Planet Rugby rounds up how New Zealand's rugby press made sense of the 29-24 defeat in Soweto, and the consensus is clear: losing Ardie Savea to a suspected broken arm inside 31 minutes — after he'd already scored twice and was providing the kind of abrasive leadership the All Blacks needed at the breakdown — fundamentally changed the contest. The NZ Herald's Liam Napier and Stuff's Richard Knowler both argue the All Blacks were competitive, even leading 12-5 when Savea went off, but that his absence exposed two pre-existing vulnerabilities: a scrum that was being dismantled and a discipline that frayed as the Boks tightened their grip in the second half. Critically, both writers note the refereeing variable — Nika Amashukeli was far less forgiving of All Blacks scrum collapses than Angus Gardner had been in Cape Town the week before, and the Boks didn't need any front-row trickery from Erasmus this time around. With nine players heading home before Baltimore, the series finale looks increasingly like damage limitation for New Zealand.
NZ media verdict: Savea's exit and a broken scrum cost the All Blacks in Soweto
NZ rugby writers pin the Soweto defeat on Savea's early injury exit and a scrum that was penalised heavily under a stricter referee — with both Napier and Knowler arguing those two factors unravelled an All Blacks side that had otherwise matched the world champions.
- 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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