Who’s hot and who’s not: Springboks and All Blacks on opposite ends of the spectrum while double World Cup winner ‘in demand’
Jordie Barrett shone for the All Blacks while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu struggled for the Springboks.
It’s time for our Monday wrap of who has their name in lights and who is making the headlines for all the wrong reasons after the weekend.
THEY’RE ON FIRE!
All Blacks: The men in black laid down an early marker in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, delivering a brilliant performance en route to a comfortable 33-16 victory over the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday. While most of the match was closely contested, the All Blacks took control of proceedings in the final quarter and eventually outscored the world champions by five tries to one, highlighting their dominance in the end. That victory means the men in black have their tails up with a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series.
Will Jordan and Jordie Barrett: Although the All Blacks delivered an excellent all-round display, the experienced backline duo deserve special praise as they were at the forefront of the men in black’s efforts for the full 80 minutes. After being sidelined with a back injury, Jordan made his first appearance of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, and he shone on attack in Johannesburg, eventually scoring a brace of tries. Meanwhile, Barrett continued his impressive form on the tour and was solid with ball in hand, coming to the fore with a superb defensive display in which he made a match-high 15 tackles and won a whopping five turnovers.
Dave Rennie: After taking over the All Blacks’ coaching reins just over two months ago – following a successful stint as a club rugby coach in Japan – everything is going swimmingly for Rennie. New Zealand’s new head coach was the mastermind behind that excellent triumph against South Africa, and his philosophy of returning to the All Blacks’ traditional attacking style paid off spectacularly as they outscored the Boks by five tries to one. It also means Rennie continues his fine record against the Springboks, as he has now won four out of five Tests against the world champions after beating them on three occasions during his stint as Wallabies