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2,959 items · Springboks
Erasmus asks Ellis Park crowd to let the Haka breathe
Erasmus has shelved any Haka counter-strategy, crediting Tony Brown with shifting the squad's mindset — and he's urging the Ellis Park crowd to stay quiet through it so the moment lands. The piece captures a rare candid admission of nerves ahead of the RGR series opener.
Hansen: Springboks have outgrown the quota system
Hansen argues the Springboks have organically outgrown the quota system, with genuine on-field unity making transformation targets redundant — while also warning that South Africa's winning mentality makes them a formidable proposition for his former side at Ellis Park.
Built in a shed in the Free State: The doctrine behind the Springbok scrum
A forensic breakdown of how the Springbok scrum was built — tracing it from a single Erasmus question in a team room to the training culture, bonus structures and Daan Human's methods that made it the sport's most dominant set-piece weapon, with a pointed argument about what World Rugby's proposed law changes would actually mean.
André Pretorius: All Blacks Need Four Tries Minimum to Beat This Bok Defence
André Pretorius argues the All Blacks must score at least four tries to beat the Boks at Ellis Park, and that the most underused weapon against the Bok rush defence remains the chip kick — a strategy teams keep abandoning before it pays off.
Four Boks with points to prove against the All Blacks at Ellis Park
Louw builds the case for four Boks who face heightened scrutiny at Ellis Park — De Allende's 100th cap, the Louw-over-Du Toit selection call, Pieter-Steph's succession narrative, and the SFM-vs-Libbok flyhalf subplot.
Mehrtens puts Ruben Love in the Carlos Spencer bracket ahead of Ellis Park Test
Mehrtens endorses the Carlos Spencer comparisons for Ruben Love while De Villiers flags the Roigard–Love–Barrett axis as a key All Blacks weapon — useful intel ahead of the Ellis Park opener.
Holland's lineout 'superpower' is Rennie's answer to a Springbok strength
Parsons argues Holland's selection comes down to one thing — his ability to steal lineout ball — directly targeting a Springbok strength. The piece also examines the calculated risk of Rennie carrying no lock cover on the bench.
Stephen Donald: Du Toit's captaincy a double-edged sword, and why ruck time decides Saturday
Donald's concern about Du Toit captaining the Boks is rooted in admiration — he fears Du Toit's match-winning instincts could override collective leadership. He's high on the Bok squad but flags the Pollard omission as a risk in a likely tight finish, and argues the Test will be decided not by the playmaker duel but by All Blacks ruck speed and counter-attack access.
Savea: All Blacks ready to match Boks in four-test 'Greatest Rivalry' series
Savea makes his tour debut at Ellis Park on Saturday, backing the All Blacks to match a Bok side on a 12-test winning run. He flags Test 1 as pivotal in the four-match 'Greatest Rivalry' series.
Rassie on the All Blacks threat — and why the haka matters
Erasmus, Davids and Stick discuss the All Blacks' resurgence and the haka on Rassie on Alles — a window into how the Bok coaching staff is reading the New Zealand threat.
Stick and Du Toit set the tone ahead of Ellis Park opener
Stick and Du Toit preview Saturday's Ellis Park opener with genuine reverence — framing the four-Test series on par with a Lions tour, flagging the set piece as the key battleground, and paying tribute to Damian de Allende ahead of his 100th cap.
Transition play, not the trenches, could decide the Ellis Park Test
De Villiers identifies Springbok transition play as the decisive and underrated battleground, while Mehrtens questions whether Rennie's attack-first philosophy can survive Bok physicality — and Burger warns that set-piece dominance may go unrewarded by the referee panel.
De Villiers backed to fill Kolisi void as Boks face All Blacks at Ellis Park
Mzwandile Stick has backed Paul de Villiers to fill Siya Kolisi's absence in the No 6 jersey for Saturday's first Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand at Ellis Park, with stand-in captain Pieter-Steph du Toit — earning his 99th cap — also praising the 23-year-old Stormers flanker's maturity and physicality.
Erasmus plays long game as Springboks eye series victory over All Blacks
Rassie Erasmus has named a vastly experienced squad for Saturday's opening Test at Ellis Park, but the Springbok coach is looking beyond the first whistle. With player workload under the microscope and rotation central to his strategy, Erasmus believes the four-Test series will be decided in the third or fourth encounter rather than the opening salvo in Johannesburg.
Du Toit and Stick relish RGR series as De Allende prepares for 100th cap
Springbok captain Pieter-Steph du Toit and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick have welcomed the four-Test Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks ahead of Saturday's opener at Ellis Park, with Damian de Allende set to become only the 10th Springbok to earn 100 caps.
Esterhuizen's position on the bench is Rassie's Trojan Horse
Esterhuizen's listing as a loose forward turns what appears to be a 5-3 bench into a disguised 6-2, and with almost every replacement carrying genuine dual-position credentials, Erasmus has built a bench with more tactical flexibility than most XVs — all wrapped in a delayed team announcement designed to unsettle Rennie.
Ellis Park Opens Rugby's Greatest Rivalry: Teams, Key Battles and Prediction
Bester previews the Ellis Park series opener, unpacking Erasmus's squad-management selections, the pre-match psychological sparring, and the key individual match-ups — with Rugby365 tipping the Boks by six.
PSDT: No room for complacency against the All Blacks
PSDT is sounding the alarm ahead of Saturday's All Blacks clash, warning the Boks must arrive fully switched on for what he expects to be a high-tempo battle.
Rassie reveals the moment De Allende proved his Test worth — and it involved Sonny Bill
Ahead of De Allende's 100th cap against the All Blacks, Erasmus pinpoints the Sonny Bill Williams battles as the moment he knew — and pushes back on the idea that physicality is De Allende's defining quality.
Erasmus reveals the moment Damian de Allende proved his Test class ahead of 100th cap
Rassie Erasmus has cited De Allende's ability to match Sonny Bill Williams as the proof of his Test quality, ahead of the centre's 100th cap against the All Blacks at Ellis Park — making him only the tenth South African men's player to reach the milestone.