Over the course of a 105-year rivalry and 110 clashes, the Springboks have43 wins and the All Blacks 63, with four draws. As the first of four tests kicks off on Saturday, 22 August, who do you think will come out on top of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry?
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Rassie admitted that the Boks were outsmarted by the All Blacks in the first Greatest Rivalry Test.
We want to hear your thoughts on the Springboks’ tournament prospects: Was this just an off day in execution, or did the coaching staff make a major error with the bench split and reshuffling? Should Rassie stick with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, or is it time to bring in Handré Pollard?
You can’t always legislate for the poor handling, such as Marx losing the ball over the line from a fairly soft intervention by Jordie Barrett. Normally Marx scores that try 99 times out of 100. But tactically, when KLA was injured, by bringing on Esterhuizen to centre, moving Kriel to wing and DDA to outside centre, one injury forced three changes in the backline. Kriel is the defensive captain and was then out on the wing. Rassie could have just moved Grant Williams to wing and brought Reinach on at scrumhalf. That would’ve been far less disruptive. He admitted today that’s one of the things he got wrong, which led to some stuttering attack. Also overdoing the push for scrum penalties instead of taking three points at a time they were leading was probably costly. For 55 minutes the Boks were edging the contest despite their mistakes, but when Holland charged down for a try it turned the momentum. The margins are tiny at this level.
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Too much kicking the ball to them and allowing them to attack yet again. Put your boot in your pocket and run the ball
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Let’s debrief:
The Springboks showed serious mettle to bounce back from their Johannesburg defeat, locking in a 33-26 win over the All Blacks to level the Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1.
But off the field, tensions boiled over, and the coaches did not hold back: Rennie continues to complain about the Boks “walking around” in the set-piece, while Rassie pointed out New Zealand’s deliberate non-engagement tactics.
What do you think, were the All Blacks intentionally avoiding a real scrum battle to deny the Boks penalties?
Were you at any of the Greatest Rivalry Tour matches? Share your fan pics here.
The All Blacks are scared of conceding penalties in scrums against the Boks. Thus the gamesmanship of trying to throw the law book, via the officials. Just that they have no answer.
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Why are the Springboks and All Blacks in Baltimore? This weekend, rugby’s fiercest rivals are heading to Maryland for the decisive fourth Test of the “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” series. While playing in the United States helps build momentum for the upcoming 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup, the primary driver is financial: SA Rugby and New Zealand Rugby stand to make an estimated R90-million more each from this single Baltimore clash compared to hosting it on home soil.
After navigating severe financial strains in recent years, both unions are using this historic fixture to balance their books and tap into the lucrative US broadcast market.
How do you feel about major Bok Tests being moved overseas for commercial reasons?
- I support it
- Mixed feelings
- I’m against it
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