Malcolm Marx turned in a superb performance in his 50th Test appearance as the Springboks pummelled the All Blacks up front to start the Rugby Championship campaign with a convincing victory in Mbombela on Saturday.

A 26-10 win, thanks to tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux to go with 16 points from Handre Pollard, brought the Springboks close to breaking their biggest winning margin (17 points) against the All Blacks.

The result also marks South Africa’s first home win over New Zealand since 2014.

It was as one-sided a performance as the scoreline suggests with the Springboks dominating the All Blacks to force the visitors backwards with a number of physical hits, while claiming the front foot at the set piece.

The visitors simply did not help themselves with a clueless tactical performance as they played into the Springboks’ hands by desperately trying to circumvent the rush defence and made an unusually high number of avoidable errors.

In another Bok milestone, Marx shone on winning his 50th cap, bagging four turnovers in 53 minutes, a menace the breakdown.

It was also a memorable showing from Arendse, before he unfortunately mistimed a run on to a Jordan Hendrikse kick and was red-carded after taking out Beauden Barrett in the air, causing himself a nasty concussion in the process and having to be stretchered off.

Prior to that, Arendse – who replaced Cheslin Kolbe in the starting lineup – well and truly showed he belonged on the big stage, pocketing the bigger Caleb Clarke all game, while also winning many of the aerial duels.

Arendse was not the only Bok player to suffer an unfortunate concussion as Faf de Klerk was knocked out when getting his head on the wrong side of a tackle seconds into the contest. While De Klerk made an appearance back on the bench halfway through the first half and gave the crowd a wave, he is unlikely to play in the rematch at Ellis Park.

The good news is that De Klerk’s replacement, Jaden Hendrikse, had an outstanding performance, especially when putting boot to ball from the base of the breakdown.

A seven-point lead at half time did not quite do the Springboks justice for their dominance in the first half. The hosts were fired up from the off and had New Zealand rattled with some imposing and well- organised defence, combined with strong carries.

On attack, the Springboks caused havoc in the air and it was no surprise that it was that area of the game that lead to the first try, finished by Arendse. Much like the man he replaced in the starting lineup, Arendse scored his first Test try in just his second appearance for the Springboks, also against New Zealand.

However, perhaps the concern for the Bok coaches would be how the home side let the All Blacks back into the contest in the final 10 minutes of the first half. Four consecutive penalties allowed New Zealand to work their way into Bok territory with Jordie Barrett getting the visitors on the board.

The Springboks continued their momentum in the second half as Pollard restored their 10-point lead with another penalty before slotting a drop goal and nailing a third penalty to make it 19-3 in the 73rd minute.

Just as the home side was cruising, Arendse’s red card in the 75th minute gave the All Blacks a second wind and replacement flank Shannon Frizell powered over after Clarke’s linebreak.

However, Willie le Roux made an immediate impact after coming on in the 79th minute, pouncing on a loose ball to seal a comprehensive victory for the Springboks.

Photo: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko