Every story on the wire.
4,003 items
Alexander wants midweek games axed and composite teams introduced if SA hosts RGR Tour again
SARU President Mark Alexander wants midweek provincial games scrapped and composite teams introduced if South Africa hosts another RGR Tour, citing a 14,000-crowd in Durban and poor Lions ticket sales as evidence that the current format does not work outside of Test weekends.
Kirwan's conspiracy: Did Erasmus instruct franchises to play nothing like the Boks?
Kirwan claims Erasmus quietly instructed franchises to abandon Springbok-style play, leaving the All Blacks underprepared for the Test series. Matfield disagrees on both the conspiracy and the crowd disappointment.
Hansen: Mo'unga won't displace Love — and here's what the All Blacks must get right against the Boks
Hansen backs Love to hold the 10 jersey and breaks down the selection logic for Ellis Park — scrum size, lineout height, and aerial competence are the non-negotiables if the All Blacks want to compete with the Boks.
Kool-Aid and Mafia Dons: NZ pundit fires back at Rassie's pre-Test mind games
NZ pundit Scotty Stevenson argues Rassie's pre-Test referee pressure campaign — including deploying Peyper at the presser — has unfairly put Matthew Carley at the centre of the week's narrative and amounts to fanbase weaponisation, whatever its tactical brilliance.
Marx vs Taylor: A decade of dominance meets its ultimate test at Ellis Park
A breakdown of the Marx-Taylor hooker rivalry ahead of Ellis Park, contrasting their styles and assessing what their duel could mean for how the Test unfolds — particularly at scrum time and the breakdown.
Fitzpatrick: No margin for error if All Blacks want to win in South Africa
Fitzpatrick warns the current All Blacks must be near-flawless to match his 1996 side's series win in South Africa — the full piece unpacks his specific thinking.
The Incomparables: How the 1996 All Blacks achieved what no touring side had done before — and why it still matters
The Ruck's series on the All Blacks–Springboks rivalry reaches the 1996 tour, with Hart, Jones, Fitzpatrick and Stransky offering first-hand accounts of the test series many regard as the pinnacle of New Zealand rugby achievement.
All Blacks must get everything right to beat Springboks, says Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick, captain of the only New Zealand side to win a Test series in South Africa, warned the current All Blacks must produce a near-flawless performance to match that feat when the four-Test series begins at Ellis Park on Saturday. The 1987 World Cup winner said discipline and execution would be critical against the world champions.
Magnetic two-piece trophy unveiled for Springboks–All Blacks series
SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby have revealed a world-first trophy for the four-Test Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, which begins on Saturday. The trophy comprises two halves held together by magnetism, with each nation retaining one piece should the series be drawn.
Fitzpatrick: All Blacks must get everything right — and catch a break
Fitzpatrick warns the All Blacks must be flawless in discipline and set-piece to win in South Africa, while also flagging the Springboks' attacking threat as underappreciated. He's cautiously confident in Rennie's setup ahead of a series he sees as the ideal World Cup preparation.
Fitzpatrick: All Blacks can't afford a single mistake against the Boks
Fitzpatrick rates this Bok squad as the complete package and warns that New Zealand must get everything right — discipline, scrum, execution — to have any chance in a series that carries serious World Cup implications for Rennie's team.
Five things the All Blacks must get right at Ellis Park
A detailed tactical breakdown of what New Zealand must do differently at Ellis Park — covering the bench scrum problem, the aerial contest, breakdown discipline, defensive entry denial, and the slow-start pattern that won't survive Springbok intensity.
Lekker Rugby Pod: Why the All Blacks' Optimism Is Fool's Gold Heading Into Ellis Park
The Lekker Rugby Pod hosts argue that while the Rennie effect is genuine, the All Blacks' lack of a contestable kick game and their bench philosophy leave them structurally exposed against the Springboks at Ellis Park.
Love, hate and healthy rivalry: Lekker Rugby Pod's 200th episode dissects the All Blacks obsession
Ari and Ringo argue that the Springbok-All Black rivalry is defined by mutual refusal to accept inferiority — and that South Africa's love of the black jersey is inseparable from a deep, healthy hatred of everything it represents.
Mallett wants referees to keep All Blacks honest at the maul
Mallett is calling on referees to clamp down on All Blacks maul-killing tactics ahead of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, warning they're adept at working the dark arts in that phase.
Donald backs Feinberg-Mngomezulu to start as Bok 10, tips McKenzie to play through ankle scare
Donald tips Feinberg-Mngomezulu to start at 10 with Pollard off the bench, and expects McKenzie to play through his ankle injury — but Clarke's absence makes Rennie's back-three a genuine puzzle.
Umaga's pre-test admission: the Boks are far more than a scrum machine
Tana Umaga has quietly walked back the All Blacks' 'scrum-only' narrative, warning his players the Boks can hurt them wide, in behind, and in ways Erasmus and Brown haven't shown yet — a significant admission ahead of Saturday's Ellis Park test.
Fifty years of hurt: The Boks' series drought against the All Blacks in context
The Boks haven't won an official series against the All Blacks since 1976 — Rich traces the full 50-year drought through the flour-bomb chaos of 1981, the 1996 Fitzpatrick landmark, and the unofficial wins that don't count, framing the four-test Greatest Rivalry Series as the first real opportunity to break it.
Two-piece magnetic trophy unveiled for Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series
SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby have unveiled a split, magnetic two-piece trophy for the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, with the winner of the four-Test tour taking both halves and each nation retaining one if the series is drawn.
Five areas where the All Blacks must hold their ground at Ellis Park
A five-point tactical brief on what the All Blacks must execute at Ellis Park — covering the scrum, the aerial contest, breakdown discipline, entry denial and slow starts — built around the argument that New Zealand's route is survival in the mass contests, then winning the execution battles.