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Kolisi and Kolbe race against clock ahead of Cape Town Test as injury toll mounts
Siya Kolisi and Cheslin Kolbe are both racing to be fit for Saturday's Test in Cape Town, with Grant Williams, Ben-Jason Dixon and Canan Moodie already ruled out through injury.
Kolisi vs De Villiers, Pollard's big-game case, and a steadier Bomb Squad — five Bok takeaways
Five analytical takeaways from the Test Two squad: the Kolisi-De Villiers either-or at openside, why Pollard is the right call for a must-respond match, and how Erasmus has reshuffled the Bomb Squad to avoid a repeat meltdown.
SFM Isn't the Problem — The System Is. But He Still Has Things to Learn
SFM's Ellis Park difficulties were as much a structural failure as a personal one — the piece forensically breaks down how New Zealand and the Springbok game plan between them dismantled all three of his attacking modes, while still holding him accountable for the pressure-management errors that are genuinely his to fix. The prescription for how Erasmus should use him from here, and when a start becomes the right call, makes this essential reading.
Kolbe and Kolisi in fitness race ahead of All Blacks clash in Cape Town
Cheslin Kolbe is carrying a hamstring and ankle injury ahead of the All Blacks Test in Cape Town, while Siya Kolisi's availability hinges on Monday's training session after his hamstring strain from the Argentina match in Buenos Aires.
Ellis Park loss forces Erasmus to ditch squad rotation plans
Cardinelli argues the Ellis Park defeat has forced Erasmus to abandon his load-management blueprint, pulling key veterans back into the Cape Town 23 earlier than planned — with real consequences for how the Boks can rotate across the remaining two Tests.
Du Toit's 100th cap headlines a heavily overhauled Bomb Squad as Erasmus resets for Cape Town
Erasmus has mirrored his post-Joburg reset from 2023 by recalling Pollard and overhauling the Bomb Squad for Cape Town, with Du Toit's 100th cap and Fourie's record-breaking return adding emotional weight to what is primarily a bench-driven tactical correction.
Pollard returns as Erasmus shuffles fly-half pack for Cape Town decider
Handré Pollard will start at fly-half for the Springboks in Saturday's second Test against New Zealand at Cape Town Stadium, with head coach Rassie Erasmus citing the double World Cup winner's ability to deliver under extreme pressure. The selection sees Pollard return to the starting XV after South Africa's 16-33 defeat at Ellis Park, where Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu wore the number 10 jersey. The match offers the Springboks a chance to level the Greatest Rivalry series and maintain their recent dominance over the All Blacks.
Pieter-Steph du Toit set for 100th cap as Springboks field record 1,012-cap starting XV against All Blacks in Cape Town
Pieter-Steph du Toit reaches his 100th cap in Cape Town as the Springboks field a record 1,012-cap starting XV against the All Blacks, with Kolisi, Pollard, Reinach and Hooker among three changes from the side beaten 16-33 at Ellis Park.
Erasmus backs Pollard to start at 10 as Feinberg-Mngomezulu waits
Erasmus has retained Handré Pollard at fly-half for the second Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town, pointing to his ability to deliver under pressure over Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
Five moments that cost the Boks a series opener they should have won
Coetzee pinpoints five moments — including a costly scrum gamble that went against explicit coaching instructions and a double yellow-card collapse — that explain how the Boks dominated large parts of the Ellis Park opener yet handed the All Blacks the result through execution failures.
Erasmus gamble on Williams backfires as All Blacks expose familiar flaw
The Springboks' decision to start Grant Williams at scrumhalf proved costly in their 33-16 defeat to New Zealand at Ellis Park, with all five All Blacks tries coming against the diminutive No.9. Williams and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who had started together just once before at Test level, lost control of the game as the visitors' defensive pressure forced errors. Rassie Erasmus has since recalled Cobus Reinach and Handre Pollard for the second Test.
Parsons: Williams-SFM gamble backfired as All Blacks exposed a defensive trend the Boks couldn't handle
Parsons argues the Williams/SFM gamble was the catalyst, but the deeper story is how New Zealand's refined 'time-in-the-tackle' defensive system neutralised the Bok carrying game — and why a rusty, underprepared Springbok side had no answer for it.
Erasmus explains Kolisi bracketing ahead of Cape Town Test
Erasmus has bracketed Kolisi for Saturday's Cape Town Test to monitor his condition, while also singling out Du Toit and Nchè ahead of milestone caps.
The Williams problem: How All Blacks systematically exposed South Africa's No.9 selection
Smith's forensic breakdown of the Auckland Test argues that all five All Blacks tries traced directly back to systematic exploitation of Grant Williams — through defensive mismatches, passing rhythm issues, and deliberate set-piece targeting — and that Erasmus effectively repeated a selection error New Zealand already had a recipe for.
How the Boks won the physical battle but lost the war at Ellis Park
Coetzee's five-moment breakdown makes a compelling case that the Boks didn't lose this one — they gave it away, with the failed scrum gamble in the 50th minute the clearest example of execution and decision-making letting down a dominant physical performance.
Kolisi and Pollard return as Rassie revamps Boks for second All Blacks Test
Kolisi and Pollard are back in the Springbok team for the second Test against the All Blacks, with Erasmus ringing the changes.
Ex-All Black backs Carley's Savea call — and explains why it was the 'double whammy' that ended South Africa
Strachan walks through the law behind Carley's correct Savea no-card ruling, breaks down how the subsequent double yellow effectively ended the contest, and assesses the scrum battle and All Blacks' composure as the defining threads of the first Test.
Rassie's right — the RGR series is far from over, but the Boks conspired against themselves at Ellis Park
Rich argues the Ellis Park loss was partly self-inflicted — tactical scrum errors, a lost referee-influence battle against Rennie, and Bok inconsistency — but maintains the series is still the Boks' to win, with the All Blacks' resilience unlikely to hold across three weeks.
D-Mac rates Ellis Park win over Boks among his All Blacks career highlights
McKenzie rates the Ellis Park result among his career bests but warns the All Blacks expect a wounded Springbok side to come out swinging in Cape Town, with the series very much alive across four Tests.
Mallett criticises Springbok halfbacks after All Blacks defeat at Ellis Park
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett has identified Grant Williams and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as the key reasons behind South Africa's 33-16 defeat to New Zealand in Johannesburg. Mallett singled out the halfback pairing for their inability to capitalise on numerous attacking opportunities, rating both players four out of ten for their performance.