Erasmus is content with the character shown in Buenos Aires but unambiguous that the attack needs work before Ellis Park on August 22. He frames the 17-10 win as a deliberate grind rather than an underperformance — seven or eight players were severely underdone for game time after injury layoffs, and he had expected the disjointed spells that materialised. The defensive line, conceding a single try from a fixable offload, gives him something to build on. His broader takeaway is almost a mindset cue for the All Blacks series: knockout-level rugby is always close, and the Boks now have a tight, hostile-crowd win banked as reference material. An intensive Johannesburg camp this week is where the attacking fluency will need to find its feet.
Rassie flags attacking concerns but takes composure lessons into All Blacks week
Erasmus is satisfied with the character shown in a scrappy Buenos Aires win but flags the attack as the clear fix-it priority heading into the Ellis Park clash with the All Blacks on August 22.
- Rassie Erasmus
- Springboks
- New Zealand
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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