With SA Rugby confirming there will be a decisive winner in the Greatest Rivalry series — no shared trophy — the format of any tiebreaker remains unresolved. On the Boks Unpacked podcast, Burger, Shimange, and De Villiers chewed over the possibilities, and it's De Villiers's take that will raise eyebrows: with three of the four Tests on home soil, he argued the Boks would hold a structural advantage throughout the series, meaning a 2-2 draw should effectively count as a moral victory for the All Blacks. Burger and Shimange weren't buying it. Burger's preference, if extra time can't split them, is to simply share the series rather than resort to a kicking competition — a sentiment De Villiers echoed by invoking the Cardiff Blues-Leicester Tigers nightmare from 2009. SA Rugby's Yusuf Jackson says options like extra time and sudden death are still being explored, so the tiebreaker mechanism is genuinely unresolved.
De Villiers: If it ends 2-2, the All Blacks deserve to win the series
De Villiers argues that if the Greatest Rivalry series ends 2-2, New Zealand should be awarded the win given South Africa's three-game home advantage — a view his co-hosts didn't share. The tiebreaker format remains unconfirmed, with SA Rugby still weighing options, and all three former Boks united in hoping it doesn't come down to a kicking competition.
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.