one for a while.

For large parts of the opening test of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, they won the collision battle, dominated territory and looked to have a clear edge at scrum time. Yet the All Blacks left Ellis Park with the result after absorbing that pressure and punishing South Africa's inability to convert opportunities into points.

These were the five moments that defined or changed the match.

1. THE FIRST SCRUM PENALTY

The signs were there from the first scrum of the evening.

Although the All Blacks escaped without conceding a penalty from that set piece, the Springboks had already established a degree of dominance. When the second scrum of the match ended with Matthew Carley awarding a penalty to South Africa, it looked like the hosts had identified an area they could target for the rest of the night.

The significance went beyond the three points that followed.

The penalty confirmed that Carley was prepared to reward scrum dominance and gave the Springboks reason to believe New Zealand could be put under serious pressure up front. When Ethan de Groot and Josh Lord were later forced off for head injury assessments, leaving the visitors with less depth in the tight five than they would have liked, that belief only grew stronger.

At that stage it felt as if the scrum could become the platform from which South Africa won not only the match, but possibly dictated the rest of the series as well.

2. MALCOLM MARX'S KNOCK-ON ON THE LINE

The Springboks were already winning the physical battle when another powerful maul drove them deep into All Blacks territory shortly before halftime.

Marx looked to have finished the job as he crashed over the line, but television replays showed he had lost the ball in the grounding attempt. Instead of a try, New Zealand escaped with a five-metre scrum.

The incident cost the Springboks seven points, but its importance extended beyond the scoreboard.

It highlighted a theme that repeatedly surfaced throughout the contest. South Africa were creating opportunities through dominant carries, dominant scrums and territorial pressure, but they were struggling to apply the finishing touch.

The hard work was being done. The reward never seemed to follow.

3. THE SCRUM GAMBLE THAT BACKFIRED

No passage of play had a bigger influence on the outcome.

With just under 30 minutes remaining, the Springboks earned a scrum penalty deep inside the All Blacks 22 and almost directly in front of the uprights. Three points looked certain.

Instead, they asked for another scrum.

Then another.

Then another.

The thinking was understandable. South Africa had already established scrum superiority and New Zealand were now relying on replacement front rowers. The Boks were not chasing three points. They were chasing something bigger. A yellow card, a penalty try. Possibly both.

The first two scrums only strengthened that view as the All Blacks continued to concede penalties and the Springboks attacked under advantage. But despite all the pressure, South Africa could not force their way over.

Then came the turning point.

At the third scrum, Gerhard Steenekamp attempted to work around his opposite number before earning the right to do so through the shove. Instead of another penalty against New Zealand, Carley penalised the Springbok loosehead.

The All Blacks escaped without conceding a single point.

Looking back, that sequence felt like the moment the match turned. The Springboks had New Zealand under enormous pressure and walked away empty-handed.

The significance of the decision became even greater after the match when Rassie Erasmus revealed the instruction from the coaches' box had been to take the three points.

4. THE DOUBLE YELLOW CARD BLOW

The Springboks were still within reach when the contest swung dramatically in the space of a few minutes.

The first flashpoint came when the TMO intervened to review a possible high tackle by Ardie Savea on Jasper Wiese. Instead of sanctioning the All Blacks captain, attention shifted to a breakdown infringement by Marco van Staden close to the Springbok line. Van Staden was shown a yellow card.

Almost immediately matters became worse for the hosts.

With the All Blacks attacking from a scrum, Cobus Reinach deliberately knocked the ball forward to prevent what looked a probable try on the blindside. The scrumhalf had little argument when he was shown a yellow card of his own.

Suddenly the Springboks were down to 13 men for the final 10 minutes.

Whether one agreed with every decision or not, the reality was that South Africa faced the closing stages with two fewer defenders against a New Zealand side that by now had found its attacking rhythm.

5. WILL JORDAN'S FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN

The final decisive blow captured the story of the night perfectly.

The Springboks had spent much of the evening dominating the set piece, but by the 75th minute the All Blacks scrum was no longer under pressure.

From a scrum inside the South African 22, New Zealand earned just enough of a right shoulder to create an opportunity. With the Bok defence reduced to 13 men and stretched across the field, Savea immediately recognised the space available on the blindside.

The execution that followed was exceptional.

The All Blacks captain attacked the gap, drew defenders and produced a superb pass to Jordan on the touchline. With no defender left to stop him, the fullback jogged over for his second try of the match.

It effectively ended the contest.

More importantly, it summed up the difference between the sides.

The Springboks won plenty of collisions and created enough opportunities to win the match. Too often, however, they let themselves down with handling errors, misplaced passes and turnovers at the breakdown.

The All Blacks were far cleaner with ball in hand.

Jordan's try was not just the score that settled the result. It was a reminder that while the Springboks largely won the physical battle, New Zealand won the battle of execution.