How world media reacted to All Blacks win over South Africa

How world media reacted to All Blacks win over South Africa

The All Blacks have beaten the Springboks 33-16 in the opening Test of their tour of South Africa in Johannesburg.

New Zealand's win - by a rather significant margin of 17 points - was dubbed "surprising" and "comfortable", with world media highlighting the All Blacks dominating performance.

Meanwhile, the Springboks were left to reflect on a disappointing performance, as noted by media.

The victory gives the All Blacks an early advantage in the four-match series and will give the team a boost of confidence heading into the second Test.

Here's how world media reacted to the All Blacks vs Springboks series opener.

The Telegraph's post-match article describes the All Blacks victory as a "statement win".

"Rugby's Greatest Rivalry did not begin with the year's greatest game, but a New Zealand victory against the odds, at high altitude in Johannesburg, has poured intrigue and interest on to a series which was already brimming with them," the article reads.

It said the All Blacks win was almost as "comfortable as it was surprising".

"Wasteful" is how the online outlet Rugby 365 has described the Springboks performance.

The Boks wasted several scoring opportunities throughout the game, which couldn't be ignored.

The article said that "proved costly as New Zealand took their chances to outscore the hosts by five tries to one".

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Online outlet RugbyPass' post-match article angles in on All Black Will Jordan, who said the victory "means everything".

"Serious shift of 80 minutes, love the way our boys just dug deep. Some guys playing here against the Springboks for the first time, got a taste of what it's like.

"Extremely proud of our whole group. We realise it's just one of four, but an awesome start to us for the series."

The article highlights that despite the win, the group understood it was the first Test of a four-match series.

"All Blacks punish Springboks" - a line from The South African newspaper.

The paper's post-match article focuses on the Springboks losing their World Rugby No 1 ranking.

"The result not only gives the All Blacks the early advantage in the four-Test Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, but also sees them move above South Africa at the summit of the world rankings," the online paper wrote.

It noted that the 17-point victory was New Zealand's biggest-ever win over the Springboks at Ellis Park in South Africa.

The next game between the two world-class teams will be played on August 29 at DHL Stadium in South Africa.