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All Blacks admit scrum work in progress — and they want referees to sort out the time-wasting problem
All Blacks management and tour captain Codie Taylor are openly flagging frustration with South Africa's tempo-control tactics, while admitting their scrum is still a work in progress ahead of the August 22 Test. Taylor puts the onus on referees to manage game speed — and concedes the Springbok scrum has earned its reputation as the world's best.
Meyer: Bok depth and set-piece dominance give edge in Greatest Rivalry series
Meyer tips the Boks to take the series, pointing to superior depth and a set-piece that he rates as the best in the world — and arguing that New Zealand's NZ-only selection policy has left Rennie without the resources to match it.
Rennie: Bulls clash still shapes All Blacks Test selection
Rennie has a Test XV in mind but says the Bulls match can still 'tilt' selection — winger depth and the Roigard backup role at nine are the key undecided positions heading into the Greatest Rivalry series.
Latsha: Last week's 55-12 win means nothing — the reset starts now
Latsha is using the USA series slip-up as motivation to avoid a repeat against Fiji — her focus on reset mentality, clinical execution, and a first cap for Tshiremba makes this a revealing look at how the Bok Women are managing back-to-back Tests on tour.
Fleck: Rennie is the toughest coach I've faced — and the Boks need to match his edge
Fleck singles out Rennie as the standout coaching operator he's faced, warning the Boks that matching the All Blacks' brutal edge — not just their structure — is the key to the Rugby Championship contest.
Kronfeld: Tony Brown is the Boks' danger factor — and the All Blacks' biggest problem
Kronfeld argues Tony Brown is the Springboks' 'danger factor' because he breaks the predictability that traditionally made them beatable — and warns the All Blacks have a habit of playing into Bok strengths rather than exposing their weaknesses.
Bulls v All Blacks: Rennie's last audition before Ellis Park
A match preview that doubles as a Rennie selection audit — unpacking which Test spots (blindside, wing, scrum-half backup) are still live heading into the Springbok series, and where the Bulls' set-piece and altitude advantage could complicate the All Blacks' preparation.
Beast: Bok forward pack will overwhelm the All Blacks
Beast predicts a Springbok series win built on forward supremacy, tipping South Africa to sweep the home Tests while conceding the Baltimore finale could go the All Blacks' way.
All Blacks expect their toughest tour test at Loftus before the Springbok series
A match preview and prediction for Bulls vs All Blacks at Loftus, framed around Rennie's final selection push before the Springbok Tests — with analysis of the set-piece battle, key head-to-heads, and an All Blacks win by 20 predicted.
Rewind: Carter's 62m monster at Loftus
A Loftus throwback: Carter's 62m penalty against the Boks in 2006, revisited ahead of the All Blacks' Bulls clash in Pretoria.
Marx tops the world: Planet Rugby ranks the game's best hookers
Marx is ranked the world's best hooker by Planet Rugby — built on his 2025 Rugby Championship try-scoring, World Rugby Player of the Year honours, and a post-injury Nations Championship that reminded everyone what sits behind those numbers.
Boks Women Ring Changes for Ubuntu-Bula Series Clincher
Six changes for the second Test in Lautoka, with Latsha returning at tighthead and Tshiremba set for her XVs debut — the piece breaks down the team news and previews whether the Boks can close out the Ubuntu-Bula Trophy series.
Rennie's second-string selection at Loftus is really about the Boks
Rennie's second-string Bulls selection is decoded as a final Springbok Test audition, with Barrett's move to fullback and Umaga's frustrated admission about the All Blacks' style among the sharpest talking points.
Mexted: SA's on-field/off-field switch is something the All Blacks genuinely admire
Mexted argues South African rugby's defining trait runs deeper than the Springboks — it's a culture-wide mentality of focused aggression on the field and discipline off it, and he frames the upcoming four-Test series as the starkest possible test of whether Robertson's attack-minded All Blacks can match it.
Bulls' defensive DNA could hand All Blacks an easy ride at Loftus
Rich argues the Bulls' passive defensive system is structurally ill-suited to testing the All Blacks — and raises the uncomfortable possibility that a comfortable Bulls defeat might actually suit Bok interests ahead of next weekend's test series opener.
Rassie's selection philosophy meets the Greatest Rivalry: what the Ellis Park 23 should look like
De Koning makes the case that Erasmus must shelve rotation thinking for the Ellis Park All Blacks Test and pick for winning now, with the 10 jersey and Kolisi's fitness the two variables that define the matchday 23.
What McCaw's hardest lessons could mean for the All Blacks against the Boks
McCaw reflects on the 2007 World Cup exit and 2009 Bok whitewash as the defining pressure tests that shaped his leadership — and the piece uses those lessons to assess what Dave Rennie's All Blacks will need to handle across four Tests against South Africa.
Rieko in frame for Bok Test after Bulls audition
Rennie is using the Bulls match as a live audition for Rieko Ioane, with Test selection against the Boks the prize — the piece unpacks the case for and against him making the cut.
Loftus on Saturday is a sideshow — the real series starts at Ellis Park
Keohane argues the Bulls-All Blacks match at Loftus is a glorified warmup act — with 14 absent Springboks gutting the Bulls' lineup and the All Blacks rotating freely across all three franchise matches, Saturday carries none of the weight its branding suggests. The series that matters starts at Ellis Park.
Mexted: Rennie's All Blacks are now the world's best ball-movers — but don't expect the Boks to bite
Mexted argues Rennie has already sharpened the All Blacks into the world's premier ball-moving side — and ahead of the four-Test series, he expects the Boks to resist any temptation to match them at that game.