All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said he was wary of a Springbok backlash in the second Test in Cape Town after his side fought back to down the home team 33-16 at Ellis Park on Saturday night. South Africa had dominated for large portions of the opening hour until they were penalised at an attacking scrum while the visitors were leading 19-16, after which the momentum swung heavily away. “There was nothing in that game,” Rennie said afterwards. “I know the score might sound convincing, but it was an absolute arm wrestle at 19-16.“We defended and defended, and then we were clinical, and we got our opportunities. A great result for us, but wary of the response that we’ll get next week.”Rennie spoke about the statistic that showed where the world champions had failed on the night. “South Africa are the best in the world; they score five and a half points for every entry, and tonight I think it was 0.9, whereas we were 3.7, and I reckon that’s big stats.“We were able to convert when we got down there, and they weren’t tonight, and I’m sure that’ll be a massive focus for them next week.”In many other areas the two sides were level, he added. “The defenders were beaten; we might have been slightly in front, but a lot of the numbers are pretty even, and so we scrambled, and especially in the second half, there were a couple of times when they could have hurt us, and [we] managed to get people back and create a turnover.”The coach also pointed to the period before the break as a key area where his team absorbed huge pressure without conceding a point. “I think the 10 minutes before halftime was massive. Scrambled really well, and unfortunately we gave it back to them a couple of times to give them another lick there, but I thought we barred up hugely defensively.”Captain Ardie Savea said his team’s focus during the match was staying calm in pressure moments, such as at the scrum where they won the penalty. “We talked about being composed in tight moments, and you can just see the boys really present in the moment, and all I can ask for as a leader is just everyone do their job, and everyone did that.”The All Blacks return to Ellis Park on Tuesday for their final, fourth match against a franchise side, the Lions, before heading to Cape Town for the second Test. Rennie said they were happy to be in front in the series, but there were still three Tests to go. “We’ve got a leg up; obviously it doesn’t guarantee anything, and what we know is they’re such a good side; next week’s going to be just as tough. “It’s nice to be one up, and we’ll enjoy a quiet beer. There are a number of guys who are going to have to play again on Tuesday and then back up again on Saturday, especially with a couple of injuries tonight.”Business Day