Every story on the wire.
2,077 items · Analysis
Bower wants to scrum — and says the All Blacks are coming for the Boks up front
Bower dismisses the idea that the All Blacks are scrummaging to avoid contact, arguing they've absorbed lessons from Tests one and two and are actively targeting the set-piece as a contest — with Saturday's first scrum likely to set the tone for the series decider.
Conrad Smith: Bok midfield experience is the edge over the All Blacks
Conrad Smith argues the Boks' more experienced midfield pairing gives them a decisive advantage over the All Blacks in Saturday's series decider at FNB Stadium.
White: All Blacks have cracked the Bok scrum code
White reframes the All Blacks' 'walking around' complaints as tactical flattery — they've clocked a Bok scrum ploy and started copying it.
Jacobson flags collision work as his Test-series yardstick against the Boks
Jacobson is self-critical about his collision work from the Cape Town defeat and frames the Springboks as the hardest physical test in the game, while reflecting on the rarity of a three-Test tour to South Africa and what it means for his career.
From nearly quitting to global superstar: Kolbe's road in his own words
Kolbe opens up on nearly quitting rugby at 19, the Dobson prediction that changed his trajectory, the unsentimental reality of his Bok call-up in 2018, and why coming home to the Stormers felt right — a rare long-form look at the contingencies behind one of the Springboks' most celebrated careers.
Conrad Smith: Bok midfield experience is the edge over the All Blacks
Smith argues the Boks' more experienced midfield combination gives them a key edge over the All Blacks in the third Test — a pointed pre-match read from a man who understands that particular battlefield.
Stick to the main road: Why Bok power game is still the key to winning the series decider
Gavin Rich argues the decider hinges on whether the Boks get their scrum weapon back, stick to a power-game blueprint rather than chasing All Black tempo, and clean up a defensive frailty that won't be fixed overnight — with referee Amashukheli's Georgian scrum heritage a key variable.
Gopperth: Kolisi and Savea embody the best of the Bok-All Black rivalry
Gopperth says the Kolisi-Savea relationship is the human face of what makes the Bok-All Blacks contest so enduring — the full piece digs into why.
Kolisi and Savea: The friendship that defines the rivalry
Gopperth holds up the Kolisi-Savea friendship as the human essence of what makes Boks-All Blacks the world's best Test rivalry.
The Rassie double standard: Why the global media plays by different rules
Nel builds a point-by-point case that Erasmus is held to a standard no other top coach faces — documenting the language used against him, contrasting it with how Rennie's similar conduct is framed, and arguing the hostility is ultimately about winning without deference.
Rennie downplays scrum spat — but the mind games are clearly still running
Rennie brushes off the scrum spat as competitive noise, confirms both teams have submitted footage to officials ahead of the decider, and jokes about the awkwardness of sharing a flight to the US with whoever loses in Soweto.
Rennie's Soweto XI: Combination-building over bold calls — and a bench decision that could cost the All Blacks
Rennie's Soweto selection is less about bold calls and more about fatigue management and combination continuity — but the piece's sharpest point is that sticking with a 5-3 bench split, rather than loading up on forwards as the Boks do, may prove costly when the match tightens in the final quarter.
Gopperth: Erasmus 'sussed out' All Blacks kicking game — and Kolisi-Savea moment is what rugby's about
Gopperth identifies the key tactical adjustment Erasmus made in Cape Town — exploiting New Zealand's retreating high-ball system with short kicks — while rating Erasmus as the series' decisive coaching edge. He still fancies the All Blacks to stay in it if Barrett gets ball in hand and the lineout returns, but acknowledges South Africa have the series read right so far.
Lex Luthor or double standard? The media's Erasmus problem laid bare
Nel argues the international media holds Erasmus to a standard no other successful coach faces — treating identical coaching behaviour as villainy from one man and innovation from another — and traces the pattern through specific incidents this tour and beyond.
The Rassie Show: Genius distraction or double-edged sword heading into the decider?
The column credits Erasmus with masterful narrative control across the series but questions whether the Rassie show — which has successfully buried an unflattering 9–4 try count and a visible All Blacks fitness edge — is about to start working against his own team as much as against the opposition heading into the Cape Town decider.
Four fronts where the Boks hold the edge going into the series decider
Louw breaks down four structural advantages the Boks carry into the Soweto decider — scrum dominance, aerial superiority, scoreboard discipline, and the psychological pressure of Erasmus's game-management — while acknowledging the All Blacks' genuine threat in the final quarter.
Lakai and Bower flagged as All Blacks' physical X-factors for third Test
Hermanus identifies Lakai and Bower as the All Blacks' key physical weapons for the third Test, arguing their pace and power could be the difference in the series decider.
All Blacks third Test selection: Who gains, who loses — and what it means for Soweto
A winners-and-losers read on Rennie's Soweto selection — Ioane's snub, the 6-2 bench decision, and why De Groot and Lord's absence could be decisive given the referee change.
Paulse expects Nienaber reunion as Bok defence comes under scrutiny
Paulse thinks Erasmus will reunite with Nienaber to shore up a Bok defence that the All Blacks have been picking apart — the piece explores why and what it could mean for the 2027 build-up.
Matfield fires back as Kirwan admits Springbok rugby 'bores me to tears'
Kirwan says Springbok rugby bores him, Matfield tells him to worry about winning instead of aesthetics — a sharp proxy debate for the contrasting styles at the heart of this series.