Gavin Rich's central argument is that the post-2019 Bok generation has achieved what no previous World Cup-winning squad managed: sustained dominance between tournaments. He traces the pattern — the 1995 side fractured almost immediately, the 2007 vintage was handed off to a regime that finished last in back-to-back Tri-Nations — and argues that the Covid disruptions of 2020-21 are the only credible explanation for why the current group didn't win more Rugby Championship titles than they did. Strip those out, and the record — three Rugby Championships, a Lions series win, two World Cup titles, and now the RGR trophy — makes this the most successful sustained period in professional-era Bok history.
Rich also draws a sharp contrast with the crisis period around 2016-17, when emergency summits were being called after humiliating defeats, to underscore how completely the narrative has flipped. On the RGR series specifically, he names Malcolm Marx as the standout Bok — the least replaceable man in the squad — and flags Cam Roigard as the All Black South Africa should most fear going into the 2027 World Cup. He closes with a genuine concern: Eden Park selling out for a Warriors league game within days of the RGR final is a warning sign, and a weakened New Zealand is bad for the global game, not just for New Zealand.