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Ackermann: Rennie's All Blacks are on the rise — but the Boks will still be too strong
Ackermann rates Rennie's All Blacks as a genuine step up from recent New Zealand teams but backs Springbok depth and set-piece to win out across the four-Test series — while flagging the tour match as a formative moment for his younger Bulls squad.
Tour catch-22: Why the franchise games against the All Blacks are set up to disappoint
Gavin Rich identifies a structural catch-22 for the All Black tour franchise games: URC sides must field their best available teams but are three weeks into pre-season, missing all their Boks, and facing a tourists who've played three tests together — conditions that make competitive games nearly impossible and raise real injury risk ahead of the URC season.
The All Black tour catch-22: underdone franchises, star players in Bok camp, and a pricing problem
Gavin Rich argues that the RGR franchise tour games face a near-unsolvable structural problem: Bok players are unavailable, remaining squad members are barely three weeks into pre-season, and ticket prices are already dampening demand — creating a real risk the opening tour fixtures undermine the concept before the Test series even begins.
Rennie tips his hat to Rassie ahead of the Rivalry Series
Rennie calls Erasmus the most innovative coach in the game and says the Boks' ability to rotate heavily and still dominate Scotland underlines their depth — while keeping his own expectations for the Rivalry Series deliberately close to his chest.
Dan Cole: Why the Springbok scrum is unbeatable for 80 minutes
Dan Cole lays out why the Springbok scrum is unplayable — raw mass, psychological dominance that bends 50/50 refereeing decisions their way, and a bench that doubles down on the pressure rather than easing it.
Hansen predicts 2-all split and praises Erasmus's 'drip-feed' squad management
Hansen argues Erasmus's rotation strategy is cohesion-building rather than risk-taking, predicts a 2-all series split, while McKenzie suggests the All Blacks' new-era flexibility could be the key variable across four Tests.
Planet Rugby's combined Bok-All Black XV: South Africa dominate, but who makes the cut?
Planet Rugby's combined Bok-All Black XV ahead of the four-Test series gives South Africa nine of fifteen spots, with SFM, Willemse and a Bok-dominated forward pack leading the way — Roigard and Jordie Barrett carry the All Black case.
Rennie's honest assessment: Rassie is 'one of the most innovative coaches in world rugby'
Rennie calls Erasmus one of the game's most innovative coaches ahead of the Greatest Rivalry Series, while framing the four-Test contest as a direct collision between Bok physicality and All Black tempo — with New Zealand's last series win in South Africa now 29 years ago.
Erasmus's selection artistry, the All Blacks' tour squad curiosity, and rugby's discipline problem
Erasmus's 44-man squad assembly is framed as promotional genius, Rennie's bloated touring party signals serious intent, and the piece comes down hard on referee Berry's Jacobson call — leaning on Owens and Doyle to argue the yellow was indefensible and damaging to the game's safety narrative.
NZ pundit's 'legally correct, morally corrupt' dig at Boks ahead of Greatest Rivalry Series
NZ pundit Mark Watson accuses the Boks of 'legally correct but morally corrupt' game-slowing tactics ahead of the Greatest Rivalry Series, while Rennie confirms his staff will brief match officials on the tempo they need — a revealing look at the off-field battle lines being drawn before the series starts.
Rennie's All Blacks are playing catch-up before a ball is kicked in the Test series
Rennie's All Blacks carry a telling experience deficit into South Africa — 59% of the squad haven't toured here this cycle — and Cardinelli breaks down why the warm-up schedule, altitude adjustment and Savea's delayed integration make this a genuine race against the clock before the first Test at Ellis Park.
Sopoaga's warning: Don't sleep on Ruben Love
Sopoaga warns that Ruben Love could be a decisive factor in the four-Test series against the Boks — and that he'll only improve as the series progresses.
Rennie's All Blacks squad built with the Boks squarely in the crosshairs
Gregor Paul argues Rennie has picked with a clear purpose: dethrone the Springboks now and build a squad capable of sustaining that challenge long-term.
Is Rennie's squad built to dethrone the Boks?
The argument: Rennie's All Blacks squad is built not just to beat the Boks in this series, but to displace them at the top of world rugby — the piece examines whether that selection logic stacks up.
Howarth: All Blacks' defensive leaks 'easily fixed' — but the Boks will expose them if not
Howarth backs the All Blacks' attacking evolution under Rennie but warns their defensive leaks need urgent fixing before the South Africa series — going toe-to-toe with the Bok forwards, he argues, is a losing strategy.
Seven Boks make Nations Championship XV as All Blacks shut out entirely
Ben Youngs and Anthony Watson's Nations Championship XV features seven Springboks — Willemse, Kolbe, Kriel, Marx, Nortje, Du Toit and Wiese — with no All Blacks selected at all.
Du Preez delivers a cold verdict on Mike Phillips: 'Zero per cent record'
Du Preez and Burger revisit the 2009 Lions series on podcast — du Preez with a cold statistical put-down of Phillips, Burger with a classic Bakkies Botha anecdote that's worth reading in full.
Mallett's warning: All Blacks are finding form at the right time
Mallett breaks down the All Blacks' Nations Championship campaign — patchy early but sharp against Ireland — and warns that their offload-heavy, momentum-based game will test the Boks' defensive system if Rennie's side maintains those standards into the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series.
The Bok cuts that sting most ahead of the Argentina series
Papier, Roos, and Mchunu are identified as the unluckiest omissions from the latest Bok squad — Louw makes the case for each while acknowledging the logic behind Erasmus's calls.
Why the Boks, All Blacks and France have moved beyond positions — and England haven't
A sharp analytical piece arguing the world's top three sides have ditched positional orthodoxy entirely — selecting skill-set blends and assigning numbers afterwards — while England remain trapped in a specialist-filing-system mindset despite having the raw material to do otherwise.