THE Springboks have pulled off a win for the ages, taking down the world champion All Blacks on home soil.

After taking a 24-17 lead into halftime — the most points the All Blacks have ever conceded in a first half at home — the Springboks then hung on for a famous 36-34 win at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

Rated $8 outsiders heading into the Rugby Championship clash, the upset was arguably the biggest in Test rugby since Eddie Jones’ Japan beat the Springboks in their opening match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The victory snapped a six match Boks losing streak against the All Blacks dating back to 2014.

Making the victory all the more incredible was that the All Blacks had won 56 of their previous 57 home Tests, with the only previous loss during that run at the hands of the British and Irish Lions at the same venue last year.

“I’m very happy for the effort today,” emotional Springboks captain Siya Kolisi said.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the boys, and the way we carried ourselves this week and the way we worked hard and believed in ourselves... I have no words.”

The victory eased the pressure on coach Rassie Erasmus, who had shocked reporters earlier in the week by claiming that his position was under threat despite only taking the job six months ago and claiming a series win over England in June.

“We’ve let ourselves down in the first couple of games,” Kolisi said.

“I think we showed a little bit of what we can do (tonight).

“Obviously we haven’t achieved much yet.

“We must still make sure that we build on what we started tonight.”

All Blacks captain Kieran Read paid tribute to the Springboks’ gallant defence, particularly after being reduced to 14 men following a yellow card to fullback Willie le Roux late in the match for cynical play.

“You’ve got to give them all the credit in the world — the way they defended that second half,” Read said.

“We threw everything at them.

“My boys kept working hard but the South Africans defended outstandingly well and obviously deserved that win.

“They came off the line and really put our skills under pressure, and I think they scrambled really well once we got around them.

“We’ll give them that credit and they certainly deserved that win.

“They put us under pressure and we didn’t quite respond the way we needed to.”

Early on it looked like one way traffic as Jordie Barrett and Aaron Smith gave the All Blacks a 12-0 lead after 17 minutes.

But the Springboks hit back quickly, scoring 21 unanswered points with Aphiwe Dyantyi, le Roux and Malcolm Marx crossing for tries to give the visitors a 21-12 lead after 33 minutes.

Rieko Ioane cut the deficit to four points when he crossed out wide in the 38th minute.

The Springboks took the momentum into the break though, with playmaker Handre Pollard banging over a penalty.

The Springboks could hardly believe their luck early in the second half, when wing replacement Cheslin Kolbe made an immediate impact by intercepting and scoring to extend the lead to 31-17.

Ioane’s second try in the 52nd minute saw the lead halved though.

Dyantyi’s second try just minutes later then restored the 12 point lead.

Poor discipline from the Springboks gave the All Blacks a golden opportunity to hit back and the world champions didn’t need a second invitation, as hooker Codie Taylor scored.

But Beauden Barrett’s conversion miss meant the Springboks kept their converted try lead.

The yellow card to le Roux saw the Springboks reduced to 14 men in the 67th minute.

The Springboks managed to keep the All Blacks out for five minutes, but eventually the pressure told as replacement loose forward Ardie Savea scored.

But another Beauden Barrett conversion miss saw the Springboks hang on to their slim lead.

The All Blacks had their opportunities to steal the match at the death and had a scrum in front of the posts in the 82nd minute.

But an error from Damian McKenzie saw the Springboks secure possession, boot the ball into the stands and pull off one of their most memorable victories of the past decade.