The Springboks and All Blacks have played 110 Tests and produced the fiercest contest in rugby. Here is the full Springboks vs All Blacks record, rivalry history and why it remains rugby’s greatest rivalry.

Springboks vs All Blacks record: the full story behind rugby’s greatest rivalry

• What is the Springboks vs All Blacks record?

• The biggest Springbok win over the All Blacks

• The biggest All Blacks win over the Springboks

• Why this is rugby’s greatest rivalry

• The latest chapter in the rivalry

• Springboks vs All Blacks: the verdict

There is no bigger fixture in rugby than the Springboks against the All Blacks.

LATEST NEWS ON RUGBY’S GREATEST RIVALRY

This is the one.

It is rugby’s most loaded rivalry, the one with the deepest history, the greatest tension, and the strongest claim to excellence. Between them, South Africa and New Zealand have set the standard for what Test rugby should look like: hard, clever, physical, unrelenting. They don’t just play for points. They play for hierarchy.

As of the end of the 2025 Rugby Championship meetings, the teams had met 110 times in Test rugby. The All Blacks lead the all-time series with 63 wins, the Springboks have 43, and there have been 4 draws.

That number matters, but it only tells part of the story.

Every era has had its own version of South Africa versus New Zealand. The early tours gave it its edge, but the apartheid years also gave it political charge. Professionalism gave it speed and scale, and the rivalry, in the Rassie Erasmus era, is at its most intense.

ALL BLACKS COACH DAVE RENNIE IS A RED FLAG FOR RASSIE’S BOKS

What is the Springboks vs All Blacks record?

The raw record is straightforward enough.

The Springboks and All Blacks have played 110 Tests. New Zealand have won 63, South Africa 43, with 4 draws. That makes New Zealand the only major nation with a positive all-time record against South Africa, which is why every Springbok win over the All Blacks carries outsized value.

The recent trend, however, tells a sharper story.

South Africa beat New Zealand twice in 2024 31-27 at Ellis Park and 18-12 in Cape Town to reclaim the Freedom Cup. In 2025, the All Blacks won 24-17 at Eden Park, but the Springboks answered a week later with a seismic 43-10 win in Wellington, a result SA Rugby described as the biggest defeat ever inflicted on the All Blacks.

So while New Zealand still lead the century-long rivalry overall, the modern contest is tighter, nastier and far less predictable than the old numbers suggest.

The biggest Springbok win over the All Blacks

South Africa’s biggest win, 35-7 at Twickenham a month before the 2023 World Cup, was the Boks benchmark 100-plus years in the making, but within two years that record was broken.

The new high-water mark came in Wellington on 13 September 2025, when the Springboks demolished the All Blacks 43-10. SA Rugby explicitly called it the All Blacks’ biggest defeat ever, and noted that it surpassed the 35-7 margin from London in 2023.

That matters historically and psychologically.

South Africa have always believed they can beat New Zealand. But there is a difference between belief and force. The 43-10 result was force. It was a reminder that when the Springboks got their collision game, bench impact and tactical pressure exactly right, they could break even the All Blacks in New Zealand.

The biggest All Blacks win over the Springboks

New Zealand’s biggest win in the rivalry remains the brutal 57-0 victory in 2017, still South Africa’s heaviest defeat in Test history. SA Rugby itself referred to it in retrospect as a record defeat by New Zealand.

That result remains one of the rivalry’s most important reference points because it sits at the opposite end of the emotional scale from the Springboks’ recent resurgence. It was humiliation then. The modern Bok revival has been built, in part, on making sure that kind of capitulation never happens again.

Why this is rugby’s greatest rivalry

The phrase is not marketing fluff.

South Africa and New Zealand have been the sport’s two most imposing rugby nations across generations. They have the tradition, the depth, the public pressure, the tactical intelligence and the expectation. More than that, each has usually been measured most accurately by how it performs against the other.

SA Rugby itself now brands the fixture as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and the 2026 tour has been designed around that idea, with four Tests scheduled between the Springboks and All Blacks, including a Test in Baltimore, USA. That commercial packaging works because it is built on a truth rugby people already understand: no fixture carries more historical weight.

There are bigger sporting events globally, but in rugby, nothing feels more final than Springboks versus All Blacks.

The latest chapter in the rivalry

The latest sequence of matches has added another layer to the story.

In 2024, South Africa beat New Zealand twice in one Rugby Championship campaign, first at Ellis Park and then in Cape Town. The second win secured the Freedom Cup and kept the Springboks unbeaten in that championship stretch.

In 2025, the All Blacks protected Eden Park with a 24-17 win in Auckland, before South Africa hit back with the 43-10statement in Wellington. The official Springbok record published before the Auckland match was 108 played, 42 won, 62 lost, 4 drawn; after Auckland it became 109 played, 42 won, 63 lost, 4 drawn; and after Wellington the all-time tally moved to 110 played, 43 won, 63 lost, 4 drawn.

Springboks vs All Blacks: the verdict

The All Blacks still lead the rivalry on total wins.

But the modern Springboks have changed the feel of the contest. They have beaten New Zealand in World Cup finals, beaten them back-to-back in South Africa, and in 2025 handed them the heaviest defeat in their history in their own country.

That is why the Springboks versus All Blacks fixture remains unmatched. It is not just the best rivalry because of the past. It is the best rivalry because the next chapter still matters.

And in this rivalry, more than any other in rugby, history is never finished.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour fixtures 2026

Friday 7 August: DHL Stormers v All Blacks at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Tuesday 11 August: Hollywoodbets Sharks v All Blacks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Saturday 15 August: Vodacom Bulls v All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Saturday 22 August: First Test – Springboks v All Blacks at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Tuesday 25 August: Lions v New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Saturday 29 August: Second Test – Springboks v New Zealand at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Saturday 5 September: Third Test – Springboks v New Zealand at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg Saturday 12 September:

Saturday 12th September: Fourth Test – Springboks v New Zealand in Baltimore, Maryland

SPRINGBOKS v ALL BLACKS – EVERY TEST RESULT

*STATS AS PER SARUGBYSTATS

RUGBY’S GREATEST RIVALRY – IT DOES NOT GET BIGGER THAN SPRINGBOKS v ALL BLACKS

ALL BLACKS 10 SPRINGBOKS 43

ALL BLACKS 57 SPRINGBOKS 0

FAQ

What is the Springboks vs All Blacks record?
The All Blacks lead the all-time Test rivalry 63 wins to 43, with 4 draws after 110 matches.

What is the Springboks’ biggest win over the All Blacks?
South Africa’s biggest win over New Zealand is the 43-10 victory in Wellington on 13 September 2025.

What is the All Blacks’ biggest win over the Springboks?
New Zealand’s biggest win over South Africa is 57-0 in 2017.

Why is Springboks vs All Blacks called rugby’s greatest rivalry?
Because it combines more than a century of Test history, elite winning standards, repeated title-deciding matches and consistent relevance at the top of world rugby. SA Rugby now officially uses the term “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” for the fixture. The two nations have combined for seven World Cup titles.

Andre Esterhuizen and his hybrid rugby qualities have reaped reward off the field. He is the STECO Hybrid Power Tools Hero and Hybrid Craftsman for South Africa’s hottest new power tool brand, with 40 years of RYOBI credibility.

RUGBY’S FIRST HYBRID TEST PLAYER

Esterhuizen, recently on the cover of SA Rugby Magazine, has been outstanding for the Springboks and the Sharks, whom he captained in his 100th match and continues to lead in the United Rugby Championship.

John Stevens, RYOBI Africa and STECO CEO, in confirming the alignment with Andre ‘the Giant’ and the Hybrid Craftsman campaign, said it was a giant step into the rugby landscape for them as a business, but one that made for a perfect fit, given Esterhuizen’s role as Test rugby’s first proper hybrid player and the power of STECO’s hybrid tools.

‘The Shark’s captain and Springbok utility back has been moulded by coach Rassie Erasmus into the world’s first hybrid player; essentially he is versatile enough to perform at the highest level, globally, as both a back and a forward. This is a perfect metaphor for our STECO offering.’

‘Most power tools are walled gardens, but we have designed STECO batteries to work on RYOBI products and vice versa. Our industry-leading 20v batteries last longer, perform better, and offer the performance and power needed for residential and commercial building projects.’

Esterhuizen says, ‘It’s an absolutely synergistic partnership that just makes sense. The STECO team is proudly South African with several decades worth of credibiity. The Stevens and co team have built one of the most envious power tools offerings on the continent but their after sales, hands on approach, puts the customer at the heart of everything that they do. I’m honoured to represent my country, when given the opportunity. I am relishing the hybrid role that was created for me, and I’m excited to get to work with STECO as the hybrid craftsman, with the hybrid tools that I have at my disposal.’

STECO has been a partner of Keo.co.za and the Keo & Zels show for the past 18 months, with Keo & Zels dedicating a section of the show to the STECO Power Play of the weekend.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Keo_Zels_Show (@keo_zels_show)

That Power Play will now be the Hybrid Power Tools Hero of the weekend, with great competition prizes to be won.

