The Boks' laboured 17-10 win over Argentina raised eyebrows, but Brenden Nel argues the alarm is largely misplaced. Between the howling Buenos Aires wind, the rustiness of returning URC players getting their first 80 minutes back, and the arm-wrestle nature of any Pumas fixture, the performance tells us very little about what Erasmus actually has planned. The more interesting question Nel raises is whether the kicking-heavy, low-risk approach was deliberate — a calculated decision to bank the win without tipping off New Zealand's analysts. With 15 players and both Tony Brown and Duane Vermeulen already back in South Africa preparing for Ellis Park, the real Springbok gameplan may have been kept firmly under wraps. The piece also notes the Kolisi and Esterhuizen injury concerns, and flags that the All Blacks' early public comments about officiating and game tempo suggest the psychological sparring has already started.
Was the Pumas performance a deliberate act of concealment ahead of the All Blacks series?
Nel argues the Boks' scrappy win over Argentina was more about match fitness and concealment than form — and that Erasmus may have deliberately avoided showing his hand ahead of the Ellis Park test.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Springbok Recall! Relive Phepsi Buthelezi's 2025/26 Season
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