Appearing on Boks Unpacked, Etzebeth named the 35-7 demolition of New Zealand at Twickenham in August 2023 — not the World Cup final — as his most satisfying moment against the All Blacks. The margin was the point: after absorbing some heavy defeats over the years, he wanted to dish one out. The piece also captures the moment he first heard about the 7/1 bench plan — Erasmus casually floating it in a gym foyer — and Etzebeth's immediate, gleeful reaction. His logic is simple: play flat out for 45 minutes, then hand it over to a pack of fresh forwards. He even floated an 8/0 split with tongue only partly in cheek. Rounding it out, Etzebeth picks Brodie Retallick as his All Blacks lock of choice, citing both their shared Test history and Retallick's world player of the year pedigree.
Etzebeth's favourite All Blacks memory isn't Paris — it's the night the nuke squad was born
Etzebeth picks the 35-7 Twickenham win over the All Blacks as his favourite memory, explains his reaction when Erasmus first proposed the 7/1 bench split, and half-seriously floats an 8/0 option ahead of the Greatest Rivalry series.
- Eben Etzebeth
- Springboks
- New Zealand
- Rugby World Cup
- Rassie Erasmus
Tony Brown to join All Blacks backroom staff in 2028 after Springbok contract ends
NZR have confirmed Tony Brown will join the All Blacks' backroom staff in 2028 on a two-year contract, with the Springboks attack coach set to depart after the 2027 Rugby World Cup. It is the third time NZR have pursued Brown, having previously been rejected during the Foster and Robertson eras.
Brown confirms post-2027 All Blacks move but eyes World Cup glory with Boks first
Springbok attack coach Tony Brown will join Dave Rennie's All Blacks staff from 2028, but remains committed to helping South Africa win a third successive World Cup title before his departure.
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.