South Africa cap series victory over New Zealand with win in Baltimore

South Africa secured a 3‑1 series victory over New Zealand with a 43‑28 win in the fourth Test at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday. The match drew a near‑capacity crowd of 68,173, the largest ever to watch a rugby match in the United States. South Africa’s scoring came from tries by Damian de Allende (two), Morne van den Berg, Pieter‑Steph du Toit, Kurt‑Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom. Conversions were added by Sacha Feinberg‑Mngomezulu (two), van den Berg and Handré Libbok (two), with Feinberg‑Mngomezulu also landing a penalty. New Zealand replied with tries from Codie Taylor, Will Jordan, Ethan Blackadder and Beauden Barrett, while Richie McKenzie converted all four. The Springboks opened the scoring after eight minutes when the All Blacks’ quick tiki‑taka move put hooker Taylor over. South Africa responded with a powerful scrum‑driven effort, de Allende burrowing over from close range before van den Berg darted past Sam Darry for a similar score. Those two tries gave the Boks a 17‑7 lead. A missed drop‑goal and an errant kick by Feinberg‑Mngomezulu gave New Zealand a lifeline. Jordan finished a sweeping move after 32 phases to narrow the gap, and the All Blacks entered the break trailing by four points, still hopeful of claiming a specially‑designed trophy that could be split between the sides by magnetic halves. After the interval, Marx powered over from a rolling maul, and three minutes later du Toit powered through a blind‑side break by van den Berg to extend the lead. Blackadder’s try reduced the margin to eight, but a high‑tempo contest and a long tour began to take its toll on both sides. Arendse exploited space after McKenzie’s break, though Moorby failed to secure the pass. Four minutes later Hanekom gathered a loose ball to seal the outcome, rendering Barrett’s late effort a mere consolation. The victory completed a series that began with a South African win in Johannesburg last month, a result that had seen the All Blacks briefly rise to the top of the world rankings. Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus had predicted the turnaround, and the forward dominance and bench depth of the Boks kept New Zealand at bay. Match officials were referee Karl Dickson (England), assisted by Matthew Carley and Christophe Ridley (England), with TMO Andrew Jackson (England). **South Africa** 15 Willemse, 14 Arendse, 13 Kriel, 12 de Allende, 11 Hooker, 10 Feinberg‑Mngomezulu, 9 van den Berg, 1 Nche, 2 Marx, 3 Louw, 4 Etzebeth, 5 Nortje, 6 Kolisi, 7 du Toit, 8 Wiese Replacements: 16 Fourie, 17 Steenekamp, 18 du Toit, 19 de Jager, 20 Esterhuizen, 21 Hanekom, 22 Reinach, 23 Libbok **New Zealand** 15 McKenzie, 14 Jordan, 13 Lienert‑Brown, 12 Barrett, 11 Moorby, 10 Mo'unga, 9 Roigard, 1 de Groot, 2 Taylor, 3 Newell, 4 Tuipulotu, 5 Darry, 6 Vaa'i, 7 Blackadder, 8 Lakai Replacements: 16 Aumua, 17 Numia, 18 Lomax, 19 Lord, 20 Sititi, 21 Preston, 22 Ioane, 23 Barrett The win leaves both teams looking ahead to next year’s Rugby World Cup, having won the past five editions between them.