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Barrett flags discipline and the aerial battle as All Blacks' must-fix areas for Soweto decider
Barrett identifies the aerial contest and discipline under pressure as the two areas the All Blacks must fix for the Soweto Test — and traces both back to a field-position problem created by South Africa's kicking game.
Barrett's honest breakdown: what the All Blacks must fix before Soweto
Barrett offers a frank tactical autopsy of the Cape Town loss — aerial contests, kick-off exits, and goal-line discipline — that doubles as a useful read on exactly where the Boks hurt New Zealand and what the All Blacks plan to fix in Soweto.
All Blacks Player Ratings: Cape Town's Costly Errors Dissected
Bester's player-by-player breakdown of the Cape Town test makes the case that New Zealand's loss was self-inflicted — enough tries and opportunities to win, but critical individual errors at front row, lineout and breakdown proved decisive.
Aaron Smith: Rennie's honesty is refreshing — but the Boks will be a different beast in Cape Town
Smith praises Rennie's refreshing candour while tempering the Ellis Park result — he expects a tighter, more dangerous Springbok side in Cape Town and thinks New Zealand left real points out there through the boot.
Rennie resists Mo'unga temptation as injury reshapes All Blacks for Cape Town
Rennie makes three injury-forced changes for Cape Town but the real story is what he didn't do — resist the Mo'unga recall despite Pollard's return giving the narrative a ready-made hook. The piece also tracks how Bower and Parker have rapidly become Test starters from the fringes of the tour squad.
All Blacks winners and losers: Who gains and loses from Rennie's Cape Town reshuffling
Planet Rugby's winners-and-losers breakdown of the All Blacks' Cape Town selection covers Bower's front-row promotion, Sititi's worrying slide, Barrett's mounting Test exile, and why Mo'unga still needs to bide his time — with New Zealand's prop depth under real pressure heading into DHL Stadium.
How George Bower's scrum cameo swung the first Greatest Rivalry Test
Sopoaga credits George Bower's cold-entry scrum stability — not the backline brilliance — as the quietly decisive moment that shifted the first Greatest Rivalry Test away from the Springboks.
Aaron Smith: Don't expect the All Blacks to outrun the Boks
Smith argues that New Zealand's Ellis Park win came from precision homework moves targeting specific defenders in early phases — not tempo or fitness advantage — and warns the All Blacks won't run the Boks off the park in Cape Town, crediting eight years of defensive system-building under Erasmus.
Jalibert leads, SFM cracks the top 3, and three Boks make Planet Rugby's fly-half rankings
Planet Rugby ranks Jalibert #1, with SFM, Pollard, and Libbok all featuring — making South Africa the most represented nation in a list that doubles as a 2027 World Cup 10 debate.
Ardie's fired up for Ellis Park
Savea is talking big ahead of Saturday's Ellis Park clash, framing it as a warrior-versus-warrior contest. The piece explores his mindset going into the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry fixture.
Ardie's fired up for the Ellis Park showdown
Savea is relishing the return of the Boks-All Blacks rivalry at Ellis Park, with the full piece covering his pre-match mindset and what the fixture means to him.
Stephen Donald backs Moorby's X-factor to shine against the Boks at Ellis Park
Stephen Donald flags Josh Moorby as the All Blacks' quietly significant selection for Ellis Park — a player who barely registered at the start of the year but has forced his way in through a career-best Super Rugby campaign and, according to Donald, an X-factor that sets him apart from merely reliable footballers.
Stephen Donald backs Moorby's X-factor to shine against the Boks
Stephen Donald picks apart two surprise All Blacks selections for Ellis Park — Holland's comeback and, more intriguingly, Moorby's rise from journeyman to Test wing, which Donald puts down to an X-factor that simply can't be coached.
Stephen Donald backs Moorby's X-factor to justify surprise All Blacks selection against Boks
Donald flags Moorby and Holland as the two genuine surprises in Rennie's Ellis Park squad, arguing Moorby's X-factor — earned the hard way through a long domestic and overseas journey — has made him impossible to overlook for the Bok series opener.
All Blacks squad winners and losers ahead of Springbok opener
Rennie's squad for the Springbok opener features Ruben Love's biggest career test at 10, Beauden Barrett dropped after 147 caps, Rieko Ioane out of the 23, and three significant injury absentees reshaping the bench.
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.
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.
Ruben Love on the self-doubt behind his All Blacks rise
Ruben Love opens up on the self-doubt he had to overcome on his way to wearing the All Blacks No 10 ahead of the Ellis Park clash with the Boks.
Fourie tops the tour rankings as Segner and Moorby force their way into All Blacks Test conversation
Deon Fourie tops Planet Rugby's tour player rankings after his Stormers display earned him a Springbok recall, while Anton Segner and Josh Moorby are identified as the All Blacks pressing hardest for Test inclusion ahead of the series.
Refreshed and lighter, Ioane is primed to cause the Boks problems in midfield
Ioane has rediscovered his best form on tour — lighter, faster and shifted to his preferred centre role by Rennie — making him a genuine midfield threat heading into the Test series against the Springboks.