Gavin Rich's argument is that the scorelines of this Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series have flattered the All Blacks. Strip away the charge-down try and a self-inflicted scrum penalty in Johannesburg — a game where the Boks also had selection cohesion issues after a six-week gap since their last outing as that unit — and South Africa's physical dominance has been the defining thread of all three tests. Since Ellis Park, Erasmus went full metal jacket on selection continuity, and the pack has rewarded that with an upward trajectory in both accuracy and set-piece control, capped by a 100% lineout success rate in Soweto and two wins that were considerably more comfortable than the final margins suggest.
The question heading into Baltimore is whether that same pack — essentially unchanged across four successive weeks — has the legs to go again after a long transatlantic flight. Forwards coach Deon Davids' pre-match assessment was that there's still room for improvement, which Rich frames as ominous for the All Blacks given how the series has already unfolded. Rennie may freshen his selection; the Boks are running the same core. If the energy holds, Rich's case is that the All Blacks are in serious trouble — especially with the Bok attacking game also starting to click into gear around the dominant forward platform.