Rassie Erasmus gave a coaching tactical and substitution master class as the Springboks beat Italy in Turin, writes Mark Keohane.

What next for World Rugby and the Boks? 12 v 15?

The Boks were too strong for France in Paris, winning 32-17 despite playing for 30 minutes 14 versus 15.

In Turin, the Boks were down to 14 players after Franco Mostert’s straight red in the 11th minute.

It was a shocking call and for 10 minutes the Boks were 13-15 when Marco van Staden was sin-binned, but this was a win down to sheer heart, guts, determination from the players and Erasmus’s tactical appreciation of the match, his knowledge of his players and his understanding that change comes in the moment and not once the damage could be done, and then it being too late.

These Boks have ticker, but they also have a rugby genius at the helm, who is three moves ahead of the opposition.

Italy were brave and resolute. They were in the face of the Boks and physically they did not take a step back. They have improved immeasurably, but the reality is that for all the fire in their belly they are now three wins from 10 matches this season, including three successive defeats against the Boks in 2025.

There was the 42-24 reverse in Pretoria and week later they were done 45-0.

For 31 minutes there was no score in Turin, but what made that so significant is that Italy had so much of the ball, territory and a one-player advantage, but had nothing to show for it.

The Boks, showing their class, scored first through a Handre Pollard penalty after his successful drop goal was ruled out because of an earlier infringement and then Van Staden scored a game changing try on the 39th minute.

Given that the Boks entered the Italian 22 for the first time after 30 minutes, it was a massive moment in the match.

Italy, as they have done all season, did not go away, but they were just not good enough to handle 13 Boks, when gifted a two player advantage.

For the Boks, Damian Willemse was class at fullback and Kwagga Smith made the most impact off the bench.

Van Staden was everywhere and Ruan Nortje, off the bench early to give balance to the remaining players, just gets better at Test level and Grant Williams and Manie Libbok added the last quarter glitz to the first hour grind.

The Boks won under such adversity, which emphatically states their class as the sport’s No 1 team.

FOR ALL SPRINGBOKS REACTION, GO TO SA RUGBY MAGAZINE

HOW KEO AND ZELS CALLED THE BOKS WIN

The Sharks winger Ethan Hooker is STECO’s Man of the Moment, according to Keo & Zels.

Each week Keo & Zels, on their Rugby Podcast, collaborate with STECO to bring you a moment that screams power, talks to the future and is about sustainability.

Hooker is all those things. He has been since making his professional debut two years ago as a 19 year-old and the Sharks and Boks winger, voted as the Players and Fans Player of the Year at the Sharks last season, has only got better in 2025.

Hooker was outstanding starting on the wing in the last three Tests of the Springboks victorious Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign, and he went straight from being a title winner with the Boks to being the standout player in the Sharks 31-5 defeat against Leinster in Dublin.

Hooker is a beast, in size and potency, but he also has subtlety to his game and like all the best he has time when on the ball.

The intercept, the step and the acceleration too turn his calculated risk of using his eight to an advantage when going for the intercept, was special. To combine the necessary elements and execute it immediately was a summary of his all-round talent.

Hooker starts against Ulster in the Sharks first home match of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, and expect him to have a ripper.

John Plumtree has named a star-studded Sharks starting XV with 13 Springboks, 2024 SA Junior Springbok of the Year Jurenzo Julius, and flyhalf Siya Masuku, who shone in the 2023-24 Challenge Cup, but that pedigree means nothing without performance: The Sharks, given the quality of a match 23 that has 17 internationals in the mix, should whip most teams playing at home in Durban.

TOASTING THE BOKS, BAFANA & THE PROTEAS

KEO & ZELS LATEST PODCAST

KEO CALLS THIS WEEKEND’S URC WINNERS ON AFRICA PICKS

Ethan Hooker brings his Springbok form to the #VURC 😤🦈

He gets the Sharks on the board 🔢

📺 Stream on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/e8swBIMCcd

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 11, 2025

SHARKS AND BULLS MUST DELIVER STATEMENT WINS

Ethan Hooker’s brilliant try against Leinster is this week’s @STECO_Global PowerPlay of the week! pic.twitter.com/euOsGjReML

— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) October 13, 2025

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 

The Bulls will get better on tour and the Stormers have the best chance in five seasons to go five from five in the opening month of the URC.

The Stormers are one of just two teams undefeated after three rounds of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and they will spend the next fortnight in Italy for league matches against Zebre and Benetton.

The Stormers lead the league on points difference from unbeaten Irish province Munster. The latter edged Edinburgh 20-19 in Cork over the weekend.

The Stormers, courtesy of scoring 95 points in three matches and conceding just 10, have enjoyed their best start in the league’s five season history.

They are locked on 14 points apiece, having both won three out of three amid a flying start to the campaign.

The DHL Stormers claimed an emphatic 34-0 victory away to the Scarlets on Friday night, helping them lead the way on points difference.

Weekend Summery and all the match highlights, courtesy of the URC

There was a try, two conversions, a penalty, and a yellow card for Springboks star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu on an eventful return to league duty after his exploits in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.

Munster faced a much tighter contest in Cork, where they had to come from behind to secure a 20-19 bonus point win against Edinburgh Rugby, who had no fewer than four players sin-binned.

Second row Fineen Wycherley was the man to deliver the match-winning try eight minutes from time as the hosts completed their comeback after trailing 19-10 at one stage.

Head coach Clayton McMillan said:

“It’s an 80-minute game, so I never think the game is over at half-time.

“We sort of just hung in there, got enough opportunities in the second half, cashed in, and got the job done.

“Sometimes we are not going to be at our best, but we can fight for everything to the bitter end, and I thought we did that well.

“It’s no small achievement to get off and win three games, and we are happy we have been able to do that.”

The other undefeated team are Ulster Rugby, who recorded an eye-catching 28-7 bonus point victory over the Vodacom Bulls, who had been top of the table after Round 2.

Playing in front of a passionate Belfast crowd, they scored four tries, with Player of the Match Nathan Doak converting all four from scrum-half.

Coach Richie Murphy, who described his pack’s performance as “incredible”, was understandably delighted with the result.

“The Bulls threw everything at us, but the fight we showed, how hard we worked for each other, was really satisfying,” he said.

