Their title may have already been secured, but the All Blacks lost a measure of pride in their last-second defeat at the hands of the Springboks to conclude their Rugby Championship slate.
Pat Lambie converted a penalty in the 78th minute to hand South Africa a 27-25 victory over New Zealand, ending the All Blacks' unbeaten run at the tournament at 17 matches.
The Springboks looked to have the match squared away in the first half, heading into the break with a 24-13 lead. A pair of tries from Handre Pollard helped build the half-time advantage.
The All Blacks stormed back just past the hour-mark, however, with two tries in less than five minutes. Dane Coles' try in the 69th handed teh All Blacks just their second lead of the game, the first coming in the eighth minute on a Beauden Barrett penalty that opened the scoring.
Lambie's penalty with just two minutes to go, swung the tide back to the Springboks and helped the South Africa end the Kiwi streak.
Sitting on 21 points, the All Blacks had clinched a third straight title. With the victory, South Africa secured second spot in the table with 19 points (4-2).
In the other Championship match, the Pumas of Argentina stunned Australia to earn their first ever victory at the tournament.
Australia squandered an early 14-0 lead and finishes the tournament in third place with just 11 points (2-1-3).
The result will drop Australia below England to fourth in the world when the International Rugby Board releases its rankings on Monday.
