It was a powerhouse display by an All Black pack that took no prisoners and progressively clamped its iron grip on the game.
It began when the home forwards disrupted the Springbok line-out and spoiled what was expected to be the South African strength built around locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.
The skilled tactical kicking of first five-eighth Daniel Carter helped the All Blacks in this.
He shrewdly kicked for position and found the space that forced the South Africans to kick the ball out.
This gave the All Blacks the throw and they won the line-out count 11-6.
Lock Ali Williams, who had an outstanding game and was the All Blacks' best forward, made four clean takes and No 8 Jerome Kaino three.
Matfield and Botha were restricted to two clean takes each.
The Springboks, in their traditional way, came out of the blocks with the intention of putting a dominating physical presence on the game.
They were fired up and played with intensity until an all-in brawl settled the game down after six minutes.
This was when powerhouse All Black lock Brad Thorn was cited for an alleged dangerous tackle on Springbok captain John Smit.
Soon after this the All Black scrum pushed the Springboks off the ball as the All Blacks demonstrated that they had the edge in the engine room.
It is rare to see a Springbok pack humbled in the scrums.
The wet and cold night meant there were more errors and more scrums and this suited the All Black game plan.
That scrum after eight minutes was the psychological turning point in the game.
The All Blacks knew they could win after that.
The confidence and boldness of the All Black pack grew as the game progressed.
It was character building and gutsy play by the All Black eight that had exerted its dominance by half-time and rubbed it in even more in the second spell.
The tight five of Tony Woodcock, Andrew Hore, Greg Somerville, Thorn and Williams were the heroes of the All Black team that made it 30 wins in a row in test matches on home soil.
They also broke the 13-game winning streak by the world champions and rammed home to the Springboks how difficult it is to win a test match in the middle of a New Zealand winter.
Thorn is like a brick wall.
He can not be pushed around.
The hardness he brings to the team has made a huge difference to the All Black pack this winter.
He is the enforcer and does the job that the great Colin Meads did during his days with the All Blacks.
Thorn has also brought his rugby league skills into the All Black camp by making 12 tackles.
The All Blacks made 126 tackles but this paled into insignificance against the 164 made by the Springboks.
The Springboks were continually put on the back foot and were hit behind the advantage line by the strong All Black tackling.
Flanker Adam Thomson was another who did his job in the tight by making 11 tackles and always keeping close to the ball. Flanker Schalk Burger with 17 tackles and Matfield (14) were the Springbok hit men.
The All Blacks had exerted their superiority by the end of the first spell.
But a lapse of concentration meant that they only led 9-8 at the break.
A skilled breakout by midfield back Jean De Villiers led to flying wing Bryan Habana's 50m dash for a try in the corner after 36 minutes.
That lapse could have proved costly.
The All Blacks knew that they had put unnecessary pressure on themselves when they came out for the second spell.
The All Blacks quickly regained the initiative when they put several phases together and Kaino scored after four minutes in the second spell.
That movement demonstrated the skill of the All Black forwards when running with the ball.
Thorn powered into the 22m and timed his final pass to Kaino to perfection.
The All Blacks never looked like losing after this and could have blown the game apart if Kaino had been awarded a try after a Carter kick into the 22m.
But the referee was not able to have the advantage of the video referee, something that viewers at home saw, and ruled Kaino offside.
It came after a decisive break up the midfield by Ma'a Nonu that split the defence.
It was typical of the strong presence that Nonu gives to All Black attack that kept the Springbok defence on its toes.
The All Blacks were in complete control when replacement loose forward Sione Lauaki burst up the centre and Thorn kept bumping off defenders with the ball in hand.
It could have led to another try.
Carter was the shrewd tactician and his tactical nous and kicking skills kept the initiative with the All Blacks.
He kicked five goals from six attempts to score 14 of the All Blacks points.
South African kicker Butch James landed only one goal from three attempts.
All Blacks v Springboks: The analysis
All Blacks 19 (Jerome Kaino try; Daniel Carter conversion, 4 penalty goals),
South Africa 8 (Bryan Habana try; Butch James penalty goal).
Half-time: All Blacks 9-8.
Crowd: 36, 568.
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia).
Statistics Possession: All Blacks 59%-41%.
Territory: South Africa 56%-44%.
Line-outs: All Blacks 11 (lost 6), South Africa 6 (lost 1).
Rucks and mauls: All Blacks 110-70.
Penalties and free kicks: All Blacks 14-8.
Tackles: South Africa 164 (missed 4), All Blacks 126 (missed 1).