BOKS SCRUM A STECO POWER PLAY OF BRUTALITY AND BEAUTY

ANDRE THE GIANT LEADS SHARKS TO SLAUGHTER OF THE SHARKS 

ANDRE THE GIANT SLAYS THE WELSH DRAGON

France are rugby’s great illusion: Celebrated as royalty at home, but on the road they have too often travelled as peasants, as witnessed with the Murrayfield massacre in Scotland scoring 50 points.

The Six Nations match ended 50-40 to Scotland, but don’t be fooled. The story is Scotland scoring 40 unanswered points in the 20 minutes before half time and the 20 after the break.

Charitable tries to France in the final five minutes was never going to change the result, and it should not change the reflection of the match.

Rugby has always been seduced by France. The jerseys, the flair, the romance, the idea that somewhere inside the chaos lies genius. But the professional record, since 1996, tells a colder story.

Four wins from 40 Tests in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
No World Cup gold in 8 tournaments over 30 years
No southern hemisphere series victories.
Nine European titles in three decades.

I am among those always seduced by the folklore of the French, by the celebrated one-off World Cup wins against the All Blacks at Twickenham in the 1999 RWC semi-final and the 20-18 win against the All Blacks at the 2007 RWC quarter-final in Cardiff.

What followed was France losing the next match, one in a final and one in a semi-final.

France, when they hosted the 2007 World Cup, lost the opening match to Argentina and they lost the play-off for third and fourth place to Argentina.

France, in hosting the 2023 World Cup, lost to the defending champion Springboks in the quarter-final.

No Test rugby nation has ever enjoyed such continued hype and delivered such consistent failures.

Tests in the southern hemisphere against the Big Three:

• Played: 40

• Won: 4

• Lost: 35

• Drawn: 1

• Win rate: 10%

The Breakdown:

• New Zealand in New Zealand: 1 win from 18 Tests

• Australia in Australia: 1 wins from 14 Tests

• South Africa in South Africa: 2 wins from 8 Tests

France have not won a Test series in New Zealand, Australia or South Africa since the game turned professional in 1996.

At home against the same three nations:

• Played: 40 Tests

• Won: 17

• Lost: 22

• Drawn: 1

The All Blacks between 2004 and 2017 won seven times in succession in France.

• 27 Nov 2004, Stade de France New Zealand 45-6 France

• 11 Nov 2006, Stade de Gerland New Zealand 47-3 France

• 18 Nov 2006, Stade de France New Zealand 23-11 France

• 28 Nov 2009, Stade Vélodrome New Zealand 39-12 France

• 9 Nov 2013, Stade de France New Zealand 26-19 France

• 26 Nov 2016, Stade de France New Zealand 24-19 France

• 11 Nov 2017, Stade de France New Zealand 38-18 France

The Springboks, between 2013 and 2025, have won five from six

• 23 Nov 2013, Stade de France South Africa 19-10 France

• 18 Nov 2017, Stade de France South Africa 18-17 France

• 10 Nov 2018, Stade de France South Africa 29-26 France

• 12 Nov 2022, Stade Vélodrome France 30-26 South Africa

• 15 Oct 2023, Stade de France South Africa 29-28 France

• 8 Nov 2025, Stade de France South Africa 32-17 France

Even in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, France lose more than they win against the southern hemisphere trio of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Six Nations / Five Nations (1996–2025):

• Tournaments: 30

• Titles: 9

• Runner-up: 7

• Third: 4

• Fourth: 7

• Fifth: 2

France, under Fabien Galthié, between 2020 and 2025, have finished second, second, first, second, second and first in the Six Nations. They should add a 10th Six Nations title (in 31 attempts) this weekend when they play England in Paris.

But even that renaissance came with its defining moment on home soil in the 2023 World Cup quarter-final in Paris, when France lost to the Springboks in the quarter-final in Paris.

The margin was just that one point, but one point was as powerful at 20 on the night.

The Boks, defending the World Cup title, won the tournament in beating England in the semi-final and New Zealand in the final, each play-off win being with a point.

France felt they had been a dirty but one year later, hyped again, they fell once more to the Springboks, who won 32-17 in Paris, despite playing 14-15 for 30 of the 80 minutes.

The Boks, in their last 11 matches against France, six in France and five in South Africa, have won five in France and five in South Africa. They have lost one, 30-26 in Marseilles in 2022.

Saturday’s visit to Murrayfield was significant in the assessment of a French team that had been dominant against Ireland in Paris, Wales in Cardiff and Italy in Lille.

Scotland, at Murrayfield, would be as good a measure as any to the mental resolve of a French squad that must travel further than the flight to Edinburgh when challenging for the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Scotland, at Murrayfield, was a reinforcement of the fragility of the French player psyche when not playing at home.

The defeat, given the hype around France, shocked many, but the manner in which they fell apart was consistent with the past 30 years of professionalism.

FRENCH MEDIA REACTION TO MURRAYFIELD MAYHEM

The World Cup myth

France’s World Cup record since professionalism:

World Cups since 1996: 8
Titles: 0

France, on those big rugby days when expectation leads them into battle, are not the aristocrats rugby imagines them to be.

They are the sport’s most celebrated illusion, so magnificent in the telling, but far less imposing in the reckoning.

SIX NATIONS LATEST: EVERY PLAYER AND TEAM STATISTIC

Markus Muller will play for the Springboks in 2026. Good enough is old enough, and Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has never had an issue picking a young one or an old one.

Muller and SA under 20 captain Riley Norton are experiencing the Springboks culture in Cape Town this week as part of Erasmus’s first national alignment camp for the season as the Boks coach counts down the 21 matches (20 Tests and the Barbarians season opener) before the start of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

The Boks, their four World Cup golds the most in the 10 tournament history, would make history in winning a third successive World Cup. They won the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, a back-to-back feat only achieved once before by Richie McCaw’s All Blacks in 2011 and 2015.

Here’s a piece I did on Muller for the Sunday Times.

Markus Muller, the schoolboy sensation from Paarl Gimnasium, needs backing more than protection from the hype.

And that is exactly the endorsement he got from Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus earlier this week with inclusion in the Springboks alignment camp, in Cape Town, next week.

Muller, 18 years-old, signed with the Stormers in 2026 and has already trained with the senior squad. He played for the SA under 20s against Georgia last weekend.

He is an exceptional talent, and age has never been a consideration for talents of his ilk. They transition straight onto the biggest stages

Canan Moodie made his Springboks Test debut in 2022 as a 19-year-old winger against Australia in Sydney. He was superb. A year later he was a World Cup winner.

Frans Steyn made his Test debut against Ireland in 2006 as a 19 year-old winger and was South Africa’s Player of the Match. A year later he was a World Cup winner.

Muller has the potential and pedigree to write a similar script, given the next World Cup is in Australia in 2027.

Erasmus has never referenced age as a negative in his selections. He picked hooker Schalk Brits (38) for World Cup duty in 2019 and entrusted the then 37 year-old Deon Fourie with a multi-faceted role at the 2023 World Cup. Brits and Fourie are World Cup winners.

Some of the sport’s iconic backs were playing Test rugby in their teens. John Kirwan, Jeff Wilson and Jonah Lomu were all All Blacks wingers as 19 year-olds. James O’Connor played wing for the Wallabies as an 18 year-old and the midfield duo of Tim Horan and Jason Little were Wallabies as 19 year-olds.

Muller, comfortable wearing No 12 and No 13, scored more than 50 tries in his Grade 11 and 12 years playing for Paarl Gim, Western Province and SA Schools.

He also kicked many points and in 2025 he scored 43 points in one match.

Having watched him through SuperSport’s Schools broadcasts and seen several of his matches live, his point of difference is not in size, but in a rugby IQ that complements a physical presence.

He is a back, who in his final schools’ year, relished joining the forwards in a lineout maul, as much as he did running a try-scoring support line as a midfield back.

I can see him developing into a hybrid player as he physically evolves.

His try-scoring headlined most of his school matches, but his assists were even more impressive. He is not a one-trick pony who dominated schools rugby because of superior size.

He is a player with an understanding of the nuances of the sport and a natural appreciation that rugby is a team sport.

Erasmus has recognised his on-field quality and will get to experience the youngster’s energy up close. Culture is the essence of Erasmus’s World Cup-winning Springboks.

If a player doesn’t fit in, no matter his pedigree, he won’t get selected.

Muller will fit in and there is no ‘if’ about him playing for the Springboks; the only question is when he plays for the Springboks.

STORMERS SNAP UP MULLER

Springboks and Wild Knights Damian de Allende continues to set the standards among No 12s in world rugby. He is the best – and has been for some time.

In the Keo & Zels show earlier this week, there was agreement that De Allende remains the standout No 12 in the game.

Keo: Damian de Allende has done it all. Two World Cups. Rugby Championships. Outstanding for Munster in the URC and Investec Champions Cup. A superstar in Japan. A force for the Stormers and Western Province.

Yet when the “best No 12 in the world” debate starts, his name is often an afterthought.

Ireland’s Stu McCloskey has had a strong Six Nations and suddenly some commentators are calling him the benchmark. That’s recency bias. De Allende has been the benchmark for a decade.

He is the glue in the Springbok midfield. When he plays, they are a different side. When he doesn’t, you feel it. Sonny Bill Williams said last season that the most undervalued piece of the South African World Cup puzzle is Damian de Allende. He’s right.

