Despite the Boks winning four scrum penalties and effectively neutering the All Blacks' lineout — forcing them to throw short throughout — Deon Davids is cautioning against complacency ahead of the series decider in Baltimore. The set-piece damage was substantial: Marx's maul try, 27 metres from driving play (17 inside the All Blacks' 22), and a 100% lineout success rate in swirling Johannesburg winds. But Davids's message is that the system is still being refined, combinations are still building, and there's more to come. He credits the depth built through early-season experimentation, the multi-franchise knowledge-sharing culture in the forward group, and specifically the reading of conditions by Marx and Fourie. If the Boks' set-piece was this effective in Soweto while Davids still sees room to grow, Baltimore could be brutal for New Zealand.
Davids: Bok set-piece dominance in Soweto is just the beginning
Deon Davids says the Bok set-piece that tormented the All Blacks in Soweto — four scrum penalties, a neutered lineout, a maul try — isn't the finished product. His pre-Baltimore message: there's more to come.
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
Hansen's Right to Back Himself — But the Boks' Five-Match Streak Tells a Different Story
Jean de Villiers acknowledges Hansen's logic but argues last year's results and performances make it hard to see the All Blacks closing the gap on the Boks — and the panel get genuinely animated over what a 2-2 series tiebreaker would even look like.
Keo & Zels: Stubborn All Blacks policy make Boks smile
The boys love that New Zealand keep picking their second-best, long may it continue.
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.