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All Blacks Test III selection: Winners and losers as Rennie holds his nerve
Planet Rugby's winners-and-losers breakdown of Rennie's Soweto selection — covering the Ioane snub, Blackadder's bad luck, Aumua's promotion, and why the absences of De Groot and Lord could sting harder than expected given the likely refereeing approach at scrum and lineout.
Paulse backs Nienaber return as Bok defence comes under scrutiny
Paulse believes Erasmus will recruit Nienaber to shore up a Springbok defence the All Blacks have been picking apart — the piece explores whether a reunion is on the cards ahead of 2027.
Willemse tops the world, Kolbe raises a selection question
Planet Rugby ranks Willemse the best fullback on the planet right now, with his pre-injury form for the Boks cited as the benchmark. The list also raises a pointed question about whether Kolbe — who has spent much of his recent club rugby at 15 — deserves a more serious look in that position for South Africa.
Fitzpatrick to All Blacks: Tune out Rassie, focus on the rugby
Fitzpatrick urges the All Blacks to ignore the Rennie-Erasmus noise ahead of the Soweto decider, rates both sides as evenly matched, and sees the series as exactly the World Cup preparation New Zealand needs.
'He's the best 12 in the world'
Ahead of the third consecutive Bok-All Black clash, Morne Esben argues that one Springbok inside centre is the best in the world — the piece makes the case for why the midfield battle could again be the series-defining contest.
Kiwi pundit: Erasmus's last-minute selection changes cross the spirit-of-the-game line
Scotty Stevenson argues Erasmus's last-minute Test selection changes breach the spirit of the game, and that his rule-limit-pushing — entertaining as Dagg finds it — has had genuinely damaging consequences, pointing to the Nic Berry situation as the clearest evidence the line has already been crossed.
The Bok scrum, the West Indies quicks, and rugby's uncomfortable political reality
A column built around the third-test scrum battle frames Amashukeli's officiating as a referendum on whether World Rugby's Australasian power bloc has quietly decided the scrum's fate — drawing a pointed parallel with the ICC's bouncer restrictions on the dominant West Indies pace attack. It also delivers a sharp gala-dinner audit of SA rugby's long history of self-inflicted wounds, and an untold Honiball story that explains just how chaotic the 1996 Bok camp really was.
Bok scrum, West Indies pace attacks, and a Georgian referee who could change everything
The piece frames Saturday's third test scrum battle as a referendum on whether the set piece remains a genuine contest in rugby union — drawing a pointed parallel with the ICC's attempts to limit West Indian fast bowling dominance in the 1990s. Amashukeli's Georgian identity is central to the argument. It also revisits the pre-Rassie era's talent-wasting tendencies through vivid anecdotes from the RGR gala dinner.
Amashukeli's philosophy could reshape the scrum battle in Soweto
Nika Amashukeli's laissez-faire scrum philosophy contrasts sharply with Angus Gardner's micromanagement in Cape Town — and with the series decider in Soweto on the line, the piece argues his approach could meaningfully shift the set-piece dynamic back in the Boks' favour.
Plumtree: Rennie's scrum focus is a strategic mistake
Plumtree says Rennie is fixated on the wrong danger — the full piece explores what the All Blacks should actually be worried about heading into the third Test.
What it takes to crack the All Blacks, according to Rassie
Erasmus, Davids and Stick discuss why beating the All Blacks requires going beyond the Boks' usual gameplan — the clip unpacks what 'extraordinary' looks like in practice.
Kieran Read backs Rennie over Rassie in Springbok scrum row
Read largely supports Rennie's reading of the scrum debate, explaining how SA's leftward shear tactically neutralises the All Blacks' hooker and exposes their tighthead — while noting the technique sits in a grey zone that referees struggle to police.
Smit reads Rennie's scrum accusation as tactical misdirection
Smit argues Rennie's accusation about Bok scrum-time gamesmanship was itself a piece of gamesmanship — misdirection to protect the All Blacks from closer inspection.
Read calls for 6-2 bench and Darry inclusion as All Blacks head into series decider
Kieran Read wants Rennie to go 6-2 for the series decider, bring in Darry to neutralise the Boks' aerial kick-off game, and match South Africa's forward-bench firepower — even if it's a risky call in the backs.
Krappie's message: slow the ruck, slow Roigard
Van den Berg argues the Roigard threat is best neutralised through forward pressure rather than individual marking — and reflects on settling into a more aggressive Bok defensive system after his injury comeback.
Krappie's game plan to neutralise Roigard
Van den Berg is bench-bound but ready — his preparation for Roigard is built around slowing the All Blacks' service and strangling the tempo Roigard thrives on.
Smit: Rennie's scrum attack was a deflection — and the third Test is the real series decider
Smit argues Rennie's scrum allegations were a calculated deflection from New Zealand's own scrum-collapse tactics, and tips the Springboks to deliver a standout performance in Soweto — the match he considers the genuine series decider.
Stephen Donald backs Love to hold No.10 jersey for Soweto decider — and praises Rennie's style shift
Stephen Donald backs Love to keep the No.10 jersey for Soweto despite Mo'unga's return, and draws a clear stylistic contrast between the Rennie and Robertson eras — with the All Blacks' tempo-based game the central thread.
Kieran Read: Rassie is the 'absolute king' of working the refs
Read frames Rassie's post-Cape Town noise as calculated ref-influencing rather than genuine outrage, calling him the 'absolute king' of the tactic — and offers a sharp insight into how officials subconsciously treat the world's top teams when 50/50 calls arise.
Mallett: Feinberg-Mngomezulu silenced his critics with a Pollard-esque Cape Town display
Mallett makes the case that Feinberg-Mngomezulu's Cape Town display — measured, Pollard-like — was exactly the response his critics needed to see. Worth reading for the tactical breakdown of what changed.