“In my time here, this is probably my biggest win in relation to what we are trying to do as a team.

“It’s really positive, two wins from two. It’s really important now that we keep going forward.”

Despite having picked up maximum points, Ulster lie fifth in the table, having only played two games due to the weather-related postponement of last weekend’s trip to Edinburgh.

Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Rugby sit just above them, having both racked up 11 points from their three matches.

Glasgow ran in seven tries, including two from prolific scrum-half George Horne, as they overwhelmed Dragons RFC 49-0 at Scotstoun.

It was a very different kind of contest at the Arms Park, where it was nip and tuck all the way until Cardiff clinched a 14-8 victory over Connacht Rugby thanks to a late interception from teenage winger Tom Bowen, who crossed twice to add to his hat-trick against Munster the week before.

Like the Vodacom Bulls, Zebre Parma also went down to their first defeat of the season as they were beaten 24-0 by the Ospreys in Bridgend.

Fellow Italians Benetton Rugby had a much happier weekend as they defeated the winless Lions 41-15, with winger Louis Lynagh running in no fewer than four tries.

SAFFAS IN TOP FORM IN THE URC

Finally, champions Leinster Rugby are back in business.

After losing their opening two games out in South Africa, they reinforced their line-up with the return of five British & Irish Lions and two of them – Josh van der Flier and Jamie Osborne – touched down in a 31-5 bonus point win over the Hollywoodbets Sharks at the Aviva Stadium.

Try machine Bowen keeping his feet on the ground

Teenage sensation Tom Bowen insists he is not getting carried away despite being the Vodacom URC’s joint top try scorer.

The 19-year-old winger crossed twice in Cardiff’s 14-8 victory over Connacht at the Arms Park, adding to his hat-trick against Munster the week before.

That means he is now level on five touchdowns with Benetton’s Louis Lynagh at the top of the league’s try chart.

Despite his tender years, his scintillating form means he is sure to be touted as a contender for a place in Wales’ autumn international squad.

But the young man is keeping his dazzling feet firmly on the ground.

“I am just loving my rugby at the moment. It’s class. I am really enjoying it,” he said.

“I am not going to get carried away with anything. I am staying grounded.

“Cardiff is my home region. I love playing for them, I love putting the jersey on and I am just really grateful to be getting the opportunities I am having.

“The least I can do is just grab them with both hands and try my best really.”

Aberdare product Bowen – who now has seven tries from his four career Vodacom URC starts – produced a neat finish for his first against Connacht, stepping inside a defender after pouching a pinpoint cross kick from fly-half Callum Sheedy,

“Fair play to Sheeds, he is on the money every time,” he said.

“Credit to him, he reads the game extremely well. He reads the picture, he creates the space, and he makes my job a lot easier, putting those kicks on the money.

“He is the assist king! He suits how we play. He’s really good, he’s class.

“We had quite a young back line out there and the way he conducts us round the field, he deserves a lot of credit for what he does.”

Bowen clinched Cardiff’s hard-fought win by scorching away for a long-range interception try four minutes from time, celebrating with a gleeful swallow dive.

“It was just relief really to finish that off,” he said.

“It was a nerve-racking game out there. It could have gone either way. But credit to the boys, they stuck in there. I thought our fight was incredible.”

The one big downside to the victory over Connacht was the serious ankle injury sustained by Wales lock Teddy Williams who was stretchered off shortly before half-time.

“I am absolutely gutted for him,” said Bowen.

“He’s a great lad and very influential on the whole team.

“His presence around has a massive effect. He is a class player.

“I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.”

Cardiff now lie fourth in the Vodacom URC table with 11 points from their opening three matches.

“If you had said that in pre-season, I think we would have bit your hand off, to be honest with you,” said Bowen.

“We have got to be really pleased with how we have started the season. The important thing is we keep performing well and keep picking up points in each game.”

There was another Welsh winner on Saturday with the Ospreys continuing their love affair with Bridgend’s Brewery Field.

It has been a real happy hunting ground for them over the past two years, serving as the setting for victories against the DHL Stormers, Sale, Cardiff, and Edinburgh.

Now it’s their home for the season – while the St Helen’s ground in Swansea is redeveloped – and they marked the start of their stay by beating Zebre 24-0 to record a first URC win of the campaign.

Coach Mark Jones said:

“We love playing here. When you get your first game in your new home for the season, you want to get off to a good start. You only get one chance to make a first impression and we showed high quality in lots of areas. So we are very happy.”

Second row James Ratti added: “We showed that teams who come to the Brewery this year are in for a contest.

“The atmosphere was great. It’s becoming a little mini cauldron for us, with the fans right on top of us. It’s always a good experience playing here.”

Giving his thoughts, the Ospreys’ Bridgend-born skipper Dewi Lake said:

“I grew up here, and I love playing here.

“We have had some very memorable wins here over the last couple of years, and this one certainly goes up there, to nil a team like Zebre, who had started the season as quickly as they had. It’s excellent for us.”

The Player of the Match award went to classy full-back Jack Walsh, who paid tribute to the home fans.

“The support was awesome. It’s massive for us,” he said.

“We worked really hard in South Africa and were pretty gutted only to come away with one point from the two games, so it’s really good to get a win.”

What’s coming next?

A bumper crowd is expected for next Saturday’s mouth-watering Irish derby between champions Leinster and high-flying Munster at Croke Park.

Twelve months ago, the meeting between the two arch-rivals at the famous Dublin stadium drew a Vodacom URC record attendance of 80,468.

AFRICA PICKS – ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA’S URC CHALLENGE, FRANCE’s TOP 14 AND THE ENGLISH PREM. SPORTS BETTING

Fans are set to turn out in their droves once again as Leinster look to see if they can inflict the first defeat of the season on Munster.

It’s also derby time in Wales with the two teams in the east – the Dragons and Cardiff – locking horns at Rodney Parade.

Meanwhile, the table-topping DHL Stormers continue their European tour by travelling to Parma to take on Zebre.

Elsewhere, it’s Edinburgh v Benetton, Connacht v Vodacom Bulls, Lions v Scarlets, Hollywoodbets Sharks v Ulster, and Ospreys v Glasgow.

