Stephen Donald is backing the All Blacks to win the first three Tests on South African soil before handing the Springboks a consolation win in Baltimore — a sweep he likens to the famous 1996 Fitzpatrick-led tour. His confidence is built on what he saw in New Zealand's Nations Championship campaign: a team with the tactical discipline to manage slow ball and adjust their kicking game under pressure. Justin Marshall is more measured, emphasising just how rarely any team wins a series in South Africa — it's only been done once, in '96 — and crediting Rennie's group for the right mindset rather than making bold predictions. Marshall's framing is the more analytically interesting one: the All Blacks have shown they can force elite teams into uncharacteristic errors, but doing it against a Bok side at home, across three Tests, is a different proposition entirely. For Springbok fans, this piece is a useful temperature check on All Blacks confidence levels heading into the Greatest Rivalry Tour.
Donald tips All Blacks for 3-1 series win — but will they actually sweep South Africa?
Stephen Donald tips the All Blacks to sweep the South African leg of the Greatest Rivalry Tour before gifting the Boks the Baltimore finale — Justin Marshall adds context on just how steep that challenge historically is.
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.