KEY POINTS:
What a magnificent test in Durban. Sunlight, an imposing stadium with the crowd rising like a giant wall towards the bright sky, and a fierce battle.
Politics and an ugly past still tear at South African rugby, but a TV screen glosses over that.
This is what great
test rugby is all about although you can't help but feel the ever-present shadow of the World Cup allied to the sheer number of tests takes the edge off such occasions, unfortunately, in comparison to the famous contests of old.
Graham Henry's side stepped on the gas in the final stages, while South Africa - despite the home advantage - ran out of the stuff. The All Blacks' replacements helped turn the game, while South Africa's were ineffective and even liabilities.
"We're delighted," said Henry after the match. And so he should be. The ultimate test of the modern game remains to be dealt with later this year, but Henry is proving to be a masterful All Black coach so far.
Yesterday morning's thrilling victory might also be remembered as the game in which Rodney So'oialo won the public over as the test No 8, a good five years and 30 tests into his All Black career.
There has been no doubting So'oialo on two scores. First, he has gained the confidence of Henry and the selectors with the quality and style of his game, to the point they appear to be trying to produce a Rodney-replica in Chris Masoe, although not with any great success.
Second, So'oialo is an athletic and dexterous workhorse, a relentless battler for the cause, who will clean up and clean out like a man possessed. He will also keep belting the ball up, even if it is without the power and glory we seem to remember as being hallmarks of iconic No 8s of old.
Somewhere in the national rugby consciousness lies an identikit of a magnificent test No 8 that contains, principally, the attributes of Wayne Shelford, Zinzan Brooke and - for those who go further back - Brian Lochore. As a result, So'oialo has been seen as suspect rather than a prime suspect in finding a matching fit.
The Hurricanes loose forward was a man of B-pluses who lacked the x-factor, falling between the three loose forward stools. One exhilarating run in Durban has provided an image tweak, a validation if you like of the way he plays.
It came in the 67th minute of the test, when So'oialo found the x-factor which marked the turning spot.
Covering just outside his 22-metre line, So'oialo fielded a Francois Steyn punt, evaded a poor chase from JP Pietersen and a lunge from Johann Muller, wrong-footed Victor Matfield and Schalk Burger, and roared past Pedrie Wannenburg on an absolutely fantastic 40-metre run which led to Richie McCaw's try.
It was a never-to-be forgotten act late in a test match in which the physical demands and nerves would have already drawn heavily on So'oialo's energy supply. Two of the men he left standing, Muller and Wannenburg, were replacements who should have been roaring into action.
This was a run to remember.
There may never quite be a sight to match that of the young Bryan Williams bouncing on the rock-hard fields of South Africa in 1970. Some of us will never forget the late Joe Morgan scything through the Boks to win the second test at Bloemfontein in 1976.
There have been others of course in the long and fierce rivalry between these two sides. For a return serve, has there ever been a stunning charge to match that of the burly Springbok prop Richard Bands at Carisbrook four years ago?
So'oialo now has a great moment to hang his career on, one that turned a match the All Blacks' way, and he will be even better for that. He has his own way of playing at No 8, and one which has not really been seen in the All Blacks before. It has taken time for many of the rest of us to adjust. The bottom line - it is working in the All Black scheme.
It is the players who will hang in during the tough times, in both technique and stamina, and then produce the required magic when the opportunity arises, who are treasured in the tough world of international sport. That's precisely what So'oialo did in Durban, in terms of both this game and his career.
He was not the only one, on a stellar day for All Black rugby.
The term great All Black No 8 will always bring the name Shelford to mind, and the unbeaten test captain, who is 49, revealed over the weekend that he is undergoing treatment for lymphoma, a cancer affecting blood cells.
There is a sort of bond between cancer sufferers which means the experience of one is not elevated above another, and his condition is a reminder of the courage many people must find through life's tribulations.
One of the major reasons why Shelford and his wife, Jo, returned to New Zealand late last year was because of serious illnesses to her mother, who has since passed away, and his brother. Jo Shelford has described it as a "traumatic" time for the family.
"Buck" Shelford has a special place in New Zealand's sporting heart. This country will be packed with wellwishers supporting Shelford and his family along the way.
