Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger reckon NZ Rugby's refusal to grant Mo'unga an eligibility exemption is plain stupid — and that a convenient 'injury' will ultimately get him on the plane to South Africa anyway. Mo'unga is blocked from Test rugby until October under NZR rules requiring him to first play NPC, a consequence of his decision to leave on his own terms after the 2023 World Cup rather than under an NZR-sanctioned arrangement like Savea's. Dave Rennie has pushed for an exception and been knocked back. Burger and De Villiers are sceptical that NZ Rugby will hold that line once the series against the Boks gets closer — and both are clear that SA Rugby would never let a technicality keep a match-winner off the field for a series this big.
De Villiers and Burger expect Mo'unga 'injury' workaround as NZ Rugby holds firm
De Villiers and Burger expect a creative injury workaround to get Mo'unga into the All Blacks squad for the August-September Springbok series, with both slamming NZ Rugby's rigid eligibility stance as needlessly self-defeating.
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.
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.