After New Zealand levelled the Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1 in Cape Town, Dave Rennie went public with complaints that the Springbok scrum is illegally 'walking around' — and promised World Rugby feedback. Erasmus wasn't having it. His counter-argument is pointed: the first six scrums in the match all collapsed on New Zealand's ball and were simply reset without incident, so why is the "walking around" narrative only surfacing when the All Blacks are under pressure at their own set piece? He frames Rennie's comments as a deliberate referee-lobbying exercise rather than a legitimate technical grievance, and broadened the attack to include four unpenalised head-contact incidents in the first half and a crooked lineout — things he chose not to complain about publicly. The subtext is clear: Erasmus sees this as a pressure campaign ahead of the third test in Johannesburg, and he's drawing the battle lines early.
Erasmus fires back at Rennie's scrum-walking claims
Erasmus has pushed back hard on Rennie's post-match scrum complaints, calling them a media-pressure tactic rather than a legitimate concern — and pointing to New Zealand's own set-piece issues as evidence the criticism is selective.
- New Zealand
- Springboks
- Rassie Erasmus
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.
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.
So how deep is the Springbok squad?
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