Joel Stransky has drawn a striking comparison between Kolisi and Nelson Mandela, arguing that Kolisi carries a similar unifying force — that his presence alone lifts the team and drives a culture where players genuinely play for each other and the country. The piece frames his return from injury to captain the Boks this weekend as timely and significant. The other thread worth noting is Stransky's read on Pieter-Steph du Toit's 100th cap: he suspects Rassie deliberately held the milestone over from Argentina to land it at DHL Newlands, in Cape Town, in front of du Toit's home crowd and against the All Blacks. Whether that's true or not, Stransky's point is that it's exactly the kind of long-range thinking that characterises how Erasmus manages the Bok environment.
Stransky draws Mandela parallel as Kolisi returns — and credits Rassie for orchestrating du Toit's 100th
Stransky likens Kolisi's leadership aura to Mandela's, while arguing Rassie deliberately engineered du Toit's 100th cap to fall at home in Cape Town against the All Blacks — the kind of detail that reveals how carefully the Bok environment is managed.
- Siya Kolisi
- Springboks
- Pieter-Steph du Toit
- Rassie Erasmus
- New Zealand
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.
Nché injury concern headlining Bok casualty list ahead of Scotland clash at Loftus
Rassie Erasmus is sweating over the fitness of Ox Nché, Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and André Esterhuizen ahead of Saturday's Nations Championship match against Scotland at Loftus, after all four picked up injuries during or before the 45-21 win over England at Ellis Park.
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.