A stellar kicking performance from Morne Steyn earned South Africa an 18-5 win over a second-string New Zealand in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
The fly-half landed all his side’s points – five penalties and a drop goal – while Richard Kahui scored the solitary try for the All Blacks.
New Zealand made 12 changes to the team that beat Australia in Auckland two weeks ago, and they looked disjointed, but the home team did defend in resolute fashion.
Steyn is battling Butch James for the starting No 10 slot and he did himself no harm on Saturday, putting South Africa up 15-0 after just 30 minutes. New Zealand were playing some decent rugby, but the absence of Dan Carter and the excellent home defence dulled their edge.
The only breach of the South African line was by Kahui as he got on the end of an incisive move involving Hosea Gear and Sonny Bill Williams and carried a number of Boks on his back as he crossed for the game’s only try.
The second half was a tight affair, with little in the way of penetration beyond the middle third and the only score of the half was a solitary Steyn penalty on the hour mark.
New Zealand can still retain the Tri Nations crown with a win over Australia next week in Brisbane.
Speaking after the game South Africa’s Victor Matfield said: "We haven't been good in the last three weeks and we just wanted to show our fans today that we can go to the World Cup and defend it."
The win snaps a three game losing streak for South Africa in the Tri Nations.
Coach Peter de Villiers, was also pleased: "Tonight's victory is just reward for what we're trying to achieve. The support was great, and we needed this win. A result like this creates belief.
"But we're still on a learning curve. The fact that we scrummed well tonight showed we are on the right track. As usual our lineout was outstanding, better than last week. We created a strong platform and managed to get into their half and create opportunities to score points. That is how rugby will be played at the Rugby World Cup."