SAFFAS ABROAD: HOW OUR LADS SHAPED IN THE FRENCH TOP 14 AND ENGLISH PREM

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

It’s official: The champion Springboks dominate the Keo & Zels best XV for the 2025 Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign.

The selection criteria was simple. Players had to be bloody good, consistent and put in WOW performances.

Try as the boys did, they could not find a place for any Los Pumas player, simply because of the quality of individual they did select.

The honourable mentions were plenty. Pumas captain and hooker Julian Montoya misses out because of one Malcolm Marx. The Pumas flankers Kremer and Matero miss out because of giants like Pieter-Steph du Toit and Adri Savea.

Cam Roigard was brilliant against Australia at Eden Park, but only played in two of the six matches. Cobus Reinach was the star No 9, big in the biggest moments and when the Boks needed him to take charge.

We looked for impact, for brilliance and for the strongest of endings to the most compelling Rugby Championship title in the history of the competition.

The Boks won the title, on points differential, which was the first time the competition had ever been decided by points differential.

That points differential was a combination of the 43-10 win against the All Blacks in Wellington and the Boks’ 67-30 win against the Pumas in Durban, which is why Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s shares are so high. He was the differentiator in Durban, with a Springboks individual record 37 points, and he ensured that the Boks only needed four league points for a win in the final match to win the title, and not a try-scoring bonus point win.

The Boks and All Blacks both won four from six matches and finished with 19 league points. Australia were third and Argentina fourth. They both won two Tests, but were in a winning position on four occasions from six.

The Boks dominated the team, especially up front, with the All Blacks the next best and the Wallabies making a world-class contribution.

Keo and Zels’ favourite rugby podcast is the ‘Aftermatch’ with former All Blacks flyhalf Stephen Donald aka Beaver and New Zealand Sky Sports presenter Kirstie Stanway-Thorne. 

We’ve included Beaver’s Castle Rugby Championship XV and note that he wants to do a live Podcast from Caprice in Camps Bay during next year’s All Blacks Great Rivalry Tour of South Africa.

We’ll make sure it happens, along with Keo & Zels.

WIN A BREWERIES TOUR WITH CASLTE LAGER, THE SPRINGBOKS & TREAT YOUR BESTIE

*New Zealand’s blindside flanker wears six and the open side seven. In South Africa, the blindside flanker wears 7, which is why Keo & Zels have Pieter-Steph du Toit at No 7 and Beaver has the world’s best player in the No 6 jersey.

Keo & Zels Podcast

The Castle Lager Rugby Championship – all you need to know from the 2025 tournament

It is the URC latest – the best after two rounds of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. And, heading into Round 3, it is the Saffas, also known as the South Africans, who dominate the stats and lead the league table.

The Vodacom Bulls start Round 3 at the top of the table, with the Stormers second.

Both South African teams unbeaten.

Check out who is who is the URC Zoo after Round Two.

Wandisile Simelane Sizzles for the Stormers

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE URC

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has backed the young Bok guns to do the business at Twickenham agains the Pumas. It is not so much discarding the old guard but recognising the form of the Boks next generation, writes Mark Keohane.

It is also not putting out to pasture those who won the Castle Rugby Championship agains the Pumas in 2024.

To illustrate how Erasmus has evolved the squad in a Test season, without sacrificing results, he has named just eight from the starting XV who beat the Pumas to win the Castle Rugby Championship a year ago.

In the match 23, there are 15 from 23 in between two potential Rugby Championship titles, to also show how much squad continuity there has been. The differentiator, within the squad, is that there are eight survivors in the starting XV in between two matches that double as finals agains the same opposition.

I expected injury withdrawals, but that did not happen to Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe or Ox Nche,

I anticipated changes, the likes of Handre Pollard and Jesse Kriel in the starting XV, or on the bench.

Pollard, the back to back World Cup winner, misses out from the match 23 for a third successive match and Kriel, captain of the Boks agains the All Blacks at Eden Park, gets a place on the bench for Andre Esterhuizen as Erasmus, for the second successive Test, went with those who have scored 15 tries and 110 points in their last two Castle Rugby Championship wins.

Erasmus, who pre the Wellington Test win was averaging 12 changes in his match 23 and eight in his starting XV , has rewarded form, and the finishing brilliance of a squad who put the All Blacks to the sword 43-10 in New Zealand, and backed that up with a 67-30 win agains the Pumas in Durban.

Keo on SACHA FM

The Boks win, they win the title.

Keo & Zels on the Boks

Boks beat Pumas 48-7 in Nelspruit to win Castle Rugby Championship in 2024.

Springboks

Starters: Fassi, Kolbe, Kriel, De Allende, Arendse; Libbok, Hendrikse; Nche, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Nortje, Kolisi (capt), Du Toit, Wiese. Finishers: Marx, Steenekamp, Koch, Louw, Smith, Reinach, Pollard, Am.

Springboks (to play for the Castle Rugby Championship title v Pumas at Twickenham in 2025)

Starters: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Finishers: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Jesse Kriel.

Test Rugby’s 2 Perfect 10s have produced the Perfect 10s in performance, 20 years apart. There is so much in the numbers when celebrating the All Blacks Dan Carter and Springboks Sacha-Feinberg Mngomezulu, writes Mark Keohane.

For me, the two respective performances are not for comparison but absolute celebration.

Carter’s miracle match was in 2005 and Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s miracle match was in 2025.

Both were 23 years-old when producing their performances.

Both missed just one kick at posts.

Both made their Test debuts against Wales, with Carter playing at No 12 in the 55-3 win against Wales in Hamilton in 2003. Carter scored 20 points, including the first of his 29 Test tries. Feinberg-Mngomezulu came off the bench at Twickenham in 2024 to immediately kick a 55 metre penalty as the Boks won 41-13.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu, against Argentina on Saturday, kicked eight conversions from nine attempts and two penalties from two attempts for a return of 10/11. He scored three tries and assisted in others. His cross kick to Cheslin Kolbe was the work of a magician. He also made tackles, took high balls and broke tackles. He never attempted a drop goal because there was no need to do so.

Every try SACHA FEINBERG-MNGOMEZULU scored in his record 37-point effort for the SPRINGBOKS against Argentina. pic.twitter.com/53f5Av1toC

— Front Row Rugby (@FrontRowRugbyXV) September 28, 2025

This was a big Test match. Boks captain Siya Kolisi likened it to a semi-final and one that had to be won if the Boks wanted to be in the final of the Castle Rugby Championship.

