Stephen Donald is making the case that Jordie Barrett — outstanding again in the 50-19 Bledisloe rout of Australia — deserves to be in the conversation for the 2026 World Rugby Player of the Year award. Donald argues Barrett's value goes well beyond the flashy touches: his work rate, his defensive graft, and the relentless consistency of his performances at 12 have simply become his baseline. The historical hook is real too — if Barrett wins, he'd become the first player to share the award with a sibling, following Beauden's back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017. Donald does flag Malcolm Marx as a significant rival and expects at least one Northern Hemisphere contender to feature given how the award tends to be distributed. For Bok fans, the implicit question is whether Marx can defend his 2025 crown against a Barrett who is generating exactly this kind of momentum heading into the award season.
Donald backs Barrett to push Marx for World Rugby's top prize
Stephen Donald is backing Jordie Barrett to challenge Malcolm Marx for the 2026 World Rugby Player of the Year award, arguing Barrett's consistency at 12 for the All Blacks — underscored by another standout display in the Bledisloe — has set a new personal standard. Marx is flagged as the main rival, making this a potential Bok-vs-All Black title fight for the game's top individual honour.
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.