New Zealand broadcaster Martin Devlin joined the Lekker Rugby Pod to size up the looming four-test series, and his assessment was bracingly honest: the All Blacks are arriving as underdogs, and he's fine with that. Devlin argued that Dave Rennie has rebuilt cohesion and introduced a high-tempo, carry-heavy game plan that no other team — not Ireland, not France — currently executes better, but he was quick to add that the Nations Championship opponents were essentially warm-up fodder compared to what awaits. His bigger concern was combination time: co-host Harry pointed out that the Springboks have never yet fielded their best team together, with Siya Kolisi returning from injury and Handré Pollard having played almost no rugby this season — and Devlin agreed that replacing a fan belt with pantyhose might work in a pinch, but it's not the same thing.
The sharpest exchange came around Rassie Erasmus's 43-player rotation across three tests. Devlin framed it as a philosophical contrast: the Boks operate from an NFL-scale playbook built on depth and system trust, while Rennie has had to use 34 players just to find his best combinations. Both approaches carry risk heading into a series where, as Devlin put it bluntly, the only currency is the W — and losing twice in South Africa would immediately reopen every question about Rennie's tenure. The full episode is worth a listen for Devlin's extended heavyweight boxing framework for the two coaches, his read on the All Blacks' new 9-10-12 axis of Cam Roigard, Ruben Love and Jordie Barrett, and a genuinely funny sidebar about meeting Joe Frazier.