Kolisi said the Boks had to do the business in Durban to put themselves in a position to defend the Championship title, won last season, in the final hit-out against the Pumas at Twickenham next Saturday.

They did more than win. They destroyed the Pumas 67-30, scored nine tries to three, and got the try-scoring bonus point because they scored three more tries than the opposition.

They lead the table by a point from New Zealand and with a 60 points differential advantage. For the All Blacks to win the title they would have to win by a bonus point in Perth against the Wallabies and do so in a big way to still be in contention when the Boks and Pumas kick-off.

The Boks don’t need a bonus point win. They have to win and the Pumas are no longer a title contender, as they are six points behind the Boks on the league table. The most they could get at Twickenham is five points.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu, just like Carter did 20 years ago, was the Pied Piper of this victory. Carter’s 33 points individual display won the All Blacks the Lions series and Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s 37 points inspired the Boks to keep alive their ambition of becoming the first Boks team to win the Rugby Championship on the bounce.

Jeff Wilson not holding back in his praise for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu… pic.twitter.com/wjUAl1oFba

— Derek Alberts (@derekalberts1) September 28, 2025

The similarities in the duo’s performances are the stuff of goosebumps, not least of them the way in which both magicians conducted themselves, if 20 years apart.

WATCH: CARTER’S 33 points for All Blacks v British & Irish Lions

Carter kicked nine from 10, four conversions and five penalties, scored two tries and set up one try with an exhilarating run, hand-off and offload to Tana Umaga. He was mesmerising on attack, tough in defence, bamboozled Jonny Wilkinson in his attempt at a tackle, and defensively was strong against whoever was sent up his channel. His game management was also world class. Ditto Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Carter’s numbers against the Boks – and more

Rassie on Sacha’s 37-point performance v Pumas

Keo: Sacha’s the Anointed One 

Carter’s Test career: 1,598 – Carter is the only player in rugby history to have scored more than 1,500 test points. His tally of 1,598 puts him 352 points ahead of Jonny Wilkinson (1,246) and 508 ahead of Neil Jenkins (1,090), who is third on the list. Carter averaged 14.3 points per test appearance.

PUB TRIVIA – Just for YOU!

These are just some big player individual match-points tally numbers in Test rugby, Tier One and Tier Two.

SIMON CULHANE (45 POINTS) NEW ZEALAND V JAPAN, 4 JUNE, 1995

Simon Culhane sat on the bench for New Zealand’s opening two matches of Rugby World Cup 1995 as Andrew Mehrtens orchestrated wins over Ireland and Wales.

But, with qualification for the quarter-finals assured, All Blacks coach Laurie Mains decided to shuffle his pack and handed Culhane his test debut.

The Southland playmaker was called on within three minutes to convert Eric Rush’s opening try, and it would be a busy afternoon.

In all, Culhane converted 20 of the All Blacks’ 21 tries, the eighth of which he had scored himself, as New Zealand rounded off their Pool C campaign with a 145-17 victory.

It was the biggest Rugby World Cup winning margin ever recorded — until Australia beat Namibia 142-0 at RWC 2003 — and remains the most points a team has scored in a tournament match.

Fast fact: Springboks attack coach Tony Brown scored 36 points in a Test for the All Blacks against Italy.

Culhane’s 45-point haul is still the most scored by a single player at Rugby World Cup.

JOSÉ MARÍA NÚÑEZ PIOSSEK (45 POINTS) ARGENTINA V PARAGUAY, 27 APRIL, 2003

José María Núñez Piossek had been one of three Argentine players who scored four tries during a 152-0 win against Paraguay in May, 2002. But even he couldn’t have expected to run in three hat-tricks alone 12 months on.

Three decades after Eduardo Morgan racked up a record 50 points against Paraguay, Piossek donned the same blue-and-white number 14 jersey to write another chapter of history in the fixture.

The Argentina side that lined up for the South American Championship 2003 match in Montevideo was a fairly inexperienced one, and included a 20-year-old Juan Martín Hernández at full-back.

However, Los Pumas proved too good for Paraguay and ran in 24 tries during a 144-0 victory at the Luis Franzini Stadium.

Nine of those tries were scored by Piossek, who became only the fifth player to score at least 45 points in test history.

Piossek maintained his form throughout 2003, scoring tries against France and South Africa in June and earning his place in Argentina’s RWC 2003 squad. He played three matches in Australia, including against the hosts, without scoring.

EDUARDO MORGAN (50 POINTS) ARGENTINA V PARAGUAY, 14 OCTOBER, 1973

A winger who backed himself from the kicking tee, Eduardo Morgan enjoyed his finest moments in an Argentina jersey during the South American Championship 1973.

Los Pumas had warmed up for the tournament with back-to-back victories over Romania in Buenos Aires.

Morgan played in both of those tests without scoring, something he put right in Argentina’s opening South American Championship match against Paraguay in Sao Paulo.

The winger scored six tries and added 13 conversions from the kicking tee as Los Pumas won the match 98-3.

With four points awarded for a try at the time, it gave Morgan a 50-point haul, a world-record tally that would stand for almost three decades.

ASHLEY BILLINGTON (50 POINTS) HONG KONG V SINGAPORE, 27 OCTOBER, 1994

Ashley Billington played six tests for Hong Kong between 1994 and 1996, and his most memorable day in the blue jersey came during his sole appearance in the Asian Championship 1994.

Billington lined up at full-back at the KL Football Stadium in Kuala Lumpur in a match that doubled as a qualifier for Rugby World Cup 1995 and had a field day.

The then 25-year-old ran in 10 of Hong Kong’s 26 tries on the day, to help his side to a 164-13 victory and draw level with Morgan’s world record points haul.

It proved to be the highlight of Billington’s test career. He had scored two tries in his first two matches for Hong Kong, both coming in a 22-12 defeat to Namibia, but failed to cross the whitewash in any of his subsequent three appearances.

Billington won his final test cap for Hong Kong as a replacement during a 47-7 defeat to Japan in October, 1998.