De Allende has strength in contact, a complete passing game and a rugby IQ that the public underrates but coaches don’t. Tony Brown rates him the best passer in the Bok set-up.

The move to Japan extended his career. League One is improving every season, but it’s not the weekly collision of the URC or Top 14. It has preserved him and I believe he has another World Cup in him.

 If we’re picking a No 12 tomorrow? I take him. Every time. He is the best No 12 in the world.

ALL BLACKS GREATS RAVE ABOUT DE ALLENDE

Zels:
That’s the difference between media noise and player reality.

In player circles, “Doogz” gets huge respect. It’s the same story as Franco Mostert. At the Lions people asked what he actually did. Then he became a Bok and suddenly everyone understood the work rate and detail.

De Allende does the heavy lifting. He wins collisions. He cleans up. He organises. He makes the right decision more often than not. Players and coaches see it immediately.

In his prime? For me, absolutely – he’s the best 12 in world rugby.

RECALL: HOW RASSIE REINVENTED DE ALLENDE IN 2019

Last weekend he played his 50th match for the Wild Knights in Japan – another reminder of his consistency and professionalism. Whether it was Milnerton High in Cape Town, a World Cup final with the Springboks, Munster on a European night, or League One in Japan, the standard never drops.

ALL BLACKS MIDFIELD MASTER SONNY BILL WILLIAMS GIVES DOOGZ HIS DUES

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Keo_Zels_Show (@keo_zels_show)

The global rugby press reaction to the Springboks 73-0 slaughter of Wales in Cardiff was split three ways: awe at the Boks, horror at Wales, and anger at the red-carded Eben Etzebeth.

The global rugby media didn’t so much report on South Africa’s 73–0 demolition of Wales as conduct a post-mortem.

Eleven tries, a clean sheet and a performance dripping with menace left the Welsh press stunned, the English papers grim, and the New Zealanders nodding with familiar respect. For the Springboks, it was another ruthless reminder of the standard they set.

For Wales, it was a national reckoning.

WalesOnline labelled it the “darkest day in Welsh rugby”, a humiliation years in the making. Their writers spoke of sadness and inevitability as a proud Test nation was “pulverised” in its own cathedral.
The Times questioned whether “men against boys” even captured the mismatch, praising South Africa’s precision while condemning Eben Etzebeth’s moment of madness as the only stain on an otherwise brutal masterclass.
The Sunday Telegraph called Wales “pointless” in every sense: a non-contest, a miscalculated fixture, and a record defeat that exposed the gulf in class.
The Rugby Paper described an “avoidable mismatch” that taught Wales nothing about their future and reinforced everything about South Africa’s relentlessness.

From a South African lens, the tone was clinical rather than triumphant.

SA Rugby Magazine, TimesLIVE and Keo.co.za all stressed that this was the full stop on an unbeaten tour and another data point in Rassie Erasmus’s expanding blueprint. Fringe players flourished, structure and brutality blended seamlessly, and the trademark refusal to concede even a consolation point in the 80th minute said more about this team’s identity than the scoreline.

Even in New Zealand, the reaction was clear: NZ Herald credited a “superpower doing superpower things” and noted that South Africa end the year not only as world champions, but as the sport’s pace-setters.

The world didn’t just witness a hiding. It witnessed a statement.
South Africa’s standards are non-negotiable. Their depth is frightening.

And Wales – under-strength, underpowered and overwhelmed.

KEO & ZELS – SIYA’S BOKS PURR WITH PERFECTION 

WalesOnline – “Welsh team crumble in record home defeat”

WalesOnline’s match coverage framed this as the darkest day in Welsh rugby at the Principality: 11 unanswered tries, first time “nilled” at home in decades, and a scoreboard that felt like an execution rather than a contest. Their pieces stressed how under-strength Wales were, but made it clear that selection politics and WRU mismanagement created the circumstances for this humiliation. The tone mixed shock and resignation – the sense that this 73-0 was years in the making. Follow-up reaction columns spoke of “very real sadness” and a tragic unravelling of a proud Test nation in front of its own people. Flashscore+1

Welsh Sunday voice – Nation.Cymru / Welsh reaction

As a distinctly Welsh lens outside the big UK dailies, Nation.Cymru’s weekend take treated 73-0 as a national reckoning. The piece stressed that the result wasn’t just about missing Premiership-based players; it was about a structural decay in Welsh rugby – from pathway to finances – exposed brutally by the world champions. The article highlighted a fanbase oscillating between anger and apathy, a stadium with worrying gaps in the stands and a governing body “out of answers”. It argued that the scoreline must force WRU members to confront whether the current model can produce anything other than more days like this. The Independent+1

The Times / Sunday Times (London) – Steve James

In The Times (from the same London stable as the Sunday Times), Steve James called it “every bit as grim as feared”: a physical mismatch that made “men against boys” feel like understatement. He emphasised the Boks’ scrummage and aerial dominance, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s 28-point masterclass and Wales’ inability to execute even basic set-piece chances. But his central theme was Etzebeth: the eye-gouge described as a “blatant act of thuggery” that soiled a magnificent team performance and will likely bring a long ban. For Wales, he portrayed a low ebb – empty seats, fragile confidence and shallow depth laid bare. The Times

Sunday Telegraph – James Corrigan

For The Sunday Telegraph, James Corrigan’s live report and follow-up hammered home one idea: “pointless Wales”. His copy stressed how uncompetitive the hosts were from the opening scrum, how quickly South Africa’s power game turned into a procession, and how little value the fixture offered anyone by the final quarter. Corrigan underlined that this was Wales’ worst home defeat and first Cardiff whitewash since the 1960s, and questioned the wisdom of scheduling such a mismatch outside the Test window. He also leaned into the Etzebeth incident, arguing that an 11-try rout did not need to be accompanied by such unnecessary nastiness. Telegraph+1

The Rugby Paper (UK) – weekend broadsheet

The Rugby Paper’s headline – “Steve Tandy’s pointless side put to shame in 11-try thrashing” – captured its harsh verdict. Their report stressed how this was a weakened Wales, stripped of Premiership-based players, but insisted that didn’t excuse the scale of collapse. The analysis described South Africa as operating in a different weight division, with their bench alone out-capping the entire Welsh match-day 23. The paper portrayed the game as a damaging non-contest that taught Wales nothing, eroded public faith and raised serious questions about WRU strategy. The Etzebeth red card was the grim coda to what they saw as a “needless mismatch”. Ground News+1

Planet Rugby – Winners & Losers

Planet Rugby’s “Wales v Springboks Winners & Losers” piece leaned into the contrast: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Andre Esterhuizen and the Bok pack among the big winners; Eben Etzebeth and the sport’s image squarely in the losers column. They praised South Africa’s “floor-filling tunes” in attack – the variety of their strike plays and the fluency of a heavily rotated side – and highlighted Esterhuizen as the poster boy of Rassie’s hybrid revolution, this time unleashed as a classic ball-carrying 12. On Wales, the verdict was that an under-powered side were “out of their depth” and that 73-0 will haunt the WRU for years. Planet Rugby+1

Rugby365 – Warren Fortune & Leezil Hendricks

On Rugby365, Warren Fortune’s match report and Leezil Hendricks’ player ratings built a coherent picture: South Africa ended their Nations Series with a “73-0 command performance”, scoring 222 points across the tour and conceding just 51. The site stressed how thoroughly the Boks dominated the collisions and set piece, and how many so-called fringe players enhanced their 2027 World Cup credentials. Follow-up video pieces focused on Rassie Erasmus’ reaction to Etzebeth’s red – Erasmus admitting the card was justified and that “the optics weren’t great”. At the same time, Rugby365 emphasised how ruthlessly the Boks defended their line in the closing minutes to protect the nil. Rugby365+3Rugby365+3Rugby365+3

Keo.co.za – Mark Keohane

On Keo.co.za, your “Andre the Giant & his fellow Boks slay the Dragons” column framed 73-0 as the ultimate expression of Rassie’s “no let-up” mentality. You leaned into the symbolism of the Boks still fighting for a turnover in the 79th minute with the score already at 73-0, arguing that this spoke to the aura and internal standards of this group. The piece highlighted the dominance of the forwards, the impact of Esterhuizen in his new hybrid role, and the statement made by finishing an unbeaten tour with a record win. Etzebeth’s red was acknowledged, but the core theme was character and ruthlessness rather than controversy. KEO.co.za+2KEO.co.za+2

Sunday Times South Africa / TimesLIVE

Within the Sunday Times SA / TimesLIVE stable, coverage underlined the professional coldness of the Bok performance rather than the chaos of the scoreline. The Business Day/Sunday Times reports talked of a “clinical” and “commanding” demolition that completed a clean sweep on tour and cemented South Africa’s No 1 ranking. They emphasised how many combinations Rassie experimented with across Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales, yet still produced an 80-minute performance in Cardiff. The Etzebeth incident was treated as an ugly, isolated flashpoint in an otherwise near-perfect collective exhibition from a side that “simply don’t do dead rubbers”. Business Day+2Sunday Times+2

SA Rugby Magazine – Borchardt & co.

