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Five selection signals from Erasmus ahead of the All Blacks series
Erasmus has used the Argentina squad as a preview of his All Blacks thinking — SFM's return, Louw's omission, and a second-row logjam are the key threads this piece unpacks.
Rugby's Greatest Rivalry: Full fixture list, match officials and what's at stake
The full schedule, match officials and context for the eight-match Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour — four provincial games followed by a four-Test series, culminating in Baltimore on 12 September.
Hansen warns All Blacks: Stormers will come to hurt you
Hansen warns the All Blacks that a Stormers side hungry to impress Erasmus will bring dangerous intensity to Friday's tour opener — while Bell's calf injury and young Yaqeen Ahmed's potential flyhalf start add further intrigue.
Dulce de leche and daggers: Kitshoff and Nyakane's Buenos Aires survival guide
Kitshoff and Nyakane warn the younger Boks that Buenos Aires hospitality is as dangerous as Pumas physicality — switch off mentally and Argentina's relentless intensity will make you pay. The podcast appearance doubles as a sharp tactical breakdown of what the Springboks need to do to shut the crowd down early and manage Argentina's second-half emotional resurgence.
SFM back, Kolisi returns, and an unlucky trio misses the cut — Bok team for Argentina dissected
Feinberg-Mngomezulu returns at flyhalf, Kolisi and the Etzebeth–De Jager lock pairing are back, and three players with legitimate claims miss the matchday cut entirely — the piece breaks down every winner and loser from Erasmus's 13-change team for Buenos Aires.
Erasmus sets realistic bar for Argentina as Etzebeth and De Jager ease back in
Erasmus is managing expectations for the Argentina fixture, framing it as a reintegration exercise for Etzebeth, De Jager and Feinberg-Mngomezulu rather than a performance showcase — with the six-two bench split and his candid 'won't be perfect' admission pointing squarely at All Blacks series preparation.
Five things Erasmus's Argentina selection tells us ahead of the All Blacks series
The Argentina selection is really a window into Erasmus's All Blacks planning — Feinberg-Mngomezulu's return, the second-row injury recovery, Louw's omission and the back-row succession question all point to decisions that will define the Greatest Rivalry series.
Rassie eyes Buenos Aires challenge, not Argentina's disciplinary baggage
Erasmus is refusing to engage with Argentina's discipline controversy ahead of the Buenos Aires Test, calling it an anomaly and redirecting attention to the genuine difficulty of winning in Argentina — where the Boks have suffered their worst defeat under his tenure. With 10 new faces in the Pumas squad and their players scattered across Europe, Erasmus flags real preparation challenges while drawing a telling contrast in how the two nations build squad cohesion.
Buenos Aires is no warm-up — it's Erasmus's audition for the All Blacks series
Cardinelli argues Saturday's Buenos Aires Test is far more than a warm-up — it's Erasmus's audition for his returning veterans ahead of the All Blacks series, with the added pressure of a three-year Argentina away drought and a bench selection that signals just how seriously the coaches are treating the fixture.
The All Blacks are back on tour in South Africa — here's the full picture
The All Blacks' first full South African tour in 30 years kicks off this week: four franchise fixtures, a four-test series, and a Springbok Women clash against the Black Ferns — full schedule and officials included.
Grounded and focused: SFM's return is built on humility, not hype
Rich's Buenos Aires dispatch reveals a more grounded SFM — one leaning on the Twickenham reality check rather than the Kings Park highlight reel, and treating his return as a foundation-building exercise rather than a statement.
Percy Montgomery's favourite Bok dressing room story — and why it had Rassie fuming
Montgomery shares a dressing room prank story that had a younger Rassie Erasmus fuming — worth the click for the Bok changeroom colour.
Kolisi the least of Erasmus's worries as injury-heavy Boks brace for Buenos Aires grind
Erasmus has flagged Etzebeth and De Jager's match fitness — not Kolisi's — as the real concern for Buenos Aires, with a heavily rotated and injury-affected squad targeting a result over a performance.
Kolisi's comeback is the least of Rassie's worries ahead of Buenos Aires grind
Erasmus names 13 changes for Buenos Aires and openly expects an imperfect performance — the piece breaks down his match-fitness calculus across a raft of returning players, with Etzebeth and De Jager's minutes the real concern rather than Kolisi's comeback.
Mystery Pumas: Why Argentina's unpredictability is their biggest weapon against the Boks
Argentina's reshaped squad — ten potential debutants, key absentees, and an ambiguous tactical identity — may be their greatest asset against the Boks. Bester argues the genuine uncertainty about Contepomi's gameplan makes preparation unusually difficult for Erasmus, even without Argentina needing to rely on their traditional strengths.
Davids: Argentina is no warm-up — Boks must be ready for a war in Buenos Aires
Davids warns against any complacency heading into Buenos Aires, framing Argentina as a genuine threat with their own ambitions — while confirming the returns of Etzebeth, De Jager, and Feinberg-Mngomezulu are carefully managed but ready.
Kirwan: All Blacks forward pack must be heroes to beat the Boks
Kirwan backs the All Blacks to win the series but says the forward pack must match the Springbok scrum to have any chance — and warns that tactical surprise will be minimal given how much New Zealand have already revealed about their game.
More than a series: why the Boks vs All Blacks rivalry stands alone
Nel argues the Bok-All Black rivalry occupies a category of its own — shaped as much by the 1981 political fracture, decades of controversy, and shared rugby obsession as by the on-field battles. With a new series about to begin, he makes the case that no fixture in world rugby carries the same weight.
Sititi flags Stormers threat as All Blacks open tour in Cape Town
Sititi rates De Villiers as a genuine threat and highlights the Stormers' powerful but ball-in-hand forward pack as the key challenge in Friday's All Blacks tour opener.
Matfield backs De Allende to settle the world's best 12 debate against Barrett
Matfield calls De Allende the world's best 12 ahead of the Greatest Rivalry Series, setting up a direct verdict contest against Jordie Barrett — with John Kirwan taking the other side of the bet.