TORU KURIHARA (60 POINTS) JAPAN V CHINESE TAIPEI, 21 JULY, 2002

Japan faced Chinese Taipei and Korea in qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2003, and it’s fair to say that the team had fun.

The Brave Blossoms won each of their four matches by an aggregate score of 420-47, including a 155-3 win against Chinese Taipei in Tokyo.

Toru Kurihara scored 21 points in that match, but saved his best performance for the return match two weeks later.

In Tainan, the winger scored six tries and added 15 conversions to finish the match with a world record points tally of 60 points, which still stands 19 years later.

Another kicking winger, who also featured at full-back, Kurihara made four appearances at Rugby World Cup 2003, scoring 40 points — 19 against France and 21 against the USA.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is South Africa’s new sound at 10, writes Mark Keohane

This is the feature article I wrote for SA Rugby Magazine’s digital and print publication two months ago, 60 days before Feinberg-Mngomezulu rewrote the history books of Springbok rugby and scored a record 37 points against the Pumas in Durban on Saturday night.

No hindsight was needed or confirmation of his ability. It was always there.

There’s a new frequency crackling through South African rugby. It is clear, confident and controlled. It’s not static. It’s not noise. It’s Sacha FM – and it’s about to go global.

You don’t watch Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu play rugby. You tune into him.

And when you’re locked into the Sacha FM station, it’s all rhythm and no distortion. He plays the game like he was born with a boot made of silk and a brain made of sonar.

In 2025, there is no signal louder than Sacha FM.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is the playmaker South African rugby supporters did not know the Springboks needed. Why would they?

Handré Pollard, at No 10, has won the Springboks successive World Cup titles, but for the Boks to make it an unprecedented three-peat in Australia in 2027, it needs a combination of youth and experience, and it requires the security of Pollard and the sensation of Sacha FM.

South African rugby has always revered its physicality. Brutal scrummaging, gainline dominance, tackles that rattle the bones of memory. But every era demands a spark – a mind that choreographs chaos. In Sacha FM, the Springboks have found that alchemist. He doesn’t just play No 10; he broadcasts it. Every movement, every pass, every perfectly-weighted kick says: ‘I see it before you do.’

Stormers coach John Dobson, who has had a front-row seat to the boy becoming the man at the Stormers, is unflinching in his assessment.

‘Sacha is a generational talent,’ Dobson told me. ‘We knew from the moment he came through that he wasn’t normal. He doesn’t think about the game like others. He feels it. His rugby IQ is scary. He’s not going to be great – he already is.’

Dobson’s right. Sacha didn’t arrive. He interrupted.

Sacha FM: Springbok rugby’s Anointed One

From captaining SA Schools at just 18, to leading the U20 side, his rise has never been subtle. And yet, even with those lofty accolades, no one could have predicted the authority with which he would take to Test rugby.

In 2024, he made his debut off the bench against Wales. But it was what followed in the Rugby Championship that confirmed the rugby reality of Feinberg-Mngomezulu was as seductive as any fantasy game.

Rewind to the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in 2024.

A full house. Altitude and pressure. But from the outset Sacha FM was on another frequency.

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images

He ran the game with the calm of a surgeon and the unpredictability of a poet. There was enthusiasm from the home crowd and envy from those wearing black. He played as if he had done it 20 times against the All Blacks.

The Boks, 27-17 behind with 10 minutes to go, won 31-27. Feinberg-Mngomezulu even had the luxury of a missed penalty kick with a few minutes to go.

The Boks won and the rugby world took notice, as they did in Australia the month before New Zealand arrived in South Africa. Feinberg-Mngomezulu started at No 10 in Brisbane and Perth and the Boks won both Tests, with the first Test win at Suncorp Stadium since 2013 a Sacha FM special.

‘We threw him into the deep end,’ said Rassie Erasmus after the Brisbane win in 2024, ‘but what I love about Sacha is he swims like he was born in the ocean. He’s got that calm. He’s got that belief. And technically – he’s world class already. He knows there are areas of his game and game management that must get better, but they will get better the more he plays Test rugby.’

Pollard, the double World Cup-winning general, remains a titan. But in Sacha FM, the Boks now have a foil; not a replacement. It’s not about either-or. It’s about the mix. The radio signal blends into stereo.

Pollard brings the grunt, the ice and the muscle-memory of winning World Cup finals. Sacha FM brings the jazz and the flavour and, with it, the ability to crack a game open in a moment. The Boks don’t just have a flyhalf. They have a broadcasting duo – static-free and perfectly in tune.

Pollard, in his third and final season for Leicester, was the model professional in his 55 matches. The club finished second in the league stage of the English Premiership and narrowly lost the final against Bath at Twickenham.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu was as effective at flyhalf for the Stormers in 2025, although his style has been in complete contrast to that of Pollard.

Two different leagues, in the Premiership and URC, but also two very different players in the No 10 jersey. The Springboks are fortunate to have both options. And Manie Libbok to complete world rugby’s most gifted trio of Test no 10 options.

Add Damian Willemse and there are four who could play Test rugby for the Boks. At a push, add Cheslin Kolbe and you have an unprecedented quintet of No 10 variations.

Sacha FM was the standout performer in the Stormers’ league comeback in the 2024/25 season to finish fifth, having earlier in the campaign languished 13th from 16 teams.

His individual reward was winning the South African URC Player of the Year award.

There was the 25-minute masterclass against Connacht that brought him three tries and his try-assist passes and cross kicks in the season were equally breathtaking. In Durban, on Saturday night, wearing Green and Gold, he produced a similar stunning hat-trick.

It was his vision and fearlessness that started Deon Fourie’s try, a 60m counter-attack effort against the Scarlets, that began with an outrageous reverse pass. The try won the league’s Try of the Season.

‘I trust my instincts,’ Sacha told the media after receiving his award. ‘Since I was a kid, I’ve always believed the game talks to you – if you listen. I’ve just tried to stay tuned in.’

To borrow from Stormers coach Dobson: You can’t coach that. You can’t teach feel. You either have that radio-active awareness, or you don’t. And Sacha FM does.

On Saturday night, two minutes after the win, the record breaker spoke with a calm of a player who had not scored a point.

