With the pre-series narrative firmly focused on South Africa supposedly slowing the game down, Erasmus made a deliberate tactical move at Monday's press conference — bringing Peyper rather than a player to front the media. The message was clear: this is a technical and legal argument, not a rugby one. Peyper's core defence rests on the Shape of the Game agreement between coaches and referees, under which the Boks have received zero negative feedback across their five matches this season. He also turned the narrative around, pointing out that historically it's the travelling team that slows things down at altitude — and suggesting that the All Blacks' complaints may partly reflect the low pre-season intensity of their URC opposition rather than any genuine Springbok gamesmanship. Erasmus, typically, found the humour in it — noting that within the 30-second law, teams can do whatever they like, including huddle or pray, before forming the lineout. The piece reads as a co-ordinated Springbok pushback against what they see as a manufactured pre-series narrative, with Peyper's refereeing credentials giving it legal weight.