Despite Hanekom's man-of-the-match effort against Argentina, Erasmus was unusually unambiguous: Wiese is the number eight, full stop. The piece examines what that bluntness signals about Erasmus's mindset heading into the All Blacks series — a position he clearly won't experiment with regardless of form elsewhere. The consolation for Hanekom is that his Buenos Aires performance has likely earned him a bench spot, with Erasmus acknowledging he's 'getting better every game' and settling into the team's system. The piece also covers the squad logistics — Erasmus confirming the 41-man group won't be trimmed, with 15 already home preparing for the first Test in Johannesburg.
Erasmus shuts door on Hanekom at eight — but opens the bench
Erasmus was uncharacteristically blunt: Wiese owns the eight jersey and Hanekom's standout Argentina display changes nothing at the top of the pecking order — though it may well have secured him a bench role for the All Blacks series.
- Jasper Wiese
- Rassie Erasmus
- Springboks
- New Zealand
- Argentina
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.
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.
So how deep is the Springbok squad?
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