‘We wanted to produce a performance like this. It was a great way to finish our home season,’ he said in the most understated manner.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s media persona is as blended in charisma as his on-field play. He is unfazed and when asked about the step up to Test rugby, he brought it back to the game staying the same.

‘It’s fast, yes. Physical, yes. But honestly? It’s just rugby. And I love rugby. I’ve been dreaming this dream for so long that it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It feels like home.’

That’s not arrogance. That’s alignment. A player who understands who he is, where he is and what he brings.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s attitude reminds me of a quote when former Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke was asked how he handled the pressure of playing in front of millions.Yorke’s response that a war-torn zone was pressure; playing soccer was pure joy.

Sacha FM is that player.

He’s the new voice of creativity in a Springbok system built on brutality. He doesn’t replace the blueprint. He adds to it. He enhances it and sharpens the edges and brightens the colours.

If 2024 was his Test introduction, then 2025 is his syndication.

Sacha FM, coming in loud and clear. From Cape Town to Cardiff. From Loftus to Twickenham and finally to Auckland, Wellington, Paris, Dublin and in record-breaking form, Durban.

He’s not just on frequency. He is the frequency.

Damian Willemse and Jasper Wiese were scored the perfect 10s, 10/10 for their performances in the Boks record-breaking 43-10 Castle Rugby Championship win against the All Blacks in Wellington, New Zealand, writes Mark Keohane.

The NZ Herald, the premier media publication in New Zealand, has previously only ever scored two Springboks as perfect 10s in Test matches between the Boks and All Blacks.

Malcolm Marx has been afforded the compliment and Pieter-Steph du Toit, in the 2023 World Cup final, when he made 28 tackles, rearranged every bone in Jordie Barrett’s body and inspired the Boks from minute one to minute 81.

In Wellington it was Willemse, starting his first Test at inside centre for the Boks, and Wiese, back from a six week ban, and starting at No 8.

Cheslin Kolbe, Siya Kolisi and Duane Vermeulen have come close in recent years, scoring eights and nines from 10 when it comes to the New Zealand media, but on Saturday the golden buzzer went the way of Player of the Match Willemse and Wiese, who made 14 tackles, eight carries and was a demon in the way he tortured and terrorised the All Blacks.

Wiese has been missed.

Willemse, who started the 2023 RWC final against the All Blacks at fullback, has had several injury setbacks in the past 18 months, but in Wellington he revelled with the additional responsibility at No 12, as did Wiese in a remarkable performance, given he has not played since seeing red 20 minutes into South Africa’s second Test against Italy in July.

To illustrate the potency of the Boks, in the eyes of the NZ Herald, every substitute received eight from 10, bar one. And that one was the viking RG Snyman, who was rated nine from 10.

Marnus van der Merwe – 8

Jan-Hendrik Wessels – 8

Wilco Louw – 8

R.G. Snyman – 9

Kwagga Smith – 8

Grant Williams – 8

Manie Libbok – 8

Andre Esterhuizen – 8

NZ Herald rates each Boks player out of 10

NZ Herald rugby columnist Gregor Paul wrote: ‘The All Blacks have talked all year about wanting to play at pace, but goodness knows why because they couldn’t remotely compete with the Boks when the tourists rammed the stick into fifth and played with a compelling mix of power, pace, precision and ambition.

The second half descended into exhibition rugby from South Africa and something nightmarish for the All Blacks.

The sight of the giant R.G. Snyman ghosting through a passive defensive line was plain embarrassing.

When the Boks grabbed a sixth try in the last minute to push the score past 40, it was plain humiliating.’

GREGOR PAUL’S NZ HERALD COLUMN 

HOW KEO.CO.ZA CALLED THE BOKS’ WIN 24 HOURS BEFORE IT HAPPENED

Did you know the Springboks have inflicted four of the eight biggest ever points differential wins against the All Blacks and the top two, 33 points in Wellington and 28 points at Twickenham in 2023, pre the Rugby World Cup. They have also beaten the All Blacks twice in the only two finals the two giants have played against each other, in South Africa in 1995 and in France in 2023.

Bok Befok: Yes please. Rassie’s rampant history makers destroyed the All Blacks in Wellington, New Zealand, scoring 36 unanswered second half points in a record-breaking 43-10 win, writes Mark Keohane.

The Boks scored six tries to one and had one disallowed, which should have been a penalty try to the Boks and a yellow card against the All Blacks.

My message to every South African supporter. Be safe, be cool and drink lots of Castle Lager on this Saturday and Sunday.

You witnessed something incredible from the back-to-back world champions in New Zealand.

The World Cup wins aside, this is Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi’s finest hour as coach and captain of the Boks.

What a win.

Celebrate it.

HOW WE CALLED BOKS WIN

We have never done this kind of thing to the All Blacks in New Zealand. No team in the history of the game has.

Six tries!

Absolute dominance, at set piece, in the collisions, in the aerial battle, in the territorial game, and in the pleasure of having the ball.

The Boks, beaten 24-17 at Eden Park a week ago, relied on the tried and trusted in the pack and a range of brilliant individuals in the backs; players so talented but who had never lined up as a collective of the Boks.

The result was beyond comprehension.

The Boks pack, so intimidating when Wilco Louw was introduced on 41 minutes, scrummed the All Blacks from Wellington back to Auckland and than back down south to Invercargill.

The line out, marshalled by Ruan Nortje, was proper and the backs, led by Manie Libbok, were ‘PURE BOK’.

This was a blackout of note.

Erasmus did not roll the dice this week. He know what he was doing.

He picked a 23 with great balance but he introduced kids with greater hunger. Hooker was at the forefront of this hunger.

I wrote in the week that the Boks were good enough to feast on the All Blacks in Wellington. I believed, with conviction, this was a match 23 good enough to win in Wellington.

I was seriously annoyed they did not win at Eden Park a week ago. I felt this was a squad who would not get spooked by history, but they did in those opening 20 minutes and those 14 early All Blacks points were enough to keep in tact the most incredible record of 51 Tests unbeaten in 31 years at Eden Park.

The Sky Stadium in Wellington is not Eden Park. The All Blacks lose there, often.

On Saturday, they did not lose, they got pumped.

I always say ‘Boks by 10’.

