Dave Rennie's post-match assessment cuts to the heart of why the All Blacks lost in Soweto: they built a platform in the first half but couldn't convert it into a commanding lead, then gifted the Boks a foothold through errors that dragged the game into set-piece territory — exactly where South Africa want to live. The decisive sequence started with Will Jordan kicking dead, which led to a scrum, a penalty, and ultimately Malcolm Marx dotting down off a rolling maul from 20 metres — the kind of chain reaction the Boks engineer better than anyone. Rennie concedes his side was dominated at scrum and in the breakdown for a critical mid-second-half window, and that they couldn't wrestle momentum back when it mattered. He's not crying poor — he insists the gap between the sides is marginal — but two Tests in a row lost to discipline lapses and big-moment failures tells its own story.
Rennie pinpoints the momentum shift that handed the Boks the third Test
Rennie identifies errors slowing play into scrum-and-penalty cycles, and a critical mid-second-half Bok dominance window — culminating in Marx's maul try — as the turning points in Soweto. He believes the series is tight but admits the All Blacks must fix discipline and their maul defence before Baltimore.
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.
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.
Keo & Zels: Stubborn All Blacks policy make Boks smile
The boys love that New Zealand keep picking their second-best, long may it continue.
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.