John Kirwan came away from the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series genuinely impressed by the Springboks — not just by the results, but by the standard they set. He places this Bok side alongside the 2011–2015 All Blacks in terms of dominance: a team capable of winning ugly, playing with relentless physicality and intensity. His message to the All Blacks heading into the Bledisloe opener is simple — bottle what the Boks forced out of them and bring it to Eden Park without the same opposition on the other side. Kirwan credits the All Blacks for matching South Africa physically across the series, but flags individual decision-making errors and scrum vulnerability as the gaps that cost them. The piece is less about the Wallabies and more about what the Bok series revealed about where the All Blacks genuinely stand.
Kirwan: Boks showed the All Blacks exactly who they need to be
Kirwan uses the Bok series as a blueprint for what the All Blacks must replicate — their intensity, physicality and desperation — now that South Africa isn't on the other side to force it out of them.
- Springboks
- New Zealand
- Eden Park
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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.