SA Rugbymag.co.za ran a suite of pieces: Simon Borchardt’s “Brilliant Boks demolish Dragons” match report, features on Rassie being “proud of hungry Boks”, Siya Kolisi hoping the red card wouldn’t overshadow things, and a big-picture “Springboks gaze down on rugby world”. The mag stressed that 73-0 was one more data point in a two-year stretch of dominance, not a freak outlier. They homed in on the hunger of fringe players, the work-rate in chasing the shut-out and the seamless integration of youngsters like Feinberg-Mngomezulu. The red card was acknowledged but framed as a disciplinary headache rather than a stain on the team. SA Rugby magazine+3SA Rugby magazine+3SA Rugby magazine+3

AFRICA PICKS: CASHING IN ON THE BOKS

NZ Herald – Kiwi view on a Bok juggernaut

The NZ Herald piece (“Springboks crush Wales 73-0 in historic test demolition”) was a wire-style report but with a clear Kiwi subtext: respect for a rival superpower doing superpower things. It highlighted Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s Llandovery College link and 28-point haul, noted that this surpassed England’s 68-14 as Wales’ worst home defeat, and pointed out it was the first time Wales had been held scoreless at home in the professional era. For New Zealand readers, the article placed the rout in the context of South Africa closing 2025 with 12 wins from 14 Tests, reinforcing the sense that the Boks remain the team to beat in world rugby. NZ Herald+1

Planet Rugby, RugbyPass & others

RugbyPass, Guardian live, ESPN, RTE and TNT Sports all reinforced the same themes: “men against boys”, a structural Welsh crisis, a Bok machine that finishes the year indisputably No 1, and a sour taste from Etzebeth’s red. Many pundits, notably Dan Biggar on TNT, questioned whether such mismatches should continue to be scheduled; others argued it showed exactly why South Africa are on a different tier to every northern-hemisphere side right now. TNT Sports+4The Guardian+4ESPN.com+4

*Compiled by Keo.co.za & ChatGPT (All references verified)

Andre ‘The Giant’ Esterhuizen led the charge at the Principality as the Springboks took the sword to the throat of the Welsh Dragons, Mark Keohane.

Esterhuizen was the official Player of the Match. He was also my standout Boks individual in a performance where numbers one to 23 were outstanding, as individuals, but their potency was the collective as a 15, regardless of who was wearing what number.

Boks coach Rassie Erasmus, post the match, was delighted at the control and clinical nature of the performance, and pleased with the manner in which his players never veered from the disciplined game plan approach of playing the game in the Welsh half, suffocating the Welsh set piece, and also the game management of his halfbacks Morne van den Berg and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, with the latter scoring two tries and kicking nine conversions from 11 attempts for 28 points.

Damian Willemse, at fullback, was equally impressive in how he owned the space at the back.

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, at the forefront of everything that was strong about the Boks, spoke afterwards of playing the game in the right areas and not been seduced by the team make-up of Wales, who were missing 13 players, or early scoreboard advantage.

Kolisi said they have enormous respect for Welsh rugby and for the fight within the players. The Boks had also been impressed with the first 60 minutes from Wales against the All Blacks, when they trailed 24-21.

Kolisi said the Welsh had shown their pedigree when the game gets loose and opens up and the Boks had to be at their most disciplined not to want to turn the Test into a Barbarians-style match.

Erasmus and Kolisi, as always, kept their focus on the collective, the appreciation of a squad that goes beyond 45 players and the role of each player and management member within the squad.

The Boks coach applauded Kolisi and his players for the powerful finish to a season that totalled 14 Tests and a non-international against the Barbarians in Cape Town to start the season.

Erasmus also said the players and coaches had learned the lesson of the Castle Rugby Championship opener against Australia at Ellis Park, when the Boks led 22-0 playing tempo rugby, only to lose their legs and lose the match 38-22.

There had to be greater balance in how they wanted to play, said Erasmus, but that did not mean sacrificing anything when it was one to attack.

The Boks biggest weapon is their set piece, particularly the scrum, but Erasmus said that weapon could easily be defused by the Boks themselves, if they played too much rugby in the wrong areas and fatigued their powerhouse pack.

‘We learned from that Australian Test,’ he said. ‘That pleased me.’

Kolisi was equally pleased with the manner in which his players fought for turnover ball, regardless of field position or the scoreline, and to see the Boks throw themselves at the breakdown and Welsh ankles and legs to keep the hosts out in the final minute was the measure of the character of these Boks.

The Boks were 73-0 ahead in the 79th minute when they fought to deny Wales a try and won a penalty turnover.

CELEBRATING COBUS REINACH & HIS 50th TEST

BOKS v WALES TEST MATCH REACTION

Scorers

Springboks

Tries: Gerhard Steenekamp, Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Wilco Louw, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth.

Convs: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (9)

BACKING THE BOKS WITH AFRICA PICKS 

WALES – 15 Blair Murray, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Rhys Davies, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Bench: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 James Ratti, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Ben Thomas.

SPRINGBOKS – 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Bench: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Zachary Porthen, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Ben-Jason Dixon, 22 Kwagga Smith, 23 Cobus Reinach.

Springboks No 9 Cobus Reinach plays his 50 Test in Saturday’s season finale against Wales in Cardiff. It is a salute to a remarkable Test career, in which Reinach has shown that patience is a virtue and from patience comes the ultimate rewards, writes Mark Keohane.

I’ve covered enough Test rugby since 1992 to know that some players arrive like fireworks, bright and loud, and then disappear before the smoke has even cleared. And then there are players like Cobus Reinach, who is built on staying power, steel, speed, and a stubborn refusal to ever be counted out.

Reinach’s 50th Test comes 11 years after he debuted for the Boks at Newlands against Australia in 2014. He was 24 then. He is 35 now, and he looks quicker today than he did the afternoon he played his first Test.

That alone tells you everything about the athlete and the attitude.

But to salute Reinach purely as a survivor undersells him because he has thrived wherever he has played, be it in South Africa, England or France, at club level or for the Springboks.

He has done more than most scrumhalves who have ever worn the No 9 jersey for South Africa. Two World Cup titles and a hattrick in four minutes – the fastest in Rugby World Cup history – against Canada in 2019. He has scored 19 tries in 49 Tests.

And then there’s what he has done in the past month: two individual tries, each worthy of its own movie trailer. There was the crucial scorcher against France at the Stade de France in Paris that showcased his straight-line speed, and one as important against Ireland in Dublin, where again instinct and acceleration combined for five points.

Reinach has been electric throughout the Castle Rugby Championship and the November internationals, whether starting or closing out the Test.

Reinach, who made his Stormers debut a fortnight after being part of the Boks’ Rugby Championship title defence, played nine consecutive years overseas, at Northampton’s Saints for four years and then for the past five at Montpellier in France, where he finished on 103 matches. He played 76 for the Saints.

BOKS GO FOR THE KILL AGAINST WALES

He was never a case of  ‘out of sight and out of mind’. He was always a part of the national equation under Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber.

Rassie Erasmus, speaking after the 2019 World Cup pool win over Canada, said: “Cobus is one of the best finishers in world rugby. His speed is one thing, but his attitude is what sets him apart. He never stops working.”

Jacques Nienaber has always maintained: “Cobus brings intensity. Whether he plays ten minutes or 80 minutes, he changes the game. That’s his gift.”

Montpellier’s Philippe Saint-André, upon his arrival at the French club, called Reinach “the fastest scrumhalf in the world – and the most professional player in the squad.”

Teammate Jesse Kriel, ahead of the 2023 World Cup playoffs, said: “Cobus doesn’t age. He trains like a 20-year-old and competes like a Springbok who knows the standard. We trust him with our lives.”

Even the great Aaron Smith, after the Boks beat the All Blacks in Auckland in 2014, commented privately (later repeated in interviews): “That No 9 is rapid. South Africa have something special there.”

WIN WITH THE BOKS & AFRICA PICKS

Everyone who has ever played with him or against him has said the same thing in different ways: Reinach is a game-breaker. You blink and he is gone. You hesitate and he burns you. You switch off and he is already under the posts.

For me, the beauty of Reinach’s Test career is that it hasn’t followed the script. It hasn’t been linear or predictable. He never became the “permanent” Bok No 9, but he became something far more valuable in being the player who can tilt a Test match at any moment, from anywhere on the field. He has been and is a player whose selection is never a gamble, because the return is almost always guaranteed.

KEO & ZELS TALK BOKS AND COBUS REINACH

He is the definition of a 23-man squad player in the modern era: dependable, devastating, disciplined.

Reinach’s route wasn’t easy and many within South Africa felt that he left the country when at the peak of his powers, but he continued to improve at the Saints and Montpellier.

His club mates speak of his lack of ego, his obsession with conditioning, his attention to video detail and his leadership and mentoring of newbies or less experienced players.

Saint-André once joked: “Cobus doesn’t drink wine. He doesn’t eat dessert. He eats speed.”

At 35, playing his 50th Test, he is still eating speed and burning international defences.

When I think of Reinach, I think of the Springboks’ identity under Erasmus and Nienaber, which is one rooted in readiness and not reputation.

There have been exceptional scrum halves playing for South Africa in the past 11 years, which is a statement on its own that Reinach gets to 50 appearances in Cardiff.

Cobus Reinach’s career is a lesson in perseverance, professionalism, and possibility, and a reminder to every wannabe Springboks scrum half in South Africa about consistency and relentless work ethic.

