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Big Jim backs the All Blacks to rough up Eben and dominate the set-piece
Jim Hamilton tips the All Blacks to beat the Boks in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, citing their set-piece quality and physical edge as the difference-makers.
Big Jim backs All Blacks' 'mongrel' to crack the Bok set piece
Jim Hamilton backs the All Blacks' set-piece and 'mongrel' to overcome Etzebeth and the Bok pack in the upcoming series.
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.
All Blacks look dangerous under Rennie — but the real test is coming to South Africa
Rennie's All Blacks went 3-from-3 in the Nations Championship with a more expansive style that's lifted the squad's mood and confidence. The real acid test is the upcoming four-Test series against the Springboks — and on this evidence, they'll be no pushovers.
Burger identifies the aerial game as the All Blacks' untested vulnerability ahead of the series
Burger argues the All Blacks haven't been tested aerially or at set-piece yet this season — two areas where the Boks expect to dominate — while acknowledging Rennie's expansive game could stretch the Bok defence in ways France and Ireland didn't.
Karoo dreams and Bok ambitions: Getting to know Abraam Venter
A Q&A with Bok tighthead Abraam Venter covers his Edinburgh years, his return to SA, and his ambitions for the season ahead — a quick personality read on one of the Boks' more interesting front-row options.
Scotland are evolving — but 'close' keeps falling short of the statement win they need
Scotland's Nations Championship southern leg confirmed both their growth and their defining frustration — genuinely threatening the Springboks in Pretoria, yet again falling agonisingly short of the statement win that would cement their standing among the world's elite.
Fitzpatrick: Beat the Boks in their backyard and the World Cup takes care of itself
Fitzpatrick argues that winning the Greatest Rivalry series in South Africa is the perfect World Cup springboard — and while he rates the Boks as the world's best, he sees a genuine opportunity for the All Blacks if they raise their game from Nations Championship levels.
RWC Draw a Farce, Nations Championship Flawed — But Bok Dominance Is the Real Story
Rich argues the Nations Championship has confirmed a clear global top three — Boks, All Blacks, France — but exposes a spectacular flaw in the RWC 2027 draw that will see those sides eliminate each other before the final. He also targets Borthwick's lack of ambition and questions the Championship's travel demands and home-game authenticity.
Six backline changes as Junior Bok Women look to bounce back against USA U20
Groepes makes six backline changes for Friday's series finale against USA U20 in Stellenbosch, with the restructured team aiming to correct a 47-12 first-test loss through tighter execution and sustained pressure.
Fitzpatrick: Beat the Boks in SA and the World Cup takes care of itself
Fitzpatrick argues a Greatest Rivalry series win in South Africa would be the perfect World Cup launch pad for the All Blacks — while rating the Springboks as the clear world number one and questioning how they'll handle that target on their backs.
RWC draw a farce, Nations Championship flawed, and Borthwick on borrowed time
Rich argues the 2027 RWC draw has set up a catastrophic bracket where the Boks, All Blacks and France will cancel each other out before the final, while also questioning Borthwick's boldness and skewering the Nations Championship's travel demands.
Rassie's squad communiqué reveals more than intended — A-team inbound for Buenos Aires
De Koning argues that Erasmus's squad management decisions effectively confirm Los Pumas will face a near-first-choice Springbok side in Buenos Aires, with ten returning injury absentees — including Etzebeth, Kolisi and Pollard — all needing game time ahead of the All Black series.
Springboks top every chart — and it's not even close
Planet Rugby's Nations Championship power rankings place the Boks first across every metric — attack, defence, depth — and argue Tony-ball has made them more dangerous than ever. The wider rankings also flag France's depth and New Zealand's attacking reset as the next biggest concerns for the global order.
Full noise: What Erasmus's 43-man squad tells us about Bok priorities ahead of Argentina and the All Blacks
Erasmus's 43-man squad marks the end of experimentation — with key injury returnees and no uncapped players, this is as close to full-strength as the Boks have been since the World Cup. The piece breaks down what the selection signals about lock depth, emerging players who've made the cut on merit, and what release of the five franchise-bound players actually means for their RGR chances.
Nations Championship Southern Leg: Boks Lead, Japan Shines, Italy Disappoint
Louw's Nations Championship mid-point recap names South Africa the clear frontrunners — on log position, points difference, depth deployed, and records broken — while calling out Italy's collapse, Fiji's underperformance, and the scheduling injustice that saw Japan host Ireland in Australia.
Nations Championship player ratings: Who cemented their place and who has work to do
Planet Rugby rates all 43 Springboks from the July Nations Championship, flagging the front row depth as exceptional, Paul de Villiers as the breakout star, Kriel as undroppable, and Fassi among those who need to sharpen up ahead of the All Blacks series.
July Nations Series player ratings: Who shone, who struggled, and where the Boks are genuinely deep
Planet Rugby's 43-man ratings from the July Nations series identify Willemse and Kriel as the backs of the series, flags Paul de Villiers as the month's breakout star, and highlights the Boks' tighthead depth as a genuine structural advantage — while Fassi, Tshituka, and Mchunu are singled out as needing more.
Why the Springboks' rush defence may be exactly what the All Blacks want
Ben Smith argues the Boks' rush defence isn't the threat Matfield thinks — their July defensive numbers are well below 2019 standards, and the All Blacks' Hurricanes-influenced attack is specifically designed to punish blitz systems, with Roigard as a trump card the Boks are barely familiar with.