The decision to rest Ardie Savea for the early legs of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour is analysed here as a double-edged sword for Dave Rennie. The welfare logic is sound — Savea has been playing continuously since January 2025 — and Rennie's reasoning is that arriving 10 days before the first Test fresh is better than grinding through warm-up matches half-cooked. But the piece argues this carries real risk: Savea arrives without any match rhythm while his teammates will already have tour legs under them, and there's a legitimate question about squad dynamics when one player is visibly placed on a different footing to everyone else. The piece also probes what it signals to the 43 other squad members competing for test spots — are they holding jerseys in trust, or do they have a genuine chance? The Boks, the piece concludes, will be looking to exploit whatever edge this creates.
Rennie's Savea gamble raises more questions than it answers
Rennie's call to rest Savea for the tour's opening weeks is defensible on welfare grounds, but this piece argues it creates squad dynamic questions and match-sharpness risk — and that the Boks will be watching closely for any edge it hands them.
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.