READ SA RUGBY MAG FOR ALL THE BOKS V WALES TEST PREVIEWS

There will be no let off from Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks in their final Test of 2025 in Cardiff against Wales, and that is the attitude there should be from the sport’s best team, the official No 1 team for 2025 and the current World Cup holders, writes Mark Keohane.

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has shown Welsh rugby the utmost respect by picking his strongest available match 23 for a Test the Boks are expected to win with a record score.

Wales are without 13 of the players who fronted the All Blacks a week ago, and while the Boks are missing as many, there is no comparison in the quality of depth in both national camps.

Wales have won just two of their last 20 internationals, but there is a high regard within the Boks set-up, especially from Erasmus for what Welsh rugby represents.

There was a time, not long ago, that Wales was smashing the Boks, has been a consistent echoed by Erasmus this week.

In Erasmus’s first tenure as Bok coach, he won just seven from 14 Tests, losing to Wales in Washington DC in his first Test in charge and finishing the season beaten in Cardiff by Wales again.

There was the brutal 16-9 World Cup semi-final win in Japan in 2019, but what followed was a last minute win, via a Damian Willemse penalty at Loftus, a last minute defeat in Bloemfontein and then a tough 30-14 win in Cape Town to seal a 2-1 home series win.

In the past few seasons, it has settled more in Erasmus’s favour and Cardiff has become the happy hunting ground it was for Erasmus as a player.

Erasmus appreciates and recognises tradition and he knows just how passionate the Welsh are about their rugby.

They may be in a slump, but it was only eight years ago and Boks supporters were burning the Boks jersey and Wales were on a winning streak against the Springboks.

Erasmus has honoured the meaning of Test rugby with the strength of his selection, but also showcased how brilliantly he has integrated new squad players, post the 2023 World Cup, and managed the playing demands of veterans he is giving every chance to make it to Australia in 2027 for the challenge of an unprecedented third successive RWC title.

Carifff is a great city for Test rugby fans, none more than the Boks supporters, with so many making the trip down from London and various part of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The Principality Stadium is a rugby cathedral and magnificently impressive in terms of a spectator experience.

I was fortunate to report on the Boks win against Wales in 1996, which was the last time they played at the Cardiff Arms Park, before construction began for the building of the Millennium Stadium, which is now the Principality Stadium, right opposite the famous Angel Hotel, where again I was blessed to stay in the week the Springboks beat the All Blacks in the 1999 World Cup play-off for third place.

Breyton Paulse scored the only try of the play-off.

In my time covering the Springboks and being a part of the management, I have wonderful memories of great wins, even more impressive post-match experiences celebrating and a rich joy at the gift it is to write about and, having been part of, the Springboks.

The 1996 win was sweet and compelling. The Boks won 37-20 in what would be Andre Markgraaff’s last Test in charge.

The next time the Boks beat Wales away from home was at Wembley Stadium in 1998, as the Millennium Stadium had not been finished.

I missed the 1999 once-off visit to the Millennium Stadium when the Welsh stunned Nick Mallett’s Springboks. The Stadium was not yet complete, in terms of the stands, but the day is a historic one for Wales.

I was back with the Springboks under Harry Viljoen, working as Communications Manager, and the Boks won a difficult match 23-13 in 2000. We returned to Cardiff for the last match of the tour to beat a star studded Barbarians 41-31, and then did a Sunday all night season-ending party at the Walkabout in Mary Street. It was glorious.

There were wins for Jake White’s Boks in 2004, 38-36, in a match where Newport-based Percy Montgomery thrived and produced a Player of the Match performance. White’s Boks also won comfortably in 2005 and 2007 and Pieter de Villiers’s Boks enjoyed success in Cardiff in 2008 and 2010.

Heyneke Meyer continued the Boks success story in Cardiff in 2013, but in 2014 his Boks lost 12-6.

This started an unprecedented period of Welsh dominance over the Boks in Cardiff, with Bok coach Allister Coetzee’s team losing in 2016 and 2017.

Erasmus’s Boks lost 20-11 in 2018, but ever since then it has been all South Africa in Cardiff.

Frans Steyn, as a replacement, turned back the clock with a glorious kicking display to engineer a 23-18 escape for the Boks in 2021 and in 2023 Jacques Nienaber’s Boks, en-route to the World Cup, produced the biggest ever win for the Boks against Wales in Cardiff.

The Boks won 52-16 and completed their 2024 season with a 45-12 win.

KEO & ZELS: BOKS TO BURY WOEFUL WELSH

The bookies have given Wales a 38 point start, which means if you bet on them losing by under 38 points you are in the money and if you go with the Boks to win by more than 38 points, you are in the money.

WIN WITH AFRICA PICKS – BACK THE BOKS

If the Boks do win by 38 or more points, then it will represent another record for Erasmus and Siya Kolisi’s already record-breaking world champions.

It’s good to be back in Cardiff, after a decade of missing this match-up from the seats of the Principality’s Press Box.

THE WELSH VIEW 

The city is still humming and selfishly the Boks are the ones on a winning streak and favoured to make it five wins in succession against the Dragons.

READ SA RUGBY MAG FOR ALL BOKS V WALES TEST BUILD-UP

Keo & Zels were as emphatic as the Boks scrum against Ireland that the STECO Power Play was every time the Boks packed down to scrum Ireland into the Aviva turf in Dublin.

STECO is all about power, precision, sustainability and quality, and Keo & Zels, on their Rugby Podcast, said every member of the Boks pack combined to make the collective that much more powerful than any individual effort.

They acknowledge the individual try-scoring genius of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, the individual merits of Cobus Reinach, the relentlessness of Canan Moodie and the power of Damian de Allende.

But when it came to their weeks Springboks STECO Test moment, it was the Boks scrum that won the day, with the Boks feeding the scrum in 12 of the 16 scrums, and winning eight penalties on the 12 put ins. There were also more scrums on resets.

Ireland lost two players to yellow cards because of repeated scrum infringements and conceded a penalty try just before halftime to trail 19-7.

WORLD MEDIA REACTS TO POWER OF THE BOKS SCRUM

The general consensus, post the match, was that Ireland should have lost more players to the sin-bin for deliberate professional fouls at scrum time.

The Boks won 24-13; their first win at the Aviva Stadium during Rassie Erasmus’s eight years at the helm of the Springboks. It was also only the second time the Boks had played at the Aviva Stadium since Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber took charge of the Boks in 2018.

Ireland, who beat the Boks 13-8 in Pool Play at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris, France, also beat the Boks 25-24 in Durban in 2024, a week after losing 27-20 to the hosts in Pretoria in the opening Test of the July internationals.

IRISH LOCK GETS SLAP ON WRIST FOR RED CARD OFFENCE

STECO IS GIVING YOU BACK YOUR POWER

The Powerful Bok scrum earns this week’s @STECO_Global #PowerPlay award! pic.twitter.com/5Cbpy9tHJt

SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) November 25, 2025

The world’s media lauded the dominance of the Springboks in Dublin against Ireland and were awed at the physicality of the world champions and No 1 team in the sport.

A summary of how the global rugby media reacted to the Springboks 24-13 win in Dublin.

The Boks scored four tries to one.

The Irish Times – Gerry Thornley

Thornley framed it as “the one that got away” for Ireland and a long-time-coming statement win for South Africa. He highlighted the Boks’ scrum dominance and physical edge, but also the surreal card chaos and inconsistency around Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s high shot versus the multiple Irish cards, leaving Ireland feeling hard done by while still acknowledging South Africa as clearly in control. The Irish Times

Irish Examiner – Simon Lewis

Lewis hit the same two big notes: Ireland’s “ill discipline” and the Springboks’ set-piece power. Ireland’s yellow-card avalanche and James Ryan’s 20-minute red created an unwinnable scenario against a pack as dominant as this Bok eight. He stressed that, even with 12 men, Ireland showed guts, but the champions were ruthless enough to end their Dublin drought. Irish Examiner

Sunday Independent (Ireland / Independent.ie cluster) – Edward Elliot & Indo Sport team

On the UK Independent (closely echoing the Indo line), Edward Elliot’s match report headlined the game as “cards, chaos and carnage” and said Ireland “paid a heavy price for ill-discipline” as South Africa ended a 13-year wait for an Aviva win. The coverage zeroed in on the five Irish cards, the decisive scrum penalty try, and Sacha’s solo effort that effectively killed the contest, while stressing that Ireland’s late fight only reduced the margin, not the gap. The Independent

On Independent.ie (Irish), the locked match piece – “Springboks’ scrum power proves unstoppable for Ireland after flurry of yellow cards” – is clearly framed around the same themes: scrum dominance, card carnage, and Boks in control. The Independent

Sunday Times (Ireland)

• Boks physically and tactically superior at scrum time,

• Ireland’s indiscipline fatal.

