Dan Carter has identified the upcoming Springbok Tests as the matches that will truly reveal what the All Blacks are under Dave Rennie. The implication is clear: whatever else New Zealand achieve in 2021, it's how they handle the Boks that will set the tone and the benchmark for this coaching era.
Carter flags Bok clashes as the All Blacks' season-defining test under Rennie
Dan Carter says the Bok Tests will define the All Blacks' season under Rennie — a signal of just how much weight the Rugby Championship clashes carry for New Zealand's rebuilding project.
All Blacks' loosehead crisis hands Springboks a ready-made weapon in Greatest Rivalry Series
Jeff Wilson has publicly identified loosehead prop as the All Blacks' most dangerous weakness ahead of four consecutive Tests against the Springboks — with Williams likely out, Tu'ungafasi's future uncertain, and the remaining options short on caps and experience. Set against the depth Erasmus has built across the prop positions, this piece maps out why scrum time could be where the Greatest Rivalry Series is decided.
Stephen Donald: Robertson copied the Boks — Rennie must go back to All Blacks DNA
Stephen Donald backs Hansen's anti-copycat argument, saying Robertson erred by chasing the Springbok blueprint rather than New Zealand's tempo-based strengths — and expects Rennie to correct that course ahead of a blockbuster four-Test series in South Africa.
Mulder's '95 Warning: Don't Sleep on the All Blacks
1995 World Cup winner Japie Mulder warns against writing off the All Blacks ahead of the four-Test series, drawing on South Africa's own underdog story to argue the gap in rankings doesn't guarantee a comfortable series win.
Hansen: Wellington told us more about the All Blacks than the Springboks
Hansen argues the Wellington result revealed more about All Black confusion than Springbok dominance, while cautioning against scoreline fixation — and backing the new-look All Blacks to learn from the Greatest Rivalry tour.
Carter backs All Blacks to rise to the challenge — but consistency remains the question
Dan Carter backs Rennie's All Blacks to thrive under pressure, but the consistency question that plagued Robertson's tenure hasn't gone away — and the Springboks aren't waiting.