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Codie Taylor can't wait to face the SA franchises — and wants Super Rugby back
Taylor, standing in as All Blacks captain while Savea rests, says the Super Rugby split genuinely frustrates him — he's relishing the chance to face the URC franchises again and isn't shy about saying NZ misses it. He's also managing a calf tweak that should clear before the Test series.
Codie Taylor relishing SA franchise challenge — and wants Super Rugby reunion
Codie Taylor, standing in as All Blacks captain while Savea takes a rest, says facing SA's URC franchises is something he's genuinely missed — and doesn't hold back on his view that the Super Rugby split was a loss for the game.
Read: All Blacks must match Bok bench impact — not copy their formula
Read argues the All Blacks don't need to copy Rassie's 6-2 split — but their bench must match Bok impact levels. Marshall flags Esterhuizen's hybrid role as a structural edge New Zealand can't currently replicate, with Fainga'anuku's injury removing their closest equivalent.
Hansen on the Greatest Rivalry: stylistic contrast, referee drift, and why contestable kicks worry him
Hansen welcomes the attacking shift in Test rugby and a perceived change in referee attitude, but flags two specific concerns heading into the Greatest Rivalry series: defences aren't competitive enough at contestable kicks, and referees are quietly letting crooked lineout throws slide — both areas where the Springboks' game plan sits comfortably.
Cane's Ellis Park goosebumps — and why that 2022 Bok win meant everything
Cane singles out the 2022 Ellis Park Test — with Foster's job on the line — as the Springbok victory that still gives him goosebumps, and explains why the hostile Ellis Park atmosphere was something the All Blacks actively fed off.
Kirwan and Matfield back Savea rest call — but Lions ghost looms over Rennie's decision
Kirwan and Matfield both endorse resting Savea before the Test series, but Kirwan raises a pointed warning about squad cohesion — invoking Woodward's ill-fated 2005 Lions setup as a cautionary tale for Rennie.
Rennie eyes World Cup answers in South Africa — Mo'unga, Ioane and the 6-2 gamble explained
Rennie is using the South Africa tour as a World Cup stress test — trialling the 6-2 split, managing scrum-half depth, keeping Mo'unga on standby and resetting Ioane as a winger. The piece details the selection logic behind each call.
All Blacks squad for SA tour: Who's in, who's out, and what it means for the Boks series
A detailed winners-and-losers breakdown of Rennie's All Blacks tour squad — covering the uncapped inclusions, the Savea rest strategy, Kirifi's shock snub, and the injury absences that reshape New Zealand's depth ahead of the Bok Tests.
Rennie bulks up for the Boks while keeping one eye on Australia 2027
Rennie's squad is built around a deliberate physical response to the Springbok forward pack, with Ta'eiloa and Blackadder added to give the loose trio some real bulk. But the piece also reads the tour as a World Cup laboratory — veterans like Beauden Barrett and Codie Taylor face genuine scrutiny, and the back selections are designed for tactical experimentation as much as winning.
Rennie bulks up for the Boks while using the Greatest Rivalry tour as a World Cup audition
Rennie's 44-man squad is built around two goals: adding forward mass to front the Springbok pack, and using the tour's scale to answer lingering World Cup selection questions — from uncapped bolters to veterans like Beauden Barrett.
All Blacks' Greatest Rivalry squad: The standout calls and notable snubs
A detailed winners-and-losers breakdown of Rennie's 44-man All Blacks squad for the Greatest Rivalry tour — covering the uncapped inclusions, Savea's managed rest, Kirifi's shock snub, and the injury absences that will shape the Test series against the Springboks.
Sopoaga backs Love to handle the Springbok test at 10
Sopoaga endorses Ruben Love as the All Blacks' settled 10 ahead of the Springbok series, arguing he's thriving under Rennie and will only grow the more he plays — a useful read on the threat New Zealand could pose at fly-half.
Henry's ghost is back: ex-All Black says Rennie has restored what Robertson lost
Howarth argues Rennie has restored the Graham Henry 'freedom to try' philosophy that went missing under Robertson — and that shift alone has transformed the All Blacks from a team playing scared to one worth fearing ahead of the Springbok series.
Seven Boks make ex-England duo's Nations Championship XV — All Blacks shut out
Youngs and Watson's Nations Championship Team of the Tournament is loaded with Springboks — seven in total — with Willemse, Kolbe, Kriel, Marx, Du Toit, Nortje, and Wiese all making the cut, and no All Black in sight.
Sopoaga: Rennie's greatest coaching weapon isn't tactics — it's connection
Sopoaga identifies Rennie's ability to build genuine human connection — not tactical innovation — as the All Blacks' most important development ahead of the Springbok showdowns, with the squad's Polynesian and Māori makeup making that quality particularly potent.
France the only side with the depth to dethrone the Boks, says Williams
Williams rates France as the only nation with the depth and forward power to seriously challenge the Boks in 2027, while issuing a damning assessment of Ireland's decline and Argentina's post-match conduct.
Hansen's blueprint: Take away the aerial contest and watch the Boks unravel
Hansen argues Rennie's All Blacks should rethink aerial-contest mechanics to neutralise one of South Africa's most reliable pressure tools — with unpredictability across the broader game plan the key to making the Boks doubt themselves.
All Blacks bolter Tupou Ta'eiloa adds loose forward intrigue ahead of SA tour
Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa — the Moana Pasifika back-rower left club-less after the franchise folded — is reportedly set to be included in Rennie's 44-man SA touring squad, with his post-contact numbers and physical profile making him an ideal bench option as the All Blacks manage Savea's workload and navigate a loose forward depth chart that showed real cracks during the Nations Championship.
Rejuvenated All Blacks lay groundwork for Springbok tour under Rennie
Rennie's All Blacks went 3-from-3 in the Nations Championship with a more expansive, adventurous style — Jordan, Roigard and Barrett the standouts. Planet Rugby argues the groundwork is laid for a serious four-Test challenge to the Springboks, with hooker cover the only notable selection concern heading into the series.
Biggar breaks down how Rennie has overhauled the All Blacks' DNA
Biggar argues Rennie has fundamentally rebuilt the All Blacks' identity around possession and multi-playmaker width — drawing Henry/Hansen comparisons and flagging sharply improving execution rates that Springbok fans should be watching closely.