BALTIMORE, United States — 13 September 2026: The Springboks beat the All Blacks 43-28 at M&T Bank Stadium, completing a 3-1 victory in their four-Test series. South Africa scored six tries in the final match, recovered from several New Zealand challenges and finished the contest with a decisive late surge. Scrum-half Morné van den Berg was named player of the match.
South Africa won 43-28 in Baltimore after leading 17-14 at half-time. The Springboks scored six tries, with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom crossing late, and won the four-Test series against New Zealand by three matches to one.
South Africa turns a tight final into a clear win
The score was 17-14 to South Africa at half-time after tries by Damian de Allende and Van den Berg, while Codie Taylor and Will Jordan crossed for New Zealand. The Guardian's live match record places full-time at 12:03 AM BST, or 2:03 AM in East Africa.
South Africa widened the gap after the interval. Malcolm Marx scored from a maul before Pieter-Steph du Toit finished another attack. Ethan Blackadder briefly restored New Zealand's hope, but Arendse's long-range try and Hanekom's late score put the result beyond reach. Beauden Barrett crossed after the outcome had effectively been settled.
The SA Rugby Magazine match account records the same six South African try scorers: De Allende, Van den Berg, Marx, Du Toit, Arendse and Hanekom. It also reports an attendance of 68,173 in Baltimore, described as the largest crowd for a rugby union match in the United States.
Morné van den Berg takes his chance
Van den Berg supplied the individual performance that held South Africa together during a match of shifting momentum. He scored in the first half, directed play from scrum-half and took over conversion duties during the second half. The live match record named him player of the match.
His try came from a dummy close to the New Zealand line. Later, his movement from the base of the scrum helped launch the phase that ended with Du Toit scoring. After the match, Van den Berg described representing South Africa as an emotional honour and said scoring against New Zealand was the kind of moment imagined in childhood.
Arendse delivered the match's most spectacular passage. With New Zealand threatening to narrow the gap, he collected a loose ball inside South Africa's half, beat the retreating defence and ran under the posts. The try changed the closing calculation from a tense contest into a two-score advantage.
SPORTS TRENDS
Springboks Beat All Blacks 43-28 to Win Series 3-1
Sep 11, 2026
Sep 13, 2026
4 min read
Published
Updated:
BALTIMORE, United States — 13 September 2026: The Springboks beat the All Blacks 43-28 at M&T Bank Stadium, completing a 3-1 victory in their four-Test series. South Africa scored six tries in the final match, recovered from several New Zealand challenges and finished the contest with a decisive late surge. Scrum-half Morné van den Berg was named player of the match.
South Africa won 43-28 in Baltimore after leading 17-14 at half-time. The Springboks scored six tries, with Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cameron Hanekom crossing late, and won the four-Test series against New Zealand by three matches to one.
South Africa turns a tight final into a clear win
The score was 17-14 to South Africa at half-time after tries by Damian de Allende and Van den Berg, while Codie Taylor and Will Jordan crossed for New Zealand. The Guardian's live match record places full-time at 12:03 AM BST, or 2:03 AM in East Africa.
South Africa widened the gap after the interval. Malcolm Marx scored from a maul before Pieter-Steph du Toit finished another attack. Ethan Blackadder briefly restored New Zealand's hope, but Arendse's long-range try and Hanekom's late score put the result beyond reach. Beauden Barrett crossed after the outcome had effectively been settled.
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The SA Rugby Magazine match account records the same six South African try scorers: De Allende, Van den Berg, Marx, Du Toit, Arendse and Hanekom. It also reports an attendance of 68,173 in Baltimore, described as the largest crowd for a rugby union match in the United States.
Morné van den Berg takes his chance
Van den Berg supplied the individual performance that held South Africa together during a match of shifting momentum. He scored in the first half, directed play from scrum-half and took over conversion duties during the second half. The live match record named him player of the match.
His try came from a dummy close to the New Zealand line. Later, his movement from the base of the scrum helped launch the phase that ended with Du Toit scoring. After the match, Van den Berg described representing South Africa as an emotional honour and said scoring against New Zealand was the kind of moment imagined in childhood.
Arendse delivered the match's most spectacular passage. With New Zealand threatening to narrow the gap, he collected a loose ball inside South Africa's half, beat the retreating defence and ran under the posts. The try changed the closing calculation from a tense contest into a two-score advantage.
The series ends 3-1 after a demanding month
The Baltimore victory followed South Africa's 29-24 win in Soweto, which had left the Springboks 2-1 ahead with one Test remaining. That earlier result guaranteed at least a shared series; the final win secured the trophy outright.
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The four Tests repeatedly turned on short stretches rather than long periods of one-sided control. New Zealand continued to create tries and remained close enough to threaten in Baltimore, but South Africa's forward pressure, bench impact and finishing created the separation after half-time.
The Daily Maverick's match report also records the 3-1 outcome and the 43-28 final score. It identifies the Baltimore match as the most decisive scoreline of the series, even though New Zealand continued to compete until the closing stages.
Baltimore adds a United States milestone
Staging the fourth Test in Maryland moved one of rugby's most established rivalries into a growth market. The crowd placed the match within the wider effort to build interest before the United States hosts the men's Rugby World Cup in 2031.
For South Africa, the night combined a new venue, a major attendance mark and another trophy. For New Zealand, it offered evidence of attacking quality but also showed how quickly South Africa can convert pressure into points when replacements and broken-field runners take control.
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An international match summary carried by Rugby Australia confirms the score, series victory and six-try return. The result also preserved South Africa's position at the top of the world rankings, according to the specialist South African match account.
What comes next
The Springboks now turn toward a one-off Test against Australia in Perth on 27 September. New Zealand's next listed assignment is against Australia in the Bledisloe Cup on 10 October.
The immediate South African selection discussion will include Van den Berg's performance, Arendse's finishing and how the replacements shifted the second half.
Medical updates will also matter after the series produced several injuries, including the fractured jaw that kept Cheslin Kolbe out of the Baltimore match, as XTRAfrica reported in its pre-match injury update.
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