Fans split over Malcolm Marx clearout that ended Ardie Savea’s night

Savea had been outstanding at FNB Stadium, scoring twice before being forced off nine minutes before half-time with a shoulder injury.

The incident came as the New Zealand skipper attempted to compete for the ball at a breakdown, with Marx arriving at speed to clear him out.

Savea immediately appeared in significant discomfort and was unable to continue.

All Blacks boss Dave Rennie later confirmed his captain would not travel to Baltimore for the fourth and final Test. Subsequent reports in New Zealand have stated Savea suffered a dislocated shoulder.

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Footage of the incident has since exploded on social media, with one clip shared by Hawk-Eyed Rugby attracting more than 200,000 views.

The post described it as “absolute animal work” from Marx, but the replies quickly descended into a debate over whether the Springbok hooker's clearout was legal.

One supporter wrote: “Penalty and card all day.”

Another argued: “Looks like it’s in at the side and right arm tucked. Possible citing offence seeing the damage caused.”

A third added: “Tucked with no wrap, in on the angle and down on the angle.”

However, plenty saw absolutely nothing wrong with Marx's intervention.

One fan responded: “Absolute textbook, legal, legit and Springbok.”

Another wrote: “It’s called blasting a ruck legally!”

While another insisted: “Nothing illegal there at all, Ardie didn’t bridge properly and went in reaching with one arm, Marx cleared out correctly.”

One particularly sympathetic response perhaps summed up the middle ground: “Fantastic clean out, but I doubt he'll enjoy the fact that he injured Ardie.”

Whatever the interpretation of the clearout, losing Savea proved a significant moment in the contest.

The 32-year-old had already crossed twice before leaving, with South Africa eventually coming from behind to claim a 29-24 victory and move 2-1 ahead in the four-Test series.

New Zealand outlet 1News reports Savea has suffered a dislocated shoulder and will return home rather than travel to the United States. Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson are also heading back to New Zealand following injuries suffered in the bruising third Test.

That leaves Rennie facing a significant reshuffle ahead of the final Test in Baltimore, where the All Blacks must win to square the series.

Here, we look at the All Blacks trio who failed to stand out when it mattered most.

Love endured a difficult afternoon, missing two conversions and a penalty, with his second conversion attempt greeted by plenty of boos from the crowd.

He was also shown a yellow card while defending on the Boks’ line, although he had worked hard defensively up to that point. Going forward, however, he struggled to get the All Blacks attack into any real rhythm and will be disappointed with his overall display.

The Hurricanes fly-half also lacked the usual running threat that makes him so difficult to defend. That threat often creates space for those around him, even when his playmaking is not quite at its best.

Without it, the All Blacks attack became relatively easy to contain, with only a handful of moments of individual brilliance from his teammates creating the opportunities that ultimately led to their scores.

The set piece was one of the biggest problems for the All Blacks, as they struggled to establish any kind of physical dominance against a powerful Springboks pack that enjoyed plenty of success in that area.

Lomax was solid enough in the scrum for much of the afternoon but failed to exert the kind of influence required against South Africa. He was eventually outmuscled on his own line, resulting in a penalty try.

The tighthead prop was replaced after 45 minutes and, overall, failed to make the same impact as starting loosehead George Bower.

Lomax is an experienced international and facing the Springboks is always a huge challenge, but if the All Blacks are going to compete with South Africa, their scrum has to be firing. It simply was not at the required level here.

Bower makes the list of underperformers for many of the same reasons as Lomax, although he can take slightly more credit for his overall contribution than his tighthead counterpart.

Unfortunately, his scrummaging also fell short of the exceptionally high standard required against the Springboks, which had a significant impact on the All Blacks' performance.

He conceded an early penalty but was heavily involved defensively, putting in plenty of tackles and showing an excellent work rate throughout his time on the field.

The scrum was relatively solid, but like Lomax, he was eventually overpowered on his own line, contributing to the penalty try. He was replaced after 45 minutes.

But how well do you remember them? See if you can name the past 20 All Blacks captains and prove your knowledge of New Zealand rugby.