Every story on the wire.
2,956 items · Springboks
Nigel Owens backs Rassie: if it's within the rules, it's fair game
Nigel Owens defends Erasmus's last-minute front-row switch before the Cape Town Test, arguing the 'spirit of the game' criticism is misplaced — if it's legal under the agreed series rules, a world-class coach is entitled to use it. He draws the same parallel Bok fans will remember from the Bomb Squad debate.
Burger links pre-match media warfare to World Rugby's officiating policy change
Burger argues World Rugby's ban on one-on-one referee meetings has pushed coaches into using the media as their lobbying channel — and suggests reverting the policy to bring the pre-match noise back behind closed doors.
Matfield's five hardest opponents: Shaw tops the list, McCaw was everywhere, O'Connell was in his head
Matfield's five hardest career opponents reveal as much about his own game as theirs — Collins's physicality, Williams's lineout chess, O'Connell's homework, McCaw's referee intelligence, and above all Simon Shaw's unglamorous but brutally effective professionalism in the 2009 Lions series.
Kolisi vows Springboks will thank South African fans through effort in Soweto decider
Siya Kolisi has emphasised the significance of Saturday's clash with New Zealand at Soccer City, describing the match as an opportunity to thank supporters through performance rather than words. The Springboks captain acknowledged the historical weight of playing in Soweto, a township synonymous with South Africa's struggle for freedom, and said the team is targeting victory in the series decider before the exhibition fixture in Baltimore.
Kolisi draws on Soweto's history ahead of series-deciding All Blacks clash
Kolisi has drawn on Soweto's struggle history as motivation to end South Africa's losing record at Soccer City, with the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series tied 1-1 ahead of Saturday's third test.
Kolisi: Rain or shine, the Boks' gameplan doesn't move
Kolisi's pre-match presser ahead of the Soweto Test carried a clear dual message: the Boks' gameplan is weather-proof, and the team sees the result as the only fitting tribute to South African fans.
Rennie's mind games and his obsession with mobile forwards
Kebble lifts the lid on Rennie's media-pressure tactics against Erasmus and his blueprint for mobile, ball-playing forwards — useful intel for anyone tracking the Bok-All Blacks rivalry.
The mind behind the Boks: Barry Murphy on what makes Felix Jones tick
Barry Murphy offers a revealing character study of Felix Jones — crediting his bandmate-turned-Bok assistant with driving the contestable kick law change, explaining the England exit as a values mismatch, and painting the Erasmus-Jones partnership as a meeting of two unusually driven minds.
Hansen: Don't compete — stay low and hit them hard
Hansen pinpoints the Cape Town restart and lineout competition as the decisions that gifted the Boks their early platform, and argues the All Blacks must stay low and physically dominate at the breakdown in Johannesburg rather than give the maul another inch.
Erasmus eyes hybrid role for De Villiers but rules out hooker switch
Erasmus has ruled out a hooker role for Paul de Villiers but sees the Stormers flank as a potential hybrid option across six and 12, in the mould of André Esterhuizen, while making clear that Siya Kolisi remains first choice at number six.
Kolisi: Boks playing to win series, not settle for draw at FNB
Siya Kolisi has underlined the stakes ahead of Saturday's third Test against New Zealand at FNB Stadium, insisting the Springboks are targeting a series victory rather than a draw. With the Freedom Cup on the line and the All Blacks eyeing a 2-1 claim on South African soil, assistant coach Mzwandile Stick warned that losing would hand New Zealand the psychological edge heading into the final fixture in Baltimore.
Sititi siblings set to make All Blacks and Black Ferns history at FNB Stadium
Wallace Sititi and his 19-year-old sister Amarante will both represent New Zealand at FNB Stadium on Saturday — against the Springboks and Springbok Women respectively — becoming the first All Black and Black Ferns sibling pairing in 28 years, with their father Semo Sititi, the former Manu Samoa captain, watching from the stands.
Savea: 'You can't give the Boks a hand up — they're world champions for a reason'
Savea's pre-match media session is a frank admission that Cape Town was lost in the margins — and a clear-eyed breakdown of what the All Blacks must do differently in Soweto to stay alive in the series.
Soweto is the real final — Stick and Kolisi spell out exactly what's at stake
Bester argues the Soweto Test is the series' true decider — Stick's key point being that an All Blacks win hands them a 2-1 South Africa series narrative to carry into Baltimore, the kind of historical sentence that outlasts everyone involved.
Mallett: All Blacks are losing the scrum argument, so they're changing the subject
Mallett argues the All Blacks are challenging the legitimacy of the Bok scrum precisely because they can't match it — a deflection that, in his view, concedes the argument.
Weather threat won't alter All Blacks' approach, insists Savea
New Zealand captain Ardie Savea has dismissed concerns over forecast rain and thunderstorms ahead of Saturday's decisive third Test against South Africa at Soccer City. The All Blacks skipper stressed his side must improve across the board after last week's 33–26 defeat in Cape Town left the series level at 1–1.
Savea warns All Blacks must be clinical in decider as weather threatens Soccer City
Ardie Savea says bad weather at Soccer City will not change New Zealand's game plan but acknowledges the All Blacks must be more clinical than they were in Cape Town, where a poor start cost them the second test 33-26 and left the series level at 1-1.
Israel Dagg flags Nche and Marx as the All Blacks' biggest danger men in Soweto
Dagg singles out Nche and Marx as the All Blacks' primary physical threat in Saturday's series decider, while crediting New Zealand's scrum improvement in Cape Town as reason for cautious optimism.
Tony Johnson: 'The needle has moved back to the Springboks' ahead of Lions series decider
Tony Johnson told the Lekker Rugby Pod that momentum has swung back to the Springboks ahead of the series decider, pointing to their mastery of pressure rugby and the All Blacks' costly penalty concessions in the second test as the decisive factor.
Mexted backs Aumua to take the fight to Marx in hooker battle of the Rugby Championship
Mexted backs Aumua's All Blacks starting selection as a form reward and a deliberate tactical counter to Marx, with Taukei'aho's bench role creating a potent hooker combination — though lineout reliability remains the lingering concern.