Now is it is ‘Boks by 33’

ALL THE REACTION FROM BOKS AND ALL BLACKS 

Bigger than a result on Saturday in Wellington will be the electricity at who has been picked at 10, 12 and 13 for the Springboks, writes Mark Keohane.

This season it has become obvious that the back to back World Cup winning Springboks are a squad in transition. Who of the old guard leaves gracefully, who gets butchered and which of the new guard, respectfully slots in for the 2026 Great Rivalry Home Series against the All Blacks in 2026 and the 2027 Rugby World Cup?

This season has been a reminder that time is the greatest opponent in every aspect of the game and life, and time never loses.

Times has no mercy or empathy or sympathy.

Time just calls time.

After the eight year journey, from Number Seven in the World to Number One, back to back World Cup winners, a British & Irish Lions series win in 2021 and the Rugby Championship title in 2024, those originals are exhausted as a group, fatigued and seemingly done.

Individually, many can move on, but as collective the best is in the past tense.

Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel are the most decorated 10.12 and 13 backline axis in the history of Springboks rugby. Lukyano Am had 18 glorious months at No 13 and there have been a few big time cameos at No 10, outside of Pollard.

Individually, all three may still be there in 2027, but collectively it is doubtful that would be the starting 10, 12 and 13 for a 2027 World Cup play-off.

Instead, Rassie Erasmus has picked a 10, 12 and and 13 combination that could be electric in 2027 and, if not, at full tilt at the 2031 World Cup in the United States of America.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is a generational player. He has it all. He is the No 10.

Damian Willemse is a generational player and the youngest player in the history of the game to win two World Cup titles. He has it all. He is the No 12.

Canan Moodie is another generational player and he has been electric on either wing for the Boks and sublime in the No 13 jersey. He plays No 13 on Saturday.

The trio have never played together for the Boks at 10, 12 and 13. The trio are all born and bred in the Western Cape and all three attended three of the most famous schools, with Feinberg-Mngomezulu from Bishops, Willemse from Paul Roos and Moodie from Boland Landbou (Agriculture).

Their comfort on one wing is another Capetonian, Kraaifontein’s Brackenfell High Cheslin Kolbe.

Inside of then is a veteran going to the Stormers in Cobus Reinach and another from the rich rugby town of Paarl in Grant Williams (Paarl Gimnasium).

Nos 10, 12 and 13 are effective if the pack is effective and Erasmus has picked a starting eight full of World Cup winners and a forwards bench of potential and World Cup-winning pedigree.

I don’t for a moment doubt the capability of Pollard, De Allende and Kriel in the next 24 months, but finally the next trio has been entrusted to start a Test against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

If they compete and thrive, they will never have a tougher assignment in their careers.

What they also need is to be backed to play together as a trio in more than the occasional Test.

Erasmus has selected an exciting match 23, but he has also picked one that either wins the Test or could fold and lose by 20.

Whatever the outcome he needs to play these guys more and he needs to play these combinations more.

Of all the combinations for Saturday, nothing is more exciting than the 10, 12 and 13 he has picked. Add Kolbe, newbie Ethan Hooker on the wing and Aphelele Fassi at fullback and you could be looking at the core of the next wave of Bok backline brilliance.

Bear in mind Kurt-Lee Arendse, Edwill van der Merwe and Makazole Mampimpi are stilll around, I am talking 2027 and beyond.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is 23 years old, Willemse just turned 27 and Moodie is 22 year-old.

They have played 65 Tests combined, with Willemse the most experienced and all three have beaten the All Blacks.

Rassie on Willemse at No 12

Keo on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 

Simplicity is the solution for the Springboks if they are to beat the All Blacks in Wellington and keep alive their Castle Rugby Championship defence, writes Mark Keohane.

In my Sunday Times Rugby Column, Keo Uncut, I wrote of the need to find comfort in a DNA that has always worked for the Boks, which is a strong set piece, a functioning line-out, an intelligent kicking game and an aggressive defence.

What also has to change is the constant narrative about building for the 2027 World Cup in Australia. The focus must be to keep winning now.

Rassie Erasmus, and when Jacques Nienaber took over as Bok coach between 2020 and 2023, never spoke of World Cup cycles. They never excused a defeat in the context of squad building for the next World Cup. They spoke about the now and an evolution in which transition does not have to come at the expense of victory.

They started to win Test matches because winning creates a habit.

The Boks at World Cups are a different beast to any other Test team. They know the formula to win a World Cup, which is reliant on a strong set piece, accuracy in goalkicking, an understanding of scoreboard pressure and most pertinently that defence beats attack in World Cup finals.

You only have to study the Boks 12-11 World Cup final win in 2023 against the All Blacks in Paris, France, to know how far the Boks have veered from this formula, when analysing their performance at Eden Park against many of the same All Blacks.

Pieter-Steph du Toit made 28 tackles that night and rearranged every part of All Blacks inside centre Jordie Barrett’s body in those 80 minuters. At Eden Park, I can’t recall Du Toit getting close to denting Barrett’s body and the All Blacks’ psyche.

Erasmus, throughout his tenure, has been lauded for irreverence, innovation, rugby intelligence and for doing the unthinkable.

To win in Wellington he doesn’t have to be any of those things. He just must be true to the basics of the game.

The defeat at Eden Park hurts more because of the quality of these Boks. They can’t ever get that result back, but they can get a result in Wellington if there is a change in mindset and in game management.

BLUNDER BOKS

To quote a mate, by the time we remembered to be Boks again, it was too late. I hope the lesson has been learned, writes Mark Keohane.

The mate is Stuart Kelly, a former rugby journalist at the Star and Cape Argus, who now resides in Bangkok.

His message is to the point: ‘Time to stop the Tony Ball worship everyone (except South Africans) love so much. It was better when the world disliked us and we won.’

Spot on.

Now the world loves us, embraces this belief we have to evolve our game to win another World Cup and finally breathes a sigh of relief that we leave the game’s strongest tighthead scrumming prop on the bench for 60 minutes, play so much rugby in the 30 between halfway and our own quarter, get bossed at the breakdown and give away half our line out jumpers to the philosophy that our big men will do wonders in the tramlines post winning the shortened line outs.

But to do so, the Boks first have to win the line out, which they seldom do these days in the big moments.

Eden Park had such expectation but the Boks did not deliver.