The Rugby Paper (UK) – John Fallon

Fallon’s match coverage in The Rugby Paper described a “scrum masterclass” from the Springboks and a self-inflicted implosion from Ireland. His tone was that of respect for Ireland’s resilience but little doubt about who was boss: the world champions used the set-piece to squeeze, strangle and finally break Ireland, leaving Farrell with more questions than answers two years out from 2027. The Rugby Paper

The Guardian – Brendan Fanning

Fanning’s Guardian match report ran under the headline “South Africa make heavy weather of victory over indisciplined Ireland”. He called it “a truly crazy event”, stressing how four Irish players were binned in the first half, Ryan’s card was upgraded to red, and the Boks only really converted their scrum supremacy when Ireland were down to 13. His core critique: a team this dominant at set piece should win far more comfortably – but they still reminded Ireland of the gap in power when it really mattered. The Guardian

The Telegraph (UK)

The Telegraph’s live coverage and write-up is trailed with the line that Ireland’s future questions “come to the boil” after a “plucky defeat” in which the scrum was “utterly dominant” in South Africa’s favour and Ireland were reduced to 12 men. From the available blurb, the angle is:

• Ireland’s card-fuelled collapse at the set piece,

• South Africa’s ruthless exploitation of that edge,

• and the uncomfortable question of whether Ireland are slipping behind the Boks again in raw physicality and depth. The Telegraph+1

French Rugby & European Press

L’Équipe (France)

L’Équipe’s live commentary and report framed it as a “demonstration de force” by the double world champions, noting that after conquering Paris and Rome this November, the Boks had now imposed themselves in Dublin as well. They highlighted:

• a monstrous scrum and maul,

• Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s class with ball in hand,

• and an Irish side that remained combative but simply couldn’t live with the Springboks’ power and pressure over 80. L’Équipe

Midi Olympique / Rugbyrama

Midol and Rugbyrama carried pieces and social posts casting the Boks as “seemingly invincible”, talking of South Africa “continuing their festival in the north” with another statement win. The tone is almost admiringly fatalistic: this Bok side, in French eyes, has turned Europe into its playground – Dublin now joining Paris and Marseille as venues where they impose their will.

New Zealand & Global

NZ Herald – AFP report

The Herald ran an AFP match report: South Africa’s first win in Dublin since 2012 after a 24–13 victory over an “ill-disciplined Ireland side that at one point was reduced to 12 men.” It underlined:

• tries by Willemse, Reinach and Feinberg-Mngomezulu plus a penalty try,

• Ireland’s courage in keeping the scoreline respectable,

• and the personal milestone for Rassie Erasmus finally winning at Lansdowne Road, something he hadn’t done even as Munster coach. NZ Herald

South African Print & Online

Rapport – Louis de Villiers (Netwerk24)

De Villiers’ column “Bok-stutte wys hul spiere in Dublin-orgie van kaarte” (“Bok props flex their muscles in a Dublin orgy of cards”) sums up Rapport’s mood. He revels in the Bok front row’s destruction of Ireland’s scrum and embraces the madness of the yellow-card storm, effectively arguing:

• chaos or not, this was a deeply satisfying, forward-dominated away win,

• and a reminder that in the trenches, the Boks remain unmatched. Netwerk24

Sunday Times (South Africa) – Mark Keohane

In the Sunday Times, Mark Keohane’s column “Boks shake off Irish monkey” (as flagged in SA Rugby Mag’s wrap) celebrates the end of the Dublin hoodoo. His core beats:

• Ireland were “brave”, but the Boks were “brutal”,

• the scrum and collision dominance finally aligned with the scoreboard,

• and Rassie’s world champions have reclaimed the psychological high ground in what’s now the sport’s premier rivalry. SA Rugby magazine

SA Rugby Magazine (sarugbymag.co.za)

SA Rugby Mag’s online coverage led with pieces like “Boks break Dublin deadlock” and “Boks crush ill-disciplined Ireland”, plus a deep-dive analysis referencing Keo’s pre-game call that the Boks would win by 11. The tone is unapologetically triumphant:

• Dublin “belonged to the Boks” for the first time in 13 years,

• Ireland’s aura at Lansdowne took a serious dent,

• and the win validated Rassie’s decision to go full strength and target this fixture as the unofficial World Cup rematch that 2023 never gave them. SA Rugby magazine+1

Rugby365

Rugby365’s match report (and sidebar pieces) emphasised that the Springboks “ended their Dublin drought despite chaotic scenes” – focusing on:

• the Boks’ dominance at scrum time and in the collisions,

• the unprecedented five Irish cards to one South African,

• and questions over Matthew Carley’s consistency, even while acknowledging that Ireland’s discipline invited trouble and the better team still won.

Planet Rugby

Planet Rugby’s early reaction came via their news and social channels: “Springboks too strong for ill-disciplined Ireland” and “five Irish cards in chaotic Dublin Test.” Their line is simple and punchy:

• South Africa bullied Ireland at the set-piece,

• ill-discipline wrecked any hope of a home win,

• and the result re-asserts the Boks as the team to beat heading towards 2027. Planet Rugby

RugbyPass 

RugbyPass ran player ratings and reaction pieces with the headline flavour of “Ireland player ratings after ruthless Springboks dismantle Andy Farrell’s men” and similar. The ratings hammered Ireland’s discipline and scrum, while giving big numbers to Malcolm Marx, Boan Venter, Eben Etzebeth and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. The key RugbyPass take:

• this was a statement win from the Boks,

• Ireland’s supposed set-piece improvements were “exposed” under real pressure,

• and the contest showed there’s still a gap in depth and physicality between the sides. rugbypass.com

Keo.co.za – Mark Keohane 

On Keo.co.za and its AfricaPicks crossover piece, Keohane doubled down after calling Boks by 11 in the build-up. His reaction article, effectively a victory lap, framed the win as:

• Rassie’s Boks reasserting themselves as the sport’s true No 1,

• Ireland’s Lansdowne aura being shattered in 80 ugly, beautiful minutes,

• and confirmation that the rivalry is now tilted back towards South Africa, with Dublin no longer a graveyard but another green-and-gold hunting ground. SA Rugby magazine+1

Other Significant Angles

Several other outlets pushed similar themes that echo across your requested titles:

• ESPN (Tom Hamilton): “Cards, chaos and a challenge answered” – Boks reminded Ireland of the gap in a bruising win, ending a 13-year wait in Dublin. ESPN.com+1

• Daily Maverick (SA): “Springboks end Dublin drought against ill-disciplined Ireland” – very much in line with the Irish Examiner / ESPN story-arc. Daily Maverick

Quick Summary of the Global Mood

Across the spectrum – Irish, UK, French, Kiwi and South African:

• Everyone agrees the game was utterly chaotic: a once-in-a-decade card-fest.

• Irish writers strike a balance between feeling aggrieved at some decisions and admitting their side’s indiscipline and scrum issues cost them.

• Neutral & global outlets (ESPN, AFP/NZ Herald, L’Équipe) frame it as a clear, deserved Bok win driven by set-piece domination, against an Ireland who never quite folded but were outgunned.

• South African outlets are openly celebratory: the “Dublin curse” is gone, the rivalry is reset, and Rassie’s Boks have just walked into Ireland’s fortress and kicked the door down.

*Courtesy of ChatGPT 5.1 & all verified references

The Boks won by 11 points in Dublin, and the No 11 is often called a “master number” in numerology, and is thought to represent intuition, insight, and enlightenment. Add power and brutality and you have a summary of what happened at the Aviva Stadium against Ireland on Saturday night, writes Mark Keohane.

This was an assault.

If it was a boxing match, Ireland would have been counted out by the referee at halftime.

In rugby terms, this was not going to happen as the Irish spirits refused to yield to a knock out and the referee, deducting points throughout, refused to send Ireland to the corner on a TKO.

There can be no complaints in Dublin or anywhere in Ireland. The hosts were beaten up physically, lost by four tries to one, and should have finished the game in single player figures.

Ireland’s James Ryan should have had a straight red card and not the kindness of bunker review on his awfully malicious and cheap off the ball clenaout on the head of Boks hooker – and World Rugby Player of the Year – Malcolm Marx.

The record books will show the Irish got one bunker red and four yellow cards and the Boks got one. The Boks’ yellow card, in the 78th minute, was for celebrating a turnover. WTF!

It was an interesting call, to say the least, but the Boks refused to yield and kept Ireland scoreless in the last two minutes, when every call went Ireland’s way.

So much in Dublin has been made of Rassie Erasmus’s Golden Generation of Springboks never having won in Dublin between their RWC title wins in 2019 and 2023, which included a 2-1 home series win against the British & Irish Lions in 2021, with all three Tests played in Cape Town behind closed doors.

The Boks, back to back World Cup winners in 2019 and 2023, back to back Castle Rugby Championship winners in 2024 and 2025, Lions series winners in 2021, have also won in Italy, in Argentina, in Scotland, in Australia, in New Zealand, in Wales, in England at the Allianz in Twickenham, in Japan in the 2019 WRC and in France in the 2023 RWC.

The only country Erasmus’s boys had not won was in Dublin, courtesy of a three point defeat (19-16) in 2022.

Ireland, who have never advanced beyond a RWC quarter-final in 10 tournaments, held onto the Dublin win as justification as to why they should be considered the best team in the world.

That all ended on Saturday night and now Ireland’s claim to being the world’s best is to win the RWC, which would mean making history in going beyond the last eight in Australia in 2027.

Ireland has nothing left in bragging rights when it comes to the Boks, and they have a long wait until they meet the Boks in Dublin in November in 2026 in the inaugural Nations Championship.

For those South Africans working and living in Dublin, enjoy the next 12 months.

