Elton Jantjies nailed a penalty after the final hooter as world champions South Africa snapped a three-game losing streak to stun New Zealand 31-29 on Saturday in a Rugby Championship thriller.

Damian de Allende and Makazole Mapimpi scored tries in the gutsy win as they bounced back from 20-14 behind at half-time, with the lead changing hands four times in a breathless final five minutes.

It was sweet revenge for the Springboks after a bitter last-gasp 19-17 defeat to New Zealand a week ago, which came on the back of two successive losses to Australia.

After trailing at the break, the Springboks were revitalised when coach Jacques Nienaber changed the entire front row.

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