New Zealand secured a narrow 12-3 victory in a tight, tense Tri-Nations opener against South Africa on Saturday. A wonderful kicking display from Tony Brown despite horrible weather conditions was the source for the Kiwi's points total while Percy Montgomery successfully converted one kick for South Africa.
Four kicks from four by Brown, who has taken over the kicking responsibilities from Andrew Mehrtens, gave his side their 12-3 lead by half-time but there was little to separate the two rugby giants in the opening stages of the match. The match was tied 3-3 after the first 25 minutes with Montgomery and Brown cancelling out each other's efforts but Brown proved he had his shooting boots on when he successfully fired over in the 27th and 31st minutes while Montgomery squandered two other first-half penalty kicks. Although South Africa were in control of play and possession, they failed to break down the All-Black defence.
In the second half, South Africa continued to press forward and create more scoring chances than their opponents but the Kiwis refused to surrender and conceded the only penalties of the second half in injury time. However, South Africa wasted these chances with Montgomery and Butch James falling short of the posts. The Springboks now have a week to prepare for their second Tri-Nations match against world champions Australia in Pretoria.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
