Taine Randell's take on the Greatest Rivalry series cuts to something worth sitting with: the All Blacks actually scored more points and more tries across the three South African Tests, yet head into Baltimore 2-1 down. His explanation is that Springbok physicality ground New Zealand down over successive weeks in a way their roster and scheduling simply couldn't absorb — particularly in the back halves of Tests two and three, where the Boks dominated after the All Blacks had controlled the bomb-squad phase. Randell frames it as a contest between craftsmen and bullies, and concedes the bullies won. He also flags the coaching experience gap — nine years of Erasmus building a system versus Dave Rennie's first year — as a structural advantage that only became more visible as the series wore on. With the series decider in Baltimore still to come, Randell's analysis raises the question of whether the All Blacks have enough left to close it out when the physical ledger is already against them.