Springboks, All Blacks go to US without Kolbe and Savea after brutal injuries in rugby test series

South Africa and New Zealand's rugby teams arrived in Baltimore on Sunday to wrap up their four-match test series without stars Cheslin Kolbe and Ardie Savea. Both players were sidelined with season-ending injuries sustained during Saturday's game, where the Springboks edged the All Blacks 29-24 to take a 2-1 series lead. Kolbe, South Africa's reliable kicker, suffered a broken jaw after being struck by Luke Jacobson, while Savea, New Zealand's captain, may have dislocated his shoulder during a tackle by Jasper Wiese.

Add to that, Quin Tupaea, a New Zealand center, sustained an MCL injury. Neither squad intends to replace the absent players for the final match on Saturday at the Baltimore Ravens' NFL stadium. South African coach Rassie Erasmus expressed joy at their series lead after their first match defeat, crediting the team's depth and his familiarity with the players to navigate tough games.

New Zealand's coach Dave Rennie, meanwhile, felt the series gap was narrow and blamed two errors for their loss, especially a crucial maul try scored by Malcolm Marx. Erasmus believed the series scorelines accurately represented the matches, but acknowledged a fortunate turn of events in their favor.