Next weekend they will be underdogs and they will thrive, but it does not take away the disappointment of Saturday’s result or the fact that, even as back to back World Cup champions, the coaches, and by extension the 23 picked to play, could revel in an expectation that they were good enough to win.

What seemed to matter more was that they lost playing the way the world wants the Boks to play because it is a guarantee that they have a good chance of beating the Boks.

When the Boks played a certain way to win the World Cup final in 2023 and the semi-final in 2019 and the third and final Test decider against the British & Irish Lions in 2021, they did it because of an inherent mongrel and simplicity that suited the needs for the occasion.

This simplicity was absent for most of the Test at Eden Park as the Boks played into the very appreciative hands of the hosts, who were 14 points up on 20 minutes thanks to a sloppy Boks backline attack and a defensive line out in which one-on-one tackles were slipped with the ease at which a good looker cruises past a bouncer at a night club door.

The All Blacks were disciplined, strong in defence and very good in understanding the need for kicking it into the heavens and only playing in certain areas.

The home team line out was always in control against a Bok defensive line out as limp as the famed rush defence.

Rassie rues ‘really bad’ 15 minutes

This was a Boks team in which attack is now the priority and it showed.

Bring back defence as the DNA of this team. It isn’t always pretty but it is potent.

The referee and match officials will cop a caning in South Africa, and for good reason, but this was not a Test lost because of the referee. The Boks lost it because of the match 23 selections, in who starts, who finishes and who was left out, but they lost it because on this biggest of days at Eden Park they moved away from works for them and allowed the All Blacks the comfort of dictating a match through what works for them.

Individually, there were plusses for the Boks, but collectively there was nothing to take from another defeat in New Zealand and another one at Eden Park, other than it was another defeat.

Rassie Erasmus, post the defeat, said the South African supporters would be ‘GATVOL’.

It is the one thing he called right this week.

Rassie Erasmus has dismantled the Bok Bomb Squad for Eden Park’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship showdown against the All Blacks. It is a shock, writes Mark Keohane.

Erasmus has selected his most conservative match 23 in the context of how previous selections this season and selections against the All Blacks in the past two years.

He went with a 7-1 bench split at Twickenham, England pre the 2023 World Cup and the Boks won 35-7. He also went with a 7-1 split in the 2023 World Cup final in Paris and the Boks won 12-11.

This is the stock standard conventional five forwards and three backs substitute’s bench. It is no Bomb Squad.

Erasmus has made four changes to the starting XV that won 30-22 in Cape Town against the Wallabies, with veteran Willie le Roux starting at fullback, Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit back from injury and concussion respectively, and Eben Etzebeth promoted from the substitute’s bench to start ahead of RG Snyman, who does not make the match 23.

Kolisi starts at No 8, but will not captain the side. Erasmus explained this as Kolisi being doubtful earlier in the week and Jesse Kriel internally confirmed as captain.

Snyman’s omission is the biggest surprise, although he has not transferred his superb season at Leinster to the Boks in 2025.

Snyman was named Leinster’s Player’s Player of the Year in 2024/25 and also the Leinster Fans’ Player of the Year award.

Kwagga Smith, a late injury replacement starter at No 8 for Jean-Luc du Preez in Cape Town, drops to the bench, with Du Preez not in the match 23 because of continued struggles with injury.

Grant Williams, who started both Tests at No 9 against Australia, starts in Auckland and there is no place in the match 23 for double World Cup winner Faf de Klerk. Cobus Reinarch is the reserve scrum half, with Sharks utility back Ethan Hooker the biggest surprise on among the substitutes.

Hooker, the Sharks Player of the 2024/25 season, has been with the Boks all season, but his game time has been just the last 20 minutes in the second Test win against Italy.

Thomas du Toit has also kept his place at tighthead in a front row that only caused Australia problems at the scrum when Wilco Louw was introduced in the 63rd minute in Cape Town.

Jan-Hendrik Wessels will provide support at hooker and loosened prop.

RASSIE EXPLAINS HIS MATCH 23 SELECTIONS

SPRINGBOKS – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Substitutes: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Ethan Hooker.

RATING THE FOUR SPRINGBOKS WINS IN 25 TESTS IN NEW ZEALAND SINCE 1994

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has tweaked his run-on XV that lost 29-23 to the Pumas in Buenos Aires. There is a change in the back three, the loose-forwards and lock. Scrumhalf Finlay Christie starts because of injuries to Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima, having been in the match 23 for both Tests in Argentina.

Robertson has also opted for a traditional 5-3 substitute’s split.

He has resisted changing the midfield and Billy Proctor gets another opportunity at No 13, while Rieko Ioane gets one more chance to rekindle his form at left wing.

The loose-trio is rejigged with Wallace Sititi starting at No 8, Adrie Savea on the flank in his 100th Test and Simon Parker at No 6. Tupou Vaa’i, who played No 6 against Argentina reverts to lock alongside captain Scott Barrett.

Kyle Preston, reserve scrum half, is the only uncapped All Black in the 23. The front row replacements scream power.

ALL BLACKS – 15 Will Jordan, 14 Emoni Narawa, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot. Substitutes: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Damian McKenzie.

The All Blacks are unbeaten in 50 Tests at Eden Park, dating back to 1994.

This is who they have played in the 31 years

Australia 20 wins

South Africa 5 (four wins and one draw)

England 5 wins

France 5 wins

Ireland 4 wins

British and Irish Lions 3 (two wins and one draw)

Argentina 2 wins

Scotland 2 wins

Samoa 1 win

Wales 1 win

Tonga 1 win

Canada 1 win

The All Blacks have lost 14 Tests in New Zealand in the last 31 years and are unbeaten at home in 2025

1994 vs France (Auckland)

1998 vs South Africa (Wellington)

1998 vs Australia (Christchurch)

2000 vs Australia (Wellington)

2001 vs Australia (Dunedin)

2003 vs England (Wellington)

2008 vs South Africa (Dunedin)

2009 vs France (Dunedin)

2009 vs South Africa (Hamilton)

2017 vs British and Irish Lions (Wellington)

2018 vs South Africa (Wellington)

2022 vs Ireland (Dunedin)

2022 vs Ireland (Wellington)

2024 vs Argentina (Wellington)