South Africa 22 New Zealand 29:NEW ZEALAND outhalf Daniel Carter will be out of action for up to eight weeks after being told he needs surgery on a troublesome right ankle. Carter has carried the injury throughout the Tri-Nations, which New Zealand won with a game to spare in Johannesburg on Saturday thanks to this victory over world champions South Africa.
Carter, New Zealand’s leading points scorer, will miss the All Blacks final Tri-Nations match against Australia in Sydney on September 11th, but should be fit for the tours of Hong Kong and Europe later in the year.
The All Blacks face Australia in Hong Kong on October 30th before facing England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales on consecutive weekends from November 7th.
The Canterbury Crusader will undergo surgery tomorrow in Christchurch to remove loose material from around the joint, which was beginning to affect the strength in his calf muscle, the statement said.
The 28-year-old slotted four penalties and a conversion in Saturday’s victory at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, the All Blacks fifth win in as many matches in the tournament as they claimed a 10th Tri-Nations title in 15 years.
The All Blacks trailed 22-17 with two minutes left, but tries by captain Richie McCaw and replacement wing Israel Dagg enabled them to snatch victory and seal the title with a match to spare.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than that, it was a huge game played at a very special stadium,” said New Zealand head coach Graham Henry. “I felt so proud of what these boys have achieved – if you had to go to war these are the guys you would take with you.
“The character and guts they showed was superb, their heart was outstanding. To come from behind at altitude against the world champions, who were right on the button mentally, was pretty significant.
“We were up against 94,700 people as well as the Springboks and I can’t imagine too many of our wins rank up with this one,” added Henry.
The Test was played at the same stadium used for last month’s World Cup soccer final and was watched by the largest crowd recorded in a South African rugby international.
Despite the parlous position they were in, McCaw said his team always felt they could win.
“In the second half we managed to get a bit of field position and I never really felt we were struggling,” he added.
“I always felt the points would come, we just needed to get into the right places, and you need guys that don’t drop their lips, that keep their composure.
“I’m very privileged and proud to lead an All Blacks team like this, there are guys all around who’ve played a helluva lot of Test matches and that makes my job a lot easier,” added McCaw.
The All Blacks also paid tribute to John Smit on the day the captain became the first Springbok forward to play 100 Tests.
Smit put the blame on himself for their last-gasp loss. The Springboks led 22-17 with two minutes left, but McCaw levelled with a try in the left corner before the hosts turned over possession from the kick-off, allowing centre Ma’a Nonu to make the break that led to Dagg’s match-winning try.
The defending champion Springboks lost all three matches in New Zealand and Australia before suffering their first defeat to the All Blacks in Johannesburg in 13 years.
SOUTH AFRICA: 15-G Aplon; 14-JP Pietersen, 13-J de Jongh, 12-J de Villiers, 11-B Habana; 10-M Steyn, 9-F Hougaard (20-E Januarie 75); 8-P Spies, 7-J Smith (19-F Louw 59), 6-S Burger, 5-V Matfield, 4-F van der Merwe (18-D Rossouw 24-40, 69), 3-J du Plessis (17-CJ van der Linde 61), 2-J Smit, 1-G Steenkamp.
NEW ZEALAND: 15-M Muliaina; 14-C Jane, 13-C Smith, 12-M Nonu, 11-J Rokocoko (22-I Dagg 57); 10-D Carter, 9-J Cowan (20-P Weepu 42); 8-K Read, 7-R McCaw, 6-J Kaino (19-V Vito 69), 5-T Donnelly (18-S Whitelock 49), 4-B Thorn, 3-B Franks (17-J Afoa 61), 2-K Mealamu, 1-T Woodcock.
