Gavin Rich argues that while the Boks have done enough to avoid the embarrassment of losing a home mini-series to the All Blacks — retaining the Freedom Cup 2-1 in the process — the bigger prize, the inaugural Rugby's Greatest Rivalry trophy, remains undecided heading into Saturday's final test in Baltimore. The series winner takes the trophy, and Rich makes the case that it carries real weight: four tests between the two teams who've won seven of ten World Cups is a harder assignment than any Lions series or World Cup knockout run. A share of the RGR trophy would represent a significant consolation for a New Zealand side that came into this tour as heavy underdogs; for the Boks, adding it to their Erasmus-era haul would cement their claim as the dominant force in world rugby.
On the rugby itself, Rich's reading is that the Boks have been the better team since the Ellis Park defeat, with both the Cape Town and Soweto results more comfortable than the scorelines suggested — late All Black tries flattering the margin each time. The turning point in Soweto was the penalty try and then Malcolm Marx's maul try, which Rich describes as mentally devastating for the Kiwis given how toothless their defence of it was. Erasmus's post-match tone — notably unsatisfied despite the series lead — signals that the Boks are treating Baltimore as the main event, not a dead rubber.