Veteran New Zealand broadcaster Tony Johnson, joining the Lekker Rugby Pod ahead of the third test, was unambiguous about where momentum sits: the Springboks are now favourites to win the series, and the TAB's odds reflect it. Johnson argued that the second-test victory was built on exactly the kind of pressure-game intelligence that defines this Springbok era — successive phases that force offside penalties, and the discipline to turn field position into points on the board rather than chasing tries. He was pointed about the All Blacks' key failure: two needless penalties in a passage where New Zealand were on attack and could have drawn level, gifting the Springboks a piggyback out of their own half instead. "Those are the decisive moments," Johnson said, "and the Springboks know how to win them — the All Blacks are still learning."
Johnson was genuinely impressed by what Dave Rennie has built in a single year, singling out Cam Roygaard as already one of the most important players in the All Black team and Reuben Love as a player whose hand has been underplayed in this series. But he insisted the experience gap is real — the Boks have ten players over 50 caps to the All Blacks' six, and a far deeper cohort in the 30-cap range — and that it will tell in a decider. His prediction: a scoreline in the same range as the first two tests, with the Springboks likely to take the series, though he admitted the Kiwi in him is hoping to be proved wrong. The full episode is well worth your time for the extended breakdown of the lineout battle, the Feinberg-versus-Love subplot, and Johnson's pointed take on why Etzebeth's ability to identify space in front of the jumper could be the difference at Soccer City.