Gavin Rich's second-test wrap centres on the genuine selection dilemma Erasmus faces heading into Saturday's FNB Stadium decider. Rassie had telegraphed a plan to rotate heavily for Cape Town had the Boks won in Johannesburg — but they didn't, so the bulk of the Ellis Park side backed up at DHL Stadium instead. Now, with a third consecutive game looming, he has to decide whether to trust continuity over freshness, knowing the alternative combinations haven't played together in weeks — the same lack of cohesion that cost the Boks in the first test. Rich also flags a tactical concern that cuts through the two-test series pattern: despite winning the power game in both tests, the Boks have conceded nine tries to four across 160 minutes, and the All Blacks — far more dangerous than Rennie's teams of recent years by Erasmus's own admission — have shown a clear ability to avoid contact and keep the ball alive. The refereeing of the scrum in Cape Town is identified as a significant factor, with Bok dominance in that phase effectively neutralised. Willemse is confirmed out with a hamstring injury, opening the door for a Libbok/Feinberg-Mngomezulu combination that showed promise off the bench. Etzebeth's form is the standout positive — 18 tackles, lineout disruption, carrying throughout — but whether he goes again for a third straight week is part of the selection puzzle Rassie must solve before Monday's announcement.
Rassie's Soweto selection puzzle: back up or change up?
Rich unpacks the selection dilemma Erasmus faces for Soweto: his original rotation plan was built on a 2-0 lead that never materialised, the All Blacks are proving harder to physically wear down than anticipated, and an Etzebeth in career-best form headlining a squad that's backed up twice must now do it all again in what amounts to a mini-decider.
- Rassie Erasmus
- Springboks
- FNB Stadium
- DHL Stadium
- New Zealand
- Damian Willemse
- Manie Libbok
- Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
- Eben Etzebeth
Why 'Gazza' Willemse is the insurance policy Bok fans should trust
Rich maps the 2022 injury-to-opportunity parallel to argue that Libbok and Willemse provide Erasmus real cover at 10 — and that Bok fans fretting about Feinberg-Mngomezulu's absence are underselling the depth already in the system.
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.
So how deep is the Springbok squad?
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