The Springboks are motoring towards a first Rugby Championship title since 2019, after they edged the All Blacks in a typically thrilling contest between the two rivals at the weekend.
They were joined in the winner's circle by Australia, who earned their first win of the tournament with a dramatic 20-19 upset of Argentina in La Plata.
Read on as we review some of the key takeaways from the weekend.
THE WALLABIES HAVE FOUND ANOTHER DOGGED NO. 7
Australia have for many years now been blessed with quality players at No. 7. From George Smith to Phil Waugh, David Pocock to Michael Hooper, and more recently Fraser McReight, the openside role has long been a critical cog in the Australian game.
And the Wallabies appear to have found another good fetcher in Carlo Tizzano, who has made every post a winner in his three starts while McReight has been out injured.
As it stands, Tizzano is yet to miss a tackle in his three Rugby Championship starts -- he is a perfect 57 from 57.
But he was also superb over the ball in the Wallabies' 20-19 win over the Pumas on Sunday morning [AEST], winning two breakdown turnovers as well as a vital penalty at the tackle just as it looked like the hosts were about to add to their early 10-0 lead.
Had Pumas centre Santiago Chocobares been able to recycle that ball, then Argentina could well have built the momentum for a second try, or at least another penalty. But Tizzano was too strong over the ball on 23 minutes, before the Wallabies scored a try themselves four minutes later to reduce the gap to three.
Then in the second half, Tizzano made sure the Wallabies capitalized on a thumping hit from Angus Bell, the No. 7 swooping on the isolated Pumas ball-runner to pick up a turnover Australia turned into a 45-metre gain, only for them to then take the wrong option from the five-metre scrum.
"Carlo was awesome, he leads our defence, the way he launches into everyone, he really sets the platform for us," Wallabies captain Harry Wilson said.
"And then the way he fetched the ball for us tonight was game-changing, and the few times we were under pressure there and he reached in and got us a penalty and won some big moments for us."
Tizzano's story and journey to Test rugby is a unique one. The West Australian first chased his Super Rugby dream in Sydney with the Waratahs, before finding his way home to Perth via Ealing Trail Finders in England's second division.
But his form for the Western Force this season warranted inclusion in Joe Schmidt's wider squad, before his opportunity arrived with McReight's thumb injury.
While the Queenslander remains the Wallabies' first-choice No. 7 and a player who could yet come into the captaincy mix, Tizzano has made an excellent start as his deputy in three Tests to date.
He gets another opportunity this weekend in Santa Fe, before McReight should then be available for the back-to-back Bledisloe Cup encounters in Sydney and Wellington.
ALL BLACKS RIGHT TO BEMOAN TMO HOWLER, BUT THEY WEREN'T GOOD ENOUGH EITHER
The All Blacks' hopes of continuing their Rugby Championship dominance appear all but over, after they blew a 10-point lead to go down 31-27 to the Springboks in Johannesburg.
The world champions finished all over the top of New Zealand, with Kwagga Smith and Grant Williams scoring tries from close range after the All Blacks had invited their hosts deep into the 22 with poor discipline and simple mistakes.
New Zealand were left to chase the game in its dying stages thereafter, but lost all direction as they kicked possession away and got very little energy off the bench.
"I think there were two key moments after kickoffs, and we couldn't quite get out of our half, and they punished us repeatedly. We had infringements down there and we found ourselves a man down, and eventually they got over," All Blacks captain Scott Barrett said.
"It was a huge effort, I'm certainly proud of the boys, but, yeah, not quite enough tonight."
Earlier, however, the All Blacks and those watching on at home were left gobsmacked by the decision not to wipe off Bongi Mbonambi's try because of an obvious knock on.
Replays clearly showed the Springboks hooker had lost control of the ball just as he was about to put it down, but despite the remonstration of Sam Cane, referee Andrew Brace allowed Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to take the conversion and play restarted thereafter.
"Look, you see it and I saw what you saw. We saw what you saw. So we can't say any more mate. It's a dangerous area if you start talking about referees and stuff," All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said of the incident.
TMO Brian MacNeice came under further spotlight with question marks about the All Blacks' opening try, specifically the legality of the maul that saw Codie Taylor score, and later a high tackle from Cane that has reportedly left Springboks captain Siya Kolisi with a broken cheekbone.
The stage is set for a spicy return clash in Cape Town this weekend.
LACK OF SOUTH AFRICAN RESPECT AGAIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Just a couple of months after they were accused of trolling Ireland's "Zombie" anthem, South Africa ground announcers are again under fire, this time for allowing music to be played while the All Blacks performed their haka on Saturday night.
As the All Blacks performed Kapo O Pango, which was particularly poignant this week following the death of Maori King Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero the Seventh, Ellis Park was filled with the usual fan roars, but also music through the PA system, pyrotechnics and even a flyover from an Emirates jet.
While Damian McKenzie admitted he "didn't agree with it all that much", his coach downplayed the issue, suggesting it wasn't the first time the All Blacks had experienced that kind of response during the haka.
"Everyone has their own way of receiving it," Robertson said. "We're prepared for that (the response), it's not the first time, so they try and take away our advantage they believe we have from the haka. I think it adds to the theatre of it. It's not going to change, so just embrace it."
Despite the music, fireworks and flyover, TJ Perenara led a spirited haka nonetheless, which was observed respectfully by the Springboks players themselves.
FEINBERG-MNGOMEZULU REPAYS ERASMUS' FAITH
Sacha Feinberg-MNgomezulu's star continues to rise after the Springboks No. 10 played a leading role in his side's win at Ellis Park.
While a monster 60-metre penalty kick set social media ablaze, Feinberg-MNgomezulu turned in a classy all-round performance that showed exactly why he has the faith of coach Rassie Erasmus.
It was thought that Erasmus may revert to veteran fly-half and two-time World Cup winner Handre Pollard for the crunch clash with the All Blacks, but the coach instead stuck with his rookie No. 10 and was rewarded with a brilliant showing.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu channels his inner Pat Lambie! 🙌
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 31, 2024
WHAT A KICK!!! 🤯 #RSAvNZL pic.twitter.com/C8gwnkpklO
Feinberg-Mngomezulu ran for a team-high 63 metres on nine carries, kicked 16 points and was a perfect seven from seven defensively.
He also laid on one wonderful kick in general play that almost led to a try, only for winger Kurt-Lee Arendse to muddle his own kick when a five-pointer beckoned.
Erasmus later said his No. 10 came through the intense clash with "flying colours".
SHOT CLOCK COMMS NEED TO BE CLEARER
The Wallabies were able to steal victory via a penalty at the death in La Plata, as confusion reigned over whether there would be time for a restart.
Referee James Doleman eventually determined that time was up after Ben Donaldson's penalty kick, after first declaring that there would be time for play to continue.
The law variation in play for The Rugby Championship states that kickers will have 60 seconds to take their attempt, with the timer to start once the captain has declared what he will do from the original penalty.
In this instance, Doleman blew the original penalty for playing the scrum-half at the back of the ruck at 78:46, before Wallabies captain Harry Wilson informed him that Australia would take the shot at goal on 79:12.
Donaldson then waited the requisite amount of time to take his shot, which was all but a guarantee, knowing that it would be fulltime with the attempt.
The question is how long should the captain have to make his decision and his 26 seconds, as was the time it took for Wilson to point to the sticks, too long?