Gavin Rich makes a pointed argument that staging the RGR trophy decider in Baltimore was a fundamental mistake — not because the game lacks consequence, but because the series was built on South African soil, in front of South African crowds, and the logical climax was FNB Stadium last Saturday with 86,000 fans present. The economic rationale doesn't wash for Rich; he draws a sharp parallel to the (ultimately rejected) proposal to play an Ashes Test in India, arguing the Baltimore game should have been an exhibition fixture rather than the series finale. On the rugby itself, Rich pushes back against the "nip and tuck" narrative: the Boks were clearly the superior side across Tests 2 and 3, with their physicality and scrum becoming decisive in the final quarters, and a 3-0 series lead would not have been a distortion of the balance of power. The first Test loss, he argues, was self-inflicted — a cohesion problem, not a capability one.
The column also picks up an interesting domestic thread. Griquas going back-to-back would sharpen an already awkward question: why are the Cheetahs — not recent Currie Cup winners — occupying South Africa's fifth EPCR slot? Rich floats a combined Central SA franchise for Champions Cup purposes, acknowledging the Cats-era baggage but noting the geographical case is stronger here. The Currie Cup final itself — Griquas hosting the Pumas, a repeat of 2022 — gets a broader nod as evidence that the competition still genuinely matters outside the franchise heartlands, even as its long-term structure relative to the URC clubs remains an unresolved tension.