With the Boks leading the Greatest Rivalry series 2-1 heading into Baltimore, Taine Randell has put his finger on what went wrong for the All Blacks up front in Soweto. His analysis clears Bower of blame for the loosehead struggles and lands squarely on Lomax, who he says was the one buckling when the Boks generated that penalty-try scrum in the third Test. Randell's broader point is that the current Bok front row — Marx included — is among the best South Africa has ever produced, and that Lomax's physical profile may simply not match up against them. His proposed fix: start or prioritise Fletcher Newell, whose shorter, wider, more compact frame has historically given the All Blacks better purchase at scrum time against the Springboks.
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Randell flags Lomax as Bok scrum liability — and makes the case for Newell at tighthead
Randell identifies Lomax — not Bower — as the All Blacks' scrum weak link against the Boks, and argues Newell's compact build makes him a better stylistic match for this Springbok front row.
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