Springboks v All Blacks: Winners and losers as Bomb Squad finally comes to the party to take advantage of ‘brutal display of scrummaging’
Our take on the key winners and losers from the Springboks' win over the All Blacks
Following a 29-24 victory for the All Blacks over the Springboks at FNB Stadium on Saturday, here are our winners and losers from the third Greatest Rivalry Test.
Winners
Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw
A brutal display of scrummaging from three of the best front-rowers in the world. Nche and Louw gave their opposition props a hiding in the set-piece as the All Blacks only seemed to have reverse gear. Nche also did some fabulous work in the loose, including a stunning take and charge which set up an excellent attacking position for the Boks.
As for Marx, he deserves a paragraph on his own. Named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2025, could the hooker double up? As well as his obvious excellence in the set-piece, the 32-year-old was superb around the field and thoroughly deserved the try he scored in the second period.
Asafo Aumua
One of the big calls from Dave Rennie with Codie Taylor left out of the 23, but Aumua certainly did not let the All Blacks down. While the lineout was not necessarily a roaring success, they didn’t let the Springboks make too much headway in that area. Considering the tourists only had two out-and-out jumpers, the hooker must be given credit for that.
With the set-piece giving New Zealand good enough ball to work with, Aumua could thrive in the loose and there were some incredibly physical moments via the Hurricanes man. He wasn’t absolutely dominant, but it was still a good performance from the front-rower.
Sam Darry
Like Aumua, Darry justified his inclusion with a fine shift for an hour. After a superb couple of games in the Nations Championship, the lock has been unfortunate to miss out on the following three internationals, but he returned to the line-up on Saturday and he threw his body around throughout the time he was on the field.
Bomb Squad
It has not necessarily fired in the opening two matches with the All Blacks ending both games on the front foot. Although the visitors did have the final word in Soweto, the Springboks dominated much of the second period and that was thanks, in part, to the Bomb Squad.
There was particularly good impact from Lood de Jager, Cameron Hanekom and Andre Esterhuizen as they controlled the physical battle after the interval. We also have to give immense credit to Morne van den Berg and Manie Libbok – the latter arriving on the field after just nine minutes – who did a fine job in the playmaking positions.
Ethan Hooker
Tormented the All Blacks in Wellington last year and did the same on Saturday. While Hooker wasn’t quite as dominant in the air as he was on that occasion, the supremely talented back was a constant threat under the high ball. Equally, he always made ground when he had ball in hand.
Rassie Erasmus
Has received some criticism over recent weeks, and at times it has looked chaotic from the two-time Rugby World Cup winner, but he got most things right at the weekend. He wasn’t dealt an easy hand by Kolbe’s early withdrawal but the Boks managed it well and Erasmus introduced his bench at the right time.
Losers
Ardie Savea and Quinn Tupaea
Unfortunately suffered injuries and had to be replaced. Savea’s looked particularly serious with Rennie confirming that he has suffered a shoulder issue. Given how ginger he looked going off the field, that could rule him out for the rest of the season, which would be a huge shame.
George Bower and Tyrel Lomax
Bower has received praise for bringing solidity to the All Blacks scrum in the opening two Tests, but he was well and truly annihilated in the third. The Crusaders man did not have any answer to the pressure Wilco Louw exerted on him and was unsurprisingly replaced early in the second period.
He was joined off the field by Lomax, who also felt the wrath of the Springboks front-row. While Bower might be considered more of a stopgap until Tamaiti Williams returns, Lomax was once considered one of the best tightheads in the world, but his decline will be concerning for Rennie.
Leroy Carter
Like last weekend, the speedster offered plenty with ball-in-hand, which included playing a key role in two of their tries, but his weakness in defence proved costly in Soweto. His mistake for the first try was more excusable given that he had to stretch to reach Damian de Allende, but the missed tackle on Jesse Kriel was unforgivable. Carter has to be better in that area or else he quite simply will be dropped.
Cheslin Kolbe
Another casualty of a brutal Test. Was switched to full-back due to Damian Willemse’s injury but he only lasted nine minutes after suffering a broken jaw. Again, we hope Kolbe is not out for too long as he is a joy to watch.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
It is just not going the 24-year-old’s way in 2026. His form had hardly been stellar for the Stormers before he suffered an injury at the end of their season, and he has been similarly disappointing on his return. The playmaker just seems desperate to make something happen and, as a result, he is either overplaying with ball in hand or making mistakes defensively.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and was then fortunate not to be penalised for going in at the side of a ruck in the build-up to Savea’s try. If picked up, that would have been a second yellow card for the fly-half given the proximity to the tryline. However, despite being given that reprieve, things did not improve as he struggled to make an impact during the rest of the game.
Dave Rennie
He has enjoyed a positive start as All Blacks head coach and they are certainly far more enjoyable to watch than under Scott Robertson but, after these two defeats, they need a big performance and result in Baltimore.
While he has not had much time with this group of players, these games have gone similarly to their previous matches against the Springboks in many respects. In fact, when you compare the last two games to the 2024 double-header in South Africa, they were arguably better displays under Robertson than what has been served up by Rennie’s outfit in Cape Town and Soweto.
Jason Ryan
It could simply be a player quality issue but, either way, the scrum, lineout and maul have not been up to scratch since the middle of 2025. There has been a concerning decline in their fundamentals and on Saturday, they were smashed in the scrum and conceded a maul try where the Springboks went about 20 metres to score. For all the good stuff under Rennie, they won’t win a World Cup without an improvement up front.