The Springboks departed for Baltimore on Sunday with a 2-1 series lead over New Zealand intact, but the job remains unfinished. Saturday's 29-24 triumph in front of 86,000 at FNB Stadium ensured South Africa retained the Freedom Cup and avoided the ignominy of losing a home series to the All Blacks, yet the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry trophy—unveiled at a function in Bryanston last month—will only be awarded after the fourth and final Test at M&T Bank Stadium.
Rassie Erasmus dismissed any suggestion that the series had been won, and the Man of the Match from Soweto echoed that sentiment. The hooker, who starred in the third Test, said the squad remained focused on lifting standards for the decider. "We still have one game to play, so it's not done," he said. "We want to lift our standards and we're going to focus all our energy on that."
Boks power game decisive in Soweto
The driving maul and scrum provided the decisive edge across the second and third Tests, with South Africa's forward dominance proving too much for Dave Rennie's side. Yet New Zealand's four tries on Saturday brought their tally to 13 across three matches, a statistic that will concern the Bok management. The All Blacks' ability to score from broken play and their resilience in the closing stages of each Test suggest the contest in Baltimore will be far from straightforward.
Erasmus is slated to remain in charge through to the 2030 return series in New Zealand, and the Boks will want to arrive there as holders of the RGR trophy. The new silverware is intended to mirror the Ashes in cricket, with the possibility that future iterations may require the challengers to win outright to claim it from the holders. For now, though, the trophy remains unclaimed, and Saturday's neutral venue—where support is expected to be closer to 50-50—will provide a fitting stage for the decider.
The Springboks entered this series as clear favourites and the world's top-ranked side, making anything less than outright victory a source of mild disappointment. But the quality of rugby across 240 minutes in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Soweto has vindicated the concept of multi-Test tours between the sport's fiercest rivals. Whether such fixtures can be accommodated in a calendar that refuses to embrace a global season remains an open question, but the appetite for this match-up has been confirmed beyond doubt.
Erasmus will announce his squad for Baltimore on Monday evening, and the Boks know they face a side that has shown enough resilience and attacking threat to make the final Test a genuine contest. The RGR trophy awaits its first holder.