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One more punch in Baltimore!

Adnaan MohamedAll Blacks, News, Rugby, SpringboksLeave a Comment on One more punch in Baltimore!
By Adnaan Mohamed

Rassie Erasmus has slammed the brakes on the Springboks victory party. The Springboks may have put New Zealand on the ropes with a pulsating 29-24 knockout at a thunderous FNB Stadium on Saturday, but their wily coach knows the All Blacks are wounded animals with one more bite left.

The series is alive.

And Baltimore is where the bloody business gets finished.

South Africa now lead the Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 2-1, but Erasmus refuses to believe the trophy is safely tucked under his arm.

“I know a lot of people said that this is the series here in South Africa, but it is not – we’ve played three games here and we’re one up, but the final game is still to come,” he said.

“I know we can’t lose it anymore because there’s not points difference or tries scored (as a tie breaker). But the trophy was actually designed in two halves to be shared if it’s a draw. So, it’s game on.”

And make no mistake, this rivalry has produced rugby with more twists than a crime thriller.

The Springboks spent much of Saturday chasing shadows, trailing until the 58th minute before finally wresting control from the All Blacks.

It was less victory parade and more street fight.

“We are happy tonight. It was epic. It was intense. I think the scoreboard at the end showed how close the game was. We’re just happy we won,” said Erasmus.

His honesty was brutal.

“They were definitely on top (in the first half). All of us I think envy the way they can handle the ball and they’re certainly brilliant at that. Luckily we went in level at halftime which gives you some hope.”

Then came the admission that will delight Bok fans and give New Zealand ammunition.

“I’m not sure what my heart rate was but we were certainly nervous. And I think they were nervous.”

The travelling circus now moves to America, with the fierce rivals sharing a flight before resuming hostilities.

Erasmus even joked about sharing a beer with All Blacks coach Dave Rennie.

“Hopefully me and Dave will have a beer. His will be a little bit more bitter and mine will be a little sweeter.”

The smiles, however, will disappear once camp opens.

“We assess the injuries; we start planning and it’s number one and two again. It’s the greatest rivalry and we play to try and win the series, and they will try and to draw the series. So, no, it’s going to be flipping important.”

The Boks will be without Cheslin Kolbe after Erasmus revealed the electric wing fractured his jaw. Erasmus reveled that scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies will replace Kolbe for the trip to the USA.

Cheslin Kolbe suffered a broken jaw in the third test in Soweto Photo: SA Rugby

Carlu Sadie, Boan Venter, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Cobus Wiese and Ben-Jason Dixon will also stay behind.

Damian Willemse, Grant Williams and Canan Moodie are fit and will travel.

Erasmus knows the Boks escaped Soweto with more than skill.

“It’s massive, this is. You’re playing number one and two in the world and it switches one week to the next and it certainly lives up to that (hype), and I can tell you now, we’re not sitting here thinking we are flipping awesome. We’re thinking there was also a lot of luck that that went our way.”

So forget the coronation.

Forget the champagne.

Forget the trophy photographs.

For now.

The Boks have one punch left to throw.

So do the All Blacks.

Baltimore, buckle up.

The Greatest Rivalry is coming to town.

Springbok try machine KLA is back for Soweto clash

Adnaan MohamedAll Blacks, News, Rugby, SpringboksLeave a Comment on Springbok try machine KLA is back for Soweto clash
By Adnaan Mohamed

Kurt-Lee Arendse is back in the Springbok starting XV, and Rassie Erasmus is hoping the try-scoring machine can provide another spark when the All Blacks roll into the roaring cauldron of FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Arendse returns on the right wing for the third Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test after missing the 33-26 Cape Town victory.

Cheslin Kolbe moves to fullback following Damian Willemse’s injury, giving the Springboks a reshuffled back three with enough pace and mischief to keep New Zealand’s defence guessing.

For Arendse, it is an opportunity to remind everyone why his name remains synonymous with finishing.

The Bulls flyer has scored 25 tries in 33 Tests, a strike rate that makes him one of the most dangerous predators in the Springbok backline.

“Kurt-Lee was unlucky not to play last week after Cheslin recovered from his niggle, so we are pleased to see him back,” Erasmus said.

“He is a quality player and his 25 tries in 33 matches so far shows the type of player he is.”

Erasmus has otherwise opted for continuity after the Springboks levelled the four-Test series in Cape Town.

“It was always our plan to have a little more continuity in player combinations for this series, and we thought that the players who did the job for us last week really showed composure and did well to stick to the plan and what we wanted to achieve last week,” he said.

“Unfortunately, Damian Willemse took a knock in the first half and was not available for selection this weekend, and neither was Handre Pollard, and by sticking to these combinations and making one switch with Cheslin at fullback, we thought it would be the best for this match.”

The front row has also been reset, with Ox Nche, Wilco Louw and Malcolm Marx returning to the starting lineup after Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit and Deon Fourie started in Cape Town.

“We decided to change our front rows last week due to the weather conditions, and Johannesburg weather is different to Cape Town, so we thought this would be the best decision for us this weekend,” Erasmus said.

He added that the players moving to the bench remain vital weapons.

“Gerhard, Thomas, and Deon have played massive games for us, and at the same time know how to deal with pressure, and that is exactly what we need against a never-say-die team like the All Blacks, who play for the full 80-minutes.”

Erasmus expects New Zealand to respond with the fury of a wounded heavyweight.

