* Late McCaw try seals NZ win
* South Africa throw away lead again
* Le Roux, Kriel cross for hosts
By Nick Said
JOHANNESBURG, July 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand captain Richie McCaw grabbed a late winning try to lift the All Blacks to a dramatic 27-20 win over South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The home side led for most of the match but just as in their defeat by Australia in their Rugby Championship opener they could not close out the game and they cannot now win the title.
New Zealand winger Ben Smith and hooker Dane Coles also scored tries, with debutant flyhalf Lima Sopoaga adding three conversions and two penalties.
Fullback Willie le Roux and electric young centre Jesse Kriel claimed tries for the home side, with flyhalf Handre Pollard adding two conversions and a couple of penalties.
"We were on the back foot for the first 40, but we worked our way back in the second half and started to get on top towards the end of the game. But it was pretty brutal," McCaw told reporters.
"We managed to hang in there and it was about taking the opportunities we got. I was proud of the way the guys did that."
Trailing to an early Sopoaga penalty, the Boks grabbed the first try after intense pressure in the visitors' half.
Kieran Read lost the ball after a steal on the ground and Le Roux burst through a gap to score after being set free by Kriel. Pollard extended the lead, before the All Blacks struck back on the stroke of halftime.
A typically incisive breakaway was too quick for the retreating Bok defenders as Smith found space out wide and finished under the posts.
The home side were back in front as youngsters Pollard and Kriel combined, the latter scything past three All Black defenders to score.
But the All Blacks hit back again just minutes later, Coles finding a gap in the defence and showing admirable pace to touch under the posts.
A Pollard penalty edged the home team ahead and they missed two more chances to score having camped on the All Black line.
They were made to pay when New Zealand opted for a line-out rather than an easy penalty to level the scores and McCaw barged over with an excellent move from the set-piece in probably his last test match in South Africa.
"We are doing something right because we are putting teams under pressure," South Africa captain Schalk Burger said.
"We created a lot of opportunities but we couldn't put them away." (Editing by Ed Osmond)