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AnalysisSpringboksPlanet Rugby14 Aug

Bulls v All Blacks: Rennie's last audition before Ellis Park

A match preview that doubles as a Rennie selection audit — unpacking which Test spots (blindside, wing, scrum-half backup) are still live heading into the Springbok series, and where the Bulls' set-piece and altitude advantage could complicate the All Blacks' preparation.

With the first Test at Ellis Park looming, this piece frames the Bulls clash at Loftus as Rennie's final selection trial rather than a routine tour match. The analysis centres on two battlegrounds: the All Blacks' scrum-half competition (Ratima vs Preston for Roigard's backup spot) and the blindside puzzle, where Anton Segner's duel with Liebenberg could settle the back-row ahead of the Bok Tests. The Bulls' front-row — Klopper, Else and Tshakweni — is flagged as a genuine threat, and the piece notes Loftus altitude and a strong Bulls set-piece as the likeliest disruptors to New Zealand's rhythm.

The prediction is an All Blacks win by 20, with the expected pattern of URC sides competing for an hour before New Zealand assert control in the final quarter. Curwin Bosch's Bulls debut and Beauden Barrett's response after a quiet Stormers outing are the individual storylines worth tracking, but the piece's real value is in mapping which Test spots remain genuinely open heading into the series — useful context for reading the first-Test selection when it drops.

Read the full piece on Planet Rugby

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