Dave Rennie is urging the All Blacks not to get carried away after their 33-16 win at Ellis Park — the heaviest defeat of the Erasmus era — with the Cape Town second test now carrying enormous weight. Rennie believes the Boks will 'double down' on their core game plan rather than overhaul it, pointing to scrum dominance and the aerial contest as areas where South Africa will look to correct Saturday's uncharacteristic errors. He's also alert to the stakes: the Boks have lost the world No 1 ranking and, in most fans' eyes, losing the first two tests on home soil would effectively surrender the series regardless of what follows. The other major development is Richie Mo'unga's return to All Black colours for the Lions midweek fixture, with Rennie strongly hinting at a bench role in the test — describing his vision and decision-making as 'next level' and crediting his time in Japan for the improvement.
Rennie expects Bok backlash — and Mo'unga's return adds intrigue to Cape Town test
Rennie warns against complacency after Ellis Park, expects a hardened Bok response in Cape Town, and hints Mo'unga could feature off the bench in the second test after a standout return against the Lions.
- New Zealand
- Springboks
- Rassie Erasmus
- Emirates Lions
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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Hansen's Right to Back Himself — But the Boks' Five-Match Streak Tells a Different Story
Jean de Villiers acknowledges Hansen's logic but argues last year's results and performances make it hard to see the All Blacks closing the gap on the Boks — and the panel get genuinely animated over what a 2-2 series tiebreaker would even look like.