The brilliant Johannesburg trilogy

All Blacks

less than 1 hour agoBy: Jamie Wall

Three unforgettable Tests in three years saw the All Blacks and Springboks turn Ellis Park into the stage for some of rugby’s greatest drama.

The All Black side that played between the World Cup wins of 2011 and 2015 is widely regarded as one of the best ever. The most notable times they were truly tested was at the home of South African rugby, Ellis Park.

2013 was a landmark season for the All Blacks. It was the first in the professional era that any test side went through a season winning all their games, and they did it the hard way, going through Ellis Park and one of the greatest tests ever played.

There is a write up about the 2013 test that simply says ‘it had everything’. This was a game that truly marked the point where these two sides could be counted on to provide not only the most intense, but entertaining test rugby around. This was a game that could convert someone who has never seen rugby before into a lifelong fan. This was how rugby is supposed to be played: nine tries, 65 points scored and every player’s lungs about to burst when referee Nigel Owens blew full time.

Bryan Habana getting a double and the biggest roar at Ellis Park since Nelson Mandela. A hero to zero act from Liam Messam. A zero to hero act from Beauden Barrett.

It started with Ben Smith, the All Black fullback/wing who had played one test in 2008 and seemed destined for the sports section of a pub quiz until a breakout season in 2012 had made him into one of the first names down on the team sheet. He collected a flick pass from Kieran Read to score in the corner, but the Springboks answered in almost identical fashion when Duane Vermuelen set up Habana to score his first. Habana, by now playing his 92nd test, then chipped over Smith and regathered to score a stunner and put the home side in the lead. Messam, who had battled all year for the number six jersey with Steven Luatua, then proved the selectors right by muscling over in the 26th minute, then again on the stroke of halftime.

Messam then found himself in the sinbin shortly after the break, from which he only returned from for a few minutes before Luatua came on to replace him. Beauden Barrett had just come off the bench as well, only to find the first thing he was involved in was getting Jean de Villiers smashing his way over the top of him to score. The impact sent Barrett tumbling backwards, but he made up for it by hitting the line and using his pace to run around de Villiers to score under the posts.

Just to make things even more interesting, All Black manager Darren Shand had to run onto the field in the second half to explain to the referee that he’d made a mistake on the team sheet, putting Keven Mealamu in the team instead of Dane Coles. The game was finally sealed with a Kieran Read try 10 minutes from the end, making the score 38-27.

The All Blacks marched on to a triumphant tour of Japan and Europe, winning the last test against Ireland with an injury time try and sideline conversion, making history with a perfect 13 from 13 record.

WATCH: Relive the epic 2014 series between the All Blacks and South Africa

It seemed before anyone could catch their breath after the epic test at Ellis Park, the All Blacks and Springboks were back at it in 2014.

The Springboks were now coached by Heyneke Meyer, who had guided the Bulls to be the first South African Super Rugby champions in 2007. Meyer was a passionate, patriotic man, who cut an emotional figure as he chose to join his staff pitchside for the national anthem. He clasped his chest, lifted his face to the heavens and bellowed out Nkosi Sikelel' Afrika as the 60,000-strong crowd joined him.

While Ellis Park had an undeniably fearsome reputation, something felt even more intense after that rendition, the crowd were in for another thriller - a combination of the free-wheeling antics of the year before and the relentless physicality of the historic rivalry.

New Springbok first five Handre Pollard announced himself to All Black fans by dotting down twice before the break and the Springboks had a 21-3 lead, which was cut by a Malakai Fekitoa try. The second half proved to be an arm wrestle as the All Blacks fought back, closing the gap with a Ben Smith try then taking the lead through Dane Coles. It was looking like they were going to get out of jail again, but right on full time Messam was penalised for a shoulder charge, thanks to the incident being incessantly repeated on the stadium’s big screen. Patrick Lambie lined up the kick from his own side of halfway and sent it through, making the score 27-25 and snapping the All Blacks’ 22 test unbeaten streak.

WATCH: A compilation of great All Blacks haka moments from Ellis Park

Unbelievably, the All Blacks and Springboks returned to Ellis Park in 2015 and produced another outstanding test. Every test win in a World Cup year gets slightly overshadowed by the outcome of the tournament itself, but this test may well have been the stage of the most impressive All Black debut ever and also a tale of the unforgiving nature of professional rugby.

Lima Sopoaga found himself starting at first five after Dan Carter had injured himself, playing in the most high pressure position in the most high pressure stadium. Sopoaga ended up having a dream ride, nailing all his kicks and transferring his reputation as being an extremely dependable tactician into the test arena seamlessly.

The two sides went neck and neck until a late Richie McCaw try won the game for the All Blacks, with Sopoaga finishing off the Springboks with a penalty to make the score 27-20. It was a perfect debut, and completed three brilliant test matches in a row between the All Blacks and Springboks at Ellis Park.