HOW KEO CALLED THE BOKS WIN ON AFRICA PICKS

The scoreline of 24-13 was kind to Ireland and the rugby gods were generous in allowing Ireland to leave the Aviva with scoreline respectability, even if the state of play should have read 30-plus points, and not the 11 differential.

The Irish were brave and they ripped up the law book to defend their try line. Their scrum was humiliated and on another night they may have ended up with no forwards on the field.

They will cry foul for the cards, but every single one was justified and there were more that should have gone against them.

They played for damage control and the Boks played to bury the hyped talked about ghosts of the Aviva.

The Boks won at the Aviva for the first time in 13 years, but it may be 13 years before Ireland ever threatens the Boks at the Aviva, such was the one-sided nature of the contest.

Ireland, when they review the match tape, will wonder how they did not concede 40-plus points, and the Boks, once the beers and brandy have settled, will wonder how they did not score 40-plus points.

For South Africa, the score will not matter, just the fact that Dublin was downed, not as smoothly as a Guinness, but with the brutality these boys put away a double brandy.

Boks by 10- plus 1.

KEO & ZELS INSISTED BOKS WOULD WIN IN SAYING RASSIE’S COWBOYS WOULD GUN DOWN IRELAND 

READ SA RUGBY MAG DIGITAL FOR ALL REACTION TO THE BOKS 24-13 WIN v IRELAND IN DUBLIN

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the playmaker the Springboks have not had at No 10 in their last four Tests against an Ireland team, who have found a way to win in three of those matches, writes Mark Keohane.

For all the dominance of the Springboks under Rassie Erasmus and for five of those years, from 2019 to 2023 Jacques Nienaber and Erasmus, Ireland is the one team that has matched the Boks minute for minute, try for try and big moment after big moment.

Respect is due to the Irish because they are the one side that has no inferiority complex when it comes to Erasmus’s all-conquering back to back World Cup winners and back to back Castle Rugby Championship winners.

Erasmus and Nienaber only played one Test against Ireland in Dublin since returning from Munster, Ireland to coach the Boks in 2018.

It was in 2022 and Ireland won 19-16.

A year later, at the Stade de France in Paris, Ireland won 13-8 and the teams drew a two-test series in South Africa in 2024, with the Boks winning 27-20 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and losing with the final kick of the game 25-24 in Durban.

Those four Tests are the only historical relevance to Saturday’s match-up in Dublin because the core of the players remain from 2022, on both sides, as does the coaching leadership.

Erasmus, after the win in Pretoria, said the squad felt they had got ‘a monkey off our backs’ in beating Ireland, but Dublin, even though it has only been over one Test and 80 minutes in 2022, sits more like a Gorilla on the backs of the Boks than a Monkey.

Earlier this season the Boks stumbled at Eden Park in Auckland, losing 24-17 to the All Blacks, having found themselves 14-0 down within the opening 10 minutes. It was a massive disappointment for the squad as there was such belief they could be the history-makers to end the All Blacks unbeaten run at 50 Tests at Eden Park; a run that now sits at 52.

Dublin carries a similar kind of mission. Win there and then this squad, many of whom are into their eight International season together, would have conquered every team in their own respective backyards.

Ireland, who won 19 in succession at the Aviva Stadium before losing to the All Blacks in 2024, also got whipped by France in the Six Nations last season.

For the most the Aviva has proved a fortress and the respect of the occasion, from both sides, is emphasised by how little click bait headlines there has been in the build-up.

It has been the most dignified of days, with Erasmus heaping praise on Ireland and Irish coach Andy Farrell being as flattering of the Boks in response.

Players on both sides have said little and those who have spoken at media conferences have talked up the magnitude of the occasion and the virtues of their opposition.

The Boks, like Ireland, have said they have to be at their best to win.

Even the dark world of social media has been more an ocean of calm and reverence.

Ireland’s faithful can simply state three wins from four, one in Dublin, one in Paris and one in Durban when backing their side, while the Boks supporters comeback is to remind Irish fans of the 2023 World Cup, the 2019 World Cup, the 2007 World Cup and the 1995 World Cup, all won by the Springboks.

Statistically, half a point separates the two teams over the four Test matches, with Ireland’s 19.25 edging the Boks 18.75. In four matches, Ireland has scored 77 points to South Africa’s 75 and seven tries to six.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu was among the substitutes in Pretoria and Durban and if the Boks are to win in Dublin, he needs to be starting at No 10.

Pollard, who kicked eight penalties in Durban, also started at No 10 in Pretoria, while Damian Willemse started at No 10 in Dublin 2022 and Manie Libbok started at No 10 in Paris in 2023. In both those defeats, the missed penalties and conversions proved costly for the Boks.

Ireland have earned the right to be favourites in Dublin, even though the bookies have the Boks as favourites.

AFRICA PICKS: PREDICT THE SCORE IN DUBLIN AND WIN WITH THE BOKS

Springboks World Cup winners Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Pollard, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith, Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, Franco Mostert, Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi have all been part of those match day squads who have come second in three of the four match-ups.

Those are some power names and among the best to have ever played for the Springboks. They are also among the best in the world.

WHY KEO IS BACKING THE BOKS

There will be another opportunity in Dublin in 2026 when the Boks play a league match against Ireland in the inaugural Nations Championship, but for some of the big name veterans, this may be their last hurrah to get that elusive win in Dublin.

KEO & ZELS: RASSIE ON RED ALERT FOR DUBLIN DELIGHTS

SA RUGBY MAG: IRELAND HAVE THE BOKS NUMBER

Ireland 19 Springboks 16
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 2022
Ireland held of a late charge by the Boks to underline their status as the No 1-ranked team in world rugby. In a tight game featuring two tries apiece, the Boks missed seven points off the kicking tee which proved crucial in the end.

Stade de France, Paris, 2023
A truly thunderous affair which lit the torch paper on the 2023 World Cup. The game was played before a crowd of over 78,000. It was epic. It was brutal. And it ended in a third consecutive win for the Irish over their southern hemisphere rivals. It was also Ireland’s 28th win out of their last 30 matches.

South Africa: Willemse; Arendse, Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe; Libbok, De Klerk; Kitshoff, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Mostert, Kolisi (capt), Du Toit, Wiese. Subs: Fourie, Nche, Nyakane, Kleyn, Snyman, Van Staden, Smith, Reinach.

Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe; Sexton (capt), Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Furlong, Ryan, Beirne, O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris. Subs: Sheehan, Bealham, Kilcoyne, Henderson, Baird, Murray, Crowley, Henshaw.

Springboks 27 Ireland 20
Loftus Versveld, Pretoria, 2024
Part of an incoming two-Test tour, the Springboks managed to bag a first win against Ireland since 2016. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted afterwards that it felt great to finally get the win as “they really had our number”. Still, it was a tight contest decided on a couple of marginal calls involving the TMO. The Boks showed early season rustiness against an Ireland team who a few months earlier had claimed another Six Nations crown but managed to hold out for an important victory.

South Africa: W le Roux; C Kolbe J Kriel, D de Allende KL Arendse; H Pollard, F de Klerk; O Nche, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe; E Etzebeth, F Mostert; S Kolisi (capt), PS du Toit, K Smith. Subs: M Marx, G Steenekamp, V Koch, S Moerat, RG Snyman, M van Staden, G Williams, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Sin-bin: Arendse, 73

Ireland: J Osborne; C Nash, R Henshaw, B Aki, J Lowe; J Crowley, C Casey; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong; T Beirne, J McCarthy; P O’Mahony (capt), J van der Flier, C Doris. Subs: R Kelleher, C Healy, F Bealham, J Ryan, R Baird, C Murray, C Frawley, G Ringrose.

Sin-bin: Kelleher, 78

Springboks 24 Ireland 25
King’s Park, Durban, 2024
An absolute humdinger which was decided by a last-minute drop goal by Ciaran Frawley. The win saw the series spoils shared and was a fitting way to celebrate Ireland coach Andy Farrell’s 50th match in charge. A flawless Handre Pollard slotted eight penalties to peg back Ireland, but two late Frawley drop goals proved decisive. The first one on 70 minutes got Ireland to within two, and then the final crushing blow right on the hooter to give Ireland another win in the latest instalment of an epic rivalry.

World Rugby has been ridiculed: From former Italian international lock Carlo del Fava to former All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson, to former England international Andy Goode, there has been ridicule at world rugby’s officials for the straight red card given to the Springboks lock Franco Mostert in Turin, Italy, writes Mark Keohane.

Mostert was shown a straight red card, as the second tackler, for what match officials deemed was an intentional shoulder to the head of Italian flyhalf Paolo Garbisi, who never went for an HIA and was up and running a few seconds after taking the tackle of Ethan Hooker and the secondary hit from Mostert.

Below is a collection of X feeds, which also showcased the inconsistency in all this weekend’s internationals when it came to shoulders to the head. In some instances, like James O’Connor taking one to the head in Dublin, it was play on. Others, like in Cardiff in Wales’s match against Japan, it was a yellow with a bunker referral to see if it was a red.

Same incidents, all different interpretations and applications.

World Rugby is a joke at the moment with its head contact policies that lack all consistency and all common sense.

If player welfare is indeed the reason, then why not send the victim of any head contact for an HIA?

