South Africa Beats New Zealand 43-28 in Baltimore, Wins Rugby Series 3-1

South Africa closed out the inaugural Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series with a 43-28 win over New Zealand on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, sealing a 3-1 series victory over the All Blacks.

The world champion Springboks scored six tries to four, with Damian de Allende, Morne van den Berg, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom all crossing, according to BBC Sport and Yahoo Sports, which both credited de Allende with two of the six tries. The Guardian and rugby.com.au reported a slightly different tryscorer list, crediting hooker Malcolm Marx with a try instead of a second score for de Allende. Either way, the final tally, 43-28, was consistent across every outlet.

New Zealand got the faster start. Eight minutes in, hooker Codie Taylor finished a slick backline move set up by Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie, according to rugby.com.au, giving the All Blacks an early 7-3 lead. But South Africa's forward pack took over from there. De Allende burrowed over from close range and van den Berg dummied his way past Sam Darry for a second try, pushing the Springboks to a 17-7 lead, according to BBC Sport.

Jordan, New Zealand's all-time leading tryscorer, pulled his side back within four points before halftime, capping a 32-phase move with a try out wide, BBC Sport reported. New Zealand narrowed the gap again in the second half, closing to within eight points at 29-21, but Arendse answered immediately, gathering a loose ball deep in his own half and running the length of the field to put the result out of reach, according to the Guardian.

Beauden Barrett scored New Zealand's final try of the night, and Ethan Blackadder also crossed for the All Blacks, but South Africa's dominance up front proved decisive. The Guardian and rugby.com.au both reported that play was halted for more than eight minutes in the first half after a communications failure between match officials, though neither outlet reported that the delay affected the outcome.

Attendance figures varied slightly by outlet. BBC Sport and Yahoo Sports reported a crowd of 68,173, calling it the largest ever to watch a rugby match in the United States. The Guardian and rugby.com.au reported a capacity crowd of 71,000. Either figure represents one of the largest rugby crowds assembled on American soil.

New Zealand won the series opener in Johannesburg last month and briefly rose to the top of the world rankings on the strength of that result, according to BBC Sport. South Africa then won the next two Tests to seize control of the series, including a nervy 29-24 win in the third match. Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus admitted afterward, "I'm not sure what my heart rate was. We were certainly nervous. It's massive this. You're playing No. 1 and 2 in the world. We're not sitting here thinking we are awesome. We're thinking there was a lot of luck that went our way," according to time.news.

BBC Sport noted that South Africa's comeback played out just as Erasmus had predicted, though the outlet did not specify when or where he made that prediction.

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi credited Erasmus and the players left off the touring squad for the win. "He knows how to get us up, and when he speaks to us he reminds us where we come from, the country that we come from," Kolisi said, according to the Guardian and the Independent. "The players who are in the group who are not playing, we do it for them. The guys that are injured, the guys that couldn't make the tour, and also for the people of South Africa."

New Zealand captain Codie Taylor, who was recalled for the tour, took the defeat in stride. "We talk a lot about moments throughout the week when we review our Test matches and South Africa just stacked a few more moments against us over the last couple of games," Taylor said, according to rugby.com.au and the Guardian. "Full credit to them, they're a great side and they've proven why they're world champions."

New Zealand coach Dave Rennie was more blunt about his team's shortcomings. "We just couldn't get our game going for long enough to hurt them," Rennie said, according to time.news.

Taylor framed the loss as part of a longer buildup. "It's a good stepping stone," he said. "We're at an interesting place at the moment as a rugby nation. We've fallen short in this series but I can assure you and everyone back home that we're working hard."

With both nations having combined to win the last five Rugby World Cups, the series result sets up a pointed rematch storyline heading into the 2027 tournament, and New Zealand now faces a buildup period that Taylor says will need to address the physical and personnel gaps exposed across the four Tests.