Ardie Savea's deliberate exclusion from the early legs of the Greatest Rivalry tour — a call that surprised many back home — looks like smart load management in hindsight. Returning for his 110th cap and 18th appearance against the Boks, Savea says the enforced break reset him physically and mentally after a 19-month stretch that ran from Super Rugby through a Japanese sabbatical. Speaking ahead of Saturday's Ellis Park Test, he's predictably bullish: respecting the Boks as a world-class outfit while insisting the All Blacks belong in the same conversation. The key themes from his media session — winning the first Test to set the series tone, staying disciplined in the penalty count, and embracing the brutal psychological grind that Bok Tests always become — suggest New Zealand are approaching this as a four-week campaign rather than a standalone fixture. Whether the freshened-up captain can back the talk is the question Saturday answers.
Savea refreshed and ready to 'go to dark places' against the Boks
Savea returns for his 110th cap after a deliberate rest period, talking up Test-series strategy, penalty discipline, and the unique psychological brutality of playing the Boks — with Ellis Park as the opening act.
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.