Thomas Ramos, against the Boks last weekend, never went for an HIA and played the entire match. Garbisi never went for one in Turin and played the entire game.

It is a joke.

South Africans are justified in feeling aggrieved.

In my Sunday Times match review, I wrote that Justice, in the quality of the Springboks, triumphed over injustice, in the form of incompetent match officials, in Turin as the Springboks won for the 19^th time in 20 Tests against Italy.

These Boks have a spirit that can’t be bought or manufactured. It is inherent because of an environment that has been nurtured over the past nine years.

Jared Wright posted this: Brilliant stat via @StatBoy_Steven

‘Since the introduction of the 20-minute red card, the Springboks have been given a full red card 3 times: July 12 vs Italy: Wiese in the 12th minute November 8 in France: Lood de Jager in the 40th minute November 15 in Italy: Franco Mostert in the 12th minute In 178 minutes combined in those matches after being shown the red card, they have conceded just 17 points and just 1 try, and won all 3.’

Screenshot

FRENCH V FIJI RED GOES UNPUNISHED

O’CONNOR GETTING SMASHED GOES UNPUNISHED

A COLLECTION OF INCONSISTENCIES FROM THE WEEKEND

WALES V JAPAN – ANOTHER INCONSISTENCY TO MOSTERT’S 

WALES’S JOSH ADAMS INTENTIONAL THUGGERY GOES STRAIGHT TO BUNKER REVIEW

MARK KEOHANE ON BOKS 32-14 WIN v ITALY

Some X comments

https://x.com/AndyGoode10/status/1989727007467360333?s=20

https://x.com/PlanetRugby/status/1989701468635451731?s=20

https://x.com/SARugbymag/status/1990034224963854816?s=20

https://x.com/jaredwright17/status/1989700599630204977?s=20

https://x.com/SportyBetZA/status/1989747718961447247?s=20

https://x.com/SSRugby/status/1989681762075570494?s=20

https://x.com/mark_keohane/status/1989756004096168227?s=20

https://x.com/SSRugby/status/1989692773055041607?s=20

Photo: Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

There is no greater rivalry in rugby than the All Blacks and Springboks, and it does not get bigger than the men in black touring South Africa, writes Mark Keohane. Finally it is official. Rugby’s worst kept secret is rugby’s best news for 2026.

The All Blacks will tour South Africa in 2026, play all four Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams and three Tests against the Boks, with a fourth to be played on a neutral venues, still to be announced but most likely in London.

The All Blacks have toured South Africa just six times and their only success, in a Test series, was 30 years ago, in 1996. It was the last time they toured.

Sean Fitzpatrick’s history makers won the first two Tests in Durban and Pretoria before losing the third Test at Ellis Park.

The 33-26 win in Pretoria is iconic, for the result, the quality of the match and the pedigree of the two teams.

SA Rugby’s Communications revealed all details on Thursday, 16th October.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry announced: Springboks and All Blacks reignite traditional tours

· Quadrennial tour between Springboks and All Blacks announced

· Eight match schedule of All Blacks’ 2026 tour of South Africa confirmed

· Historic fourth Test to be played internationally

· Springboks’ first professional era tour of New Zealand to occur in 2030

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, an alternating quadrennial tour between South Africa and New Zealand, was confirmed on Thursday, marking a defining new chapter for the intense rivalry between the sport’s most successful and storied nations.

In the tour’s maiden year, South Africa will host New Zealand in August and September 2026. The All Blacks kick off the tour against the DHL Stormers in Cape Town on Friday, 7 August and take on the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and Lions, to complement a four Test series against the Springboks.

Ellis Park (Johannesburg), DHL Stadium (Cape Town), and FNB Stadium (Johannesburg) are confirmed as South African Test venues, preceding a landmark fourth Test hosted at a neutral international venue. Details of the fourth Test will be confirmed in the coming months.

By reigniting rugby’s traditional roots, the tour will renew the legacy of a rivalry known for its fierce competition and societal significance across the last century.

Next year marks 30 years since New Zealand’s last major tour of South Africa, where the visitors embarked on an eight-match schedule, culminating in a historic 2-1 Test series win. In the reciprocal 2030 iteration, South Africa will conduct their first professional era tour to New Zealand.

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said: “This fierce competition between two very proud nations has delivered more than a century of drama on rugby fields across the world, including two Rugby World Cup finals.

“We saw last year how much it means for Springbok supporters to welcome the All Blacks to South Africa, and we can’t wait to see them tour our country next year, as we rekindle our friendship with our greatest adversaries.

“Today’s announcement promises more drama, physicality, strategy, and unpredictability in a rivalry regarded as one of the most intense in world sport.

“This tour will also mean so much for our four franchises and their players – facing one of the best teams in the history of the game – as well as their fans, who will have the opportunity to see their team in action against international opposition for the first time since 2009. We know next year’s tour will be nothing short of epic.”

Mark Robinson, CEO of New Zealand Rugby added: “The rivalry between the All Blacks and the Springboks is fierce, but it’s also steeped in history and respect. Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry is everything that is great about traditional rugby tours whilst finding new ways to offer more for fans to see and engage with. All eight matches during this tour will be a showcase of our sport for fans, whether they are in New Zealand, on the ground in South Africa, or across the globe.”

RASSIE RAVES ABOUT RIVALRY TOUR

Back-to-back Rugby World Cup winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said: “This is going to be something huge and something this generation will never forget. These are the tours we’ve only heard of. To experience this for the first time, where it’s like a Lions tour, is unbelievable for us as a group.

“I have no doubt the Springbok fans will be there waiting to welcome the All Blacks fans to South Africa. Let’s get excited; let’s get behind it and, people of South Africa, it’s an opportunity for us to show the world once again who we are and what we are about – we certainly can’t wait for it.”

All Blacks captain Scott Barrett said: “This is a huge rivalry, and one that is founded off mutual respect, but for 80 minutes these are two teams that every time they play there’s everything on the line. The intensity is right up there, and it is shaping up to be a heck of a tour. The format will be great, and there will be a whole lot of excited fans watching from home, and travelling with us as well. We are looking forward to it.”

Tickets for the tour, including match bundles, will go on general sale early next year. Fans can sign up to be the first to hear and gain priority access to pre-sales by visiting greatest-rivalry.com

The launch of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry sees the creation of a new and bold visual identity for the tour. Its logo brings together the iconic Springbok and All Black marks inside a ‘V’ shape, putting them at the heart of the ‘versus’ terminology used when debating heavyweight international clashes. Its earthy colour palette takes inspiration from the tones from each nation’s landscapes.

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour fixtures 2026

Friday 7 August: DHL Stormers v All Blacks at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Tuesday 11 August: Hollywoodbets Sharks v All Blacks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Saturday 15 August: Vodacom Bulls v All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Saturday 22 August: First Test – Springboks v All Blacks at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Tuesday 25 August: Lions v New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Saturday 29 August: Second Test – Springboks v New Zealand at DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Saturday 5 September: Third Test – Springboks v New Zealand at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg Saturday 12 September:

Fourth Test – South Africa v New Zealand (International venue to be announced)

*The tour replaces the 2026 Castle Rugby Championship, as does the 2030 Springboks tour to New Zealand, where the Boks will play three Tests and five matches against the Super Rugby franchises.

BOK BEFOK: Springboks 43 All Blacks 10 

AfricaPicks will partner with Keo.co.za to bring data to life in the rugby landscape. The two platforms will combine in their coverage of all the major rugby matches.

Statistics aside, the biggest plus of Keo.co.za’s collaboration with AfricaPicks is the accessibility to data in the storytelling and an ability to give the rugby consumer an informed opinion, be it to retell the story or have a flutter on a match.

Sports betting is packaged with storytelling and the logical partnership was to give the African rugby fan the necessary information and breakdown of that information to make insightful choices, especially when betting on rugby matches.

‘The partnership will redefine the opinion, analysis and historical edge of the platform,” said Keo.co.za founder Mark Keohane.

Keo.co.za was launched in 2004 and is a legacy URL with a strong alignment to digital rugby giant SA Rugby Magazine.

Keohane has professionally reported on rugby in South Africa, Africa and across the world since South Africa’s international readmission in 1992.

“It is a new and exciting digital voice for rugby in the continent and the interest extends beyond South Africa, with the sport having a big following in Kenya, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe,” said Keohane. “Zimbabwe’s qualification for the 2027 RWC in Australia has only added to the interest.”

Keo.co.za has long been South Africa’s home of unfiltered opinion and analysis and its founder and primary content creator (Keohane) said AfricaPicks content direction was an obvious fit for his platform.

“It is opinion-first, data-backed rugby journalism that speaks to the punters and thinkers, and not followers of perception. The content vision at AfricaPicks is about education and inspiration, giving the punter something beyond the obvious and being responsible,” said Keohane.

“I believe betting, like sport, is about perspective — and AfricaPicks delivers that in every story. It is a digital presence that will add to the ecosystem and bring together fans bettors and experts on one platform.”

AfricaPicks will focus on rugby in Africa and France’ Top 14, England’s Premiership, the Vodacom United Rugby Championship that features 16 teams, including South Africa’s quartet of the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers, as well as the Springboks and the national teams of Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

STORMERS RUNNING HOT IN THE URC

AFRICAPICKS – ALL RUGBY’S LATEST