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Mains: All Blacks could have won three of four — and the aerial game cost them the series
Laurie Mains argues the 43-28 Baltimore result was misleading, believes the All Blacks were close enough to have won three of the first four Tests, and pins the series loss on a single tactical failure: not deploying aerial competitors under South Africa's high-ball game.
Eight lessons from Rugby's Greatest Rivalry — and why the All Blacks' problems run deeper than results
A sharp post-series breakdown arguing the Boks' veterans emphatically answered their critics, while dissecting the All Blacks' scrum crisis as both a personnel and coaching failure — with additional scrutiny on World Rugby's inconsistent officiating standards and the broader infrastructure around the series.
Afoa: Boks left a 4-0 sweep on the table
Afoa believes the Boks were clinical enough to go 4-0 in the RGR series, with the Ellis Park Test the one that got away.
Erasmus flags 'different challenge' as Boks touch down in Australia
Erasmus is treating the Perth Test as a genuine threat, not a lap of honour — flagging the Wallabies' form, a 'completely different challenge' tactically, and a punishing travel schedule that makes squad freshness the key variable heading into the one-off.
Five moments that defined the RGR series — from Nonu's haka response to Erasmus's F-bomb
A retrospective on the RGR series' five standout moments — the Lions' near-heist, Kolbe carrying Cape Town, the Boks' Baltimore masterclass, Erasmus's F-bomb press conference, and Nonu's unforgettable haka response.
Springbok forwards rated across the Greatest Rivalry series: Marx and Nche lead the way, hooker depth a concern
Marx and Nche are the standout performers in Planet Rugby's player-by-player breakdown, but the piece flags thin hooker cover behind Marx as a genuine Bok vulnerability — and revisits the series-long tension around the 6/2 bench split.
Wallabies playmaker puzzle clouds a genuine shot at the Springboks
Kiss's decision to overlook Lolesio is the analytical core here, set against a genuine case that a rotated Springbok side in Perth is there to be beaten — with an added swipe at All Blacks referee complaints.
Three World Rugby POTYs left out of Kitshoff and Nyakane's greatest rivalry XV
Kitshoff and Nyakane's combined Bok-All Black XV from Rugby's Greatest Rivalry omits three World Rugby POTYs — Marx is the only winner to make a nine-Bok, six-All Black side.
Backs ratings: Who starred, who struggled across the four-Test series
Planet Rugby rates all 11 Bok backs across the Greatest Rivalry series — van den Berg and Arendse top the charts, SFM gets a pointed 6, and both starting scrumhalves finish the tour with less standing than they started with.
RGR Report Card: Every Bok Rated Across the Four Tests
A player-by-player ratings breakdown of all 30 Boks across the RGR series, with Malcolm Marx the standout (9) and the fly-half position still a live debate — plus honest assessments of who rose and fell across four Tests.
Post-RGR, Erasmus has the breathing room to experiment — and plenty of reasons to use it
Rich argues the RGR win gives Erasmus the political capital to resume his rotation agenda, and maps the selection pressures — hooker depth, Pollard's place, Dixon's fitness, and potential squad gambles for the November Nations Championship leg — that will define the Boks' remainder of 2026.
Willemse: Boks built through the series — nothing came easy against the All Blacks
Willemse pushes back on any comfortable-win narrative, noting the series decider in Baltimore was a three-point game until the 65th minute, and that the Boks were genuinely poor in the opening Ellis Park loss. His read: the squad's real achievement was the improvement arc across four Tests, not the 3-1 scoreline.
RGR win buys Rassie the freedom to experiment — here's what comes next
The RGR series win — achieved with notably little rotation — has given Erasmus the freedom to experiment from Perth onwards. Rich maps the key selection questions: hooker depth, Pollard's flyhalf claim, Porthen at tighthead, and a crowded back three. He also argues the November away leg could see Erasmus take calculated risks with his squad given the pressure is now off.
Van den Berg's audition shifts the halfback depth conversation
Van den Berg's standout showing in the series decider has caught attention beyond South African circles — the piece looks at what his form means for Bok scrumhalf depth and Erasmus's selection headaches.
RGR series review: Bok flexes, All Black flops, and a scheduling question worth asking
A thorough post-mortem on the RGR series — covering the Boks' tactical evolution in Baltimore, the milestone haul, the All Blacks' media games and post-series whinging, and a sharp question about whether shipping the final Test to the USA served the series well.
3-1 over the All Blacks: What drove the Springbok recovery and what it reveals about Erasmus
A post-series debrief on the Boks' 3-1 Greatest Rivalry win, analysing how Erasmus turned a humiliating Ellis Park loss into a commanding series victory, who starred across the four Tests, and why the warm-up scheduling was the one real own goal.
How the Boks turned a humiliating Ellis Park loss into a 3-1 series triumph
A full post-series breakdown of the Boks' 3-1 Greatest Rivalry win, arguing that Erasmus's in-series adjustments were the turning point — while flagging the preparation miscalculation that handed the All Blacks the opener.
How Rennie's scrum crusade handed Rassie the psychological edge
Nel argues Rennie's escalating scrum complaints handed Rassie a psychological weapon — firing up the Bok pack while Erasmus quietly out-coached him. The Barnes post-series interview becomes the piece's sharpest exhibit: an accidental admission that referees should only penalise what suits New Zealand.
Matfield winds up Kirwan with deadpan claim that All Blacks slowed Baltimore test
Matfield deadpans that the All Blacks slowed the Baltimore test down, Kirwan loses his composure, and the whole exchange is a masterclass in post-series needle.
The gap is bigger than Rassie lets on
Despite Erasmus playing down the gap, this piece argues the aggregate scoreline flatters New Zealand — breaking down the series test-by-test across breakdown, set piece, defence, and discipline to show South Africa's dominance widened sharply from Johannesburg to Baltimore.