Tour opener: All Blacks edge a gutsy Stormers 38-21 in Cape Town

The All Blacks are back on South African soil for the first full tour in a generation, and they got the trip underway with a 38-21 win over the Stormers in front of 47,000 fans on a brilliant evening at Cape Town's DHL Stadium.

The scoreline reads comfortably enough, but anyone who watched will tell you the Stormers made New Zealand work for every metre. The tourists led 14-7 at the break through tries to forwards Samisoni Taukei'aho and Simon Parker, but the home side dug in, and with less than 15 minutes to play the game was locked at 14-14.

Then the tour side found its finish. Four quickfire tries in the closing quarter turned a nervous night into a six-tries-to-three win, the class and depth of the New Zealand squad telling right when it mattered. It was not always pretty. The All Blacks played much of the night a man down, working through three yellow cards, and the coaches will want the errors ironed out before the Springboks come calling.

Still, there is a lot to like about starting a tour with a scare survived rather than a cakewalk. This was New Zealand's first win on a South African tour in 30 years, a milestone the travelling squad clearly felt, and a reminder that nothing on the highveld or in the Cape comes easy.

The Stormers can hold their heads high. A forward-based, physical game very nearly pulled off the upset, and they will have given every other South African side a template for how to trouble the tourists.

One down, more to come. The All Blacks move on knowing the intensity only climbs from here.