“We know how it felt after the first match in Johannesburg, and such a result really galvanises a team, so we have no doubt that they will go full-out to win this Test match before the series finale in the USA next week,” he said.

“They are one of the two best teams in the world and based on experience, they never give up, as we saw last weekend, so this will undoubtedly be another epic encounter between the sides.”

The stakes are enormous.

“This game is going to be equally, if not more intense than the last two given the fact that the team that wins this match will be two games up in the series,” Erasmus said.

“That will make the clash in the USA the decider or game that could see the series finish in a draw, so there will be a different vibe around this match.”

And then there is FNB Stadium.

“We are excited that we will be playing at the FNB stadium, where on a good day there is an 80 000-strong crowd,” Erasmus said.

“With the vuvuzelas and passionate crowd there, we can hardly hear one another on the field, so we are all thrilled about this occasion.”

The final warning was unmistakably Erasmus.

“But make no mistake, this is going to be another intense battle between the two top teams in the world who are both looking to get an edge in the series, so we know what we have to do, and composure and accuracy are going to be vital for both sides.”

For Arendse, the assignment is brutally simple.

Get the ball.

Find the gap.

Finish the job.

Boks’ Cape Town Test rocked by Pollard fitness scare

Adnaan MohamedAll Blacks, News, Preview, SpringboksLeave a Comment on Boks’ Cape Town Test rocked by Pollard fitness scare
By Adnaan Mohamed

The Springboks’ bid to claw their way back into Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series has been dealt another potential blow, with Handré Pollard reportedly set to miss Saturday’s second Test against the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium.

According to Netwerk24, the experienced flyhalf is battling a calf injury and could be ruled out of the four-match series showdown.

Pollard was named to start on Monday, with Rassie Erasmus opting for the two-time World Cup winner’s experience of Cape Town conditions. His late fitness concern has thrown another spanner into the Springbok machinery at a time when every moving part needs to click.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who started at flyhalf in last weekend’s 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park before moving to the bench, and Manie Libbok are the leading candidates to step into the No 10 jersey.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu

Pollard’s 2026 campaign has already been punctuated by injury. He opened his season with a Man of the Match performance against Scotland on 11 July before a hamstring problem ruled him out of the Wales Test the following week. His latest appearance came in South Africa’s victory over Argentina in Mendoza almost a month ago.

Now, with the Boks’ series hopes dangling over the precipice, another injury cloud has gathered.

South Africa must win in Cape Town to prevent New Zealand from taking an unassailable 2-0 lead and effectively closing the door on a series victory. Another defeat would leave the Boks needing to win the remaining two Tests to force a draw.

Thomas du Toit insists the Ellis Park setback has already been packed away and dissected.

“I think the important thing for us was to park that game and take the learning as quickly as we can,” said the versatile prop.

The Springboks conducted their review on Monday, identifying what worked and what went wrong before turning their attention to the next assignment.

“We took on board the learnings, took the good stuff, worked on the bad and worst things of the game – it was as easy as that.”

Du Toit believes the Boks need every component firing, particularly with wet conditions potentially turning the contest into a territorial tug-of-war.

“Unfortunately, in this game you can’t only have one aspect of the game firing right for you.”

Scrums, kicking, attack, defence, entries into the 22 and finishing will all need to mesh into one formidable machine.

South Africa do have significant firepower returning. Siya Kolisi is back as captain, Pieter-Steph du Toit reaches his 100th Test, Ox Nche earns his 50th and Eben Etzebeth extends his record as the most-capped Springbok to 144 appearances.

The starting XV, with Kolisi included, boasts a remarkable 1 012 Test caps, the most experienced Springbok starting line-up ever selected. The forwards account for 584 caps and the backline 428, with another 204 caps among the replacements.

Deon Fourie could add another piece of history from the bench. Should he play, the 39-year-old will become the oldest Springbok Test player, overtaking Victor Matfield and Schalk Brits. It would also mark his first international appearance since the 2023 World Cup final, where South Africa edged the All Blacks 12-11.

New Zealand have reshaped their pack, with George Bower replacing Ethan de Groot, who remains under HIA protocols. Josh Lord makes way for Tupou Vaa’i in the second row, while Simon Parker starts at No 6. Leroy Carter and Josh Moorby have swapped positions in the backline.

The All Blacks hold the historical advantage, winning 64 of 111 Tests against South Africa, with 43 Springbok victories and four draws. New Zealand have scored 2 302 points and 253 tries to South Africa’s 1 866 points and 182 tries.

Recent form offers the Boks a glimmer of light. They have won five of the last seven meetings since August 2023 and beat New Zealand 18-12 in their most recent Cape Town encounter in 2024.

The stakes, however, are brutally simple.

The Boks need a response. They need composure. They need their big-game players to stand tall.

And if Pollard’s calf keeps him sidelined, another Springbok No 10 must step into the furnace.

Cape Town is waiting. The series is slipping. Saturday could be the night South Africa either reignites the rivalry or watches it burn away.

Probable Springbok selection if Pollard is ruled out

15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu/Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nché. Replacements: Deon Fourie, Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Lood de Jager, André Esterhuizen, Cameron Hanekom, Morné van den Berg, Pollard’s replacement.

ALL BLACKS – 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Fabian Holland, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 George Bower. Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Josh Moorby.

Match officials

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
FPRO: Eric Gauzins (France)

Kick-off: Saturday, 17:10
Venue: Cape Town Stadium