Let's be completely honest, when the All Blacks and Springboks faced each other in their two encounters last year, both teams were guilty of not fielding their best team.
I wouldn't go as far to say as those games were thrown in an attempt to prepare for the Rugby World Cup, but there were certainly allegations of the respective coaches doing so.
When Peter de Villiers created an uproar in the New Zealand media for fielding a noticeably understrength Springbok side in Wellington, it was certainly cheeky of Graham Henry to turn around and replicate his South African counterparts actions.
While both sides are under different management this year, it was certainly pleasing to see an even encounter between the two rivals.
In the All Blacks' first outing at Forsyth Barr Stadium, they faced a Springbok side that was hurting after their draw with Argentina and a loss to the Wallabies.
The All Blacks haven't had the easiest ride through the inaugural Rugby Championship either; while they have managed to win all three of their
previous encounters, it hasn't been spectacular show of performances from the World Champions.
The first half started as a bruising battle with both sides looking to win the battle at the breakdown, this of course led to the penalty count continuing to rise.
The All Blacks needed to be a lot more careful in this area, especially within 60 metres. The Springboks have always been renowned for their long-distance goal-kicking, but thankfully for the home side, the normally accurate Steyn brothers, Morne and Frans, managed to land only one of the kickable opportunities on offer.
Israel Dagg claimed the only try of the first half after receiving an offload from Kieran Read as the home side entered the changing sheds with a 5-3 lead.
The intensity level that was witnessed in the first half returned in the second, neither team willing to back down. It took a stunning solo effort by Bryan Habana to crack the All Black defence and score in the corner, the Springboks taking the lead for the first time in the match.
After this lapse, the All Blacks looked more determined than ever and began to take control; Habana's try sparked a comeback by Steve Hansen's men, an Aaron Cruden penalty and another moment of brilliance from Aaron Smith nearly lifted the roof in front of his home crowd.
This frustrated the Springboks, as they looked to be gaining momentum after the Habana's try but it was quashed by a wave of All Black magic.
Dean Greyling showing his anger the way most teams do against the All Blacks, taking it out on Richie McCaw, his punch at the bottom of a ruck resulting in a yellow card and ruining what chances the Springboks might have had.
Even though the Springboks slotted a penalty during the period in which the All Blacks had the one-man overlap, the 15-11 lead they had created was enough to hold the visitors until Greyling returned. Cruden then added two penalties for his side to finish the game 21-11 victors.
A great hard-fought battle against the old foe - time to recap in this week's Hot and Not:
Hot
Captain Fantastic: Yet again, McCaw proving why is world famous. If there was a breakdown, you could bet that McCaw was probably there making a nuisance of himself. He may have earned himself a punch to the face in the process but he did his job well.
Aaron Smith: He may have been stripped of his starting position for breaching a team curfew last Saturday, but he repaid his coaches with a great performance in the second half, topped off with a superb try. Smith cemented his place as the first-choice All Black halfback.
Not
Visiting kickers to Forsyth Barr Stadium: First Jonny Wilkinson and now the Steyn brothers have had difficulty with goal kicking in the windless stadium. What's going on? There really isn't an excuse for it so why does it keep happening?
There is now another fortnight before the All Blacks face Argentina again; thankfully there is the ITM Cup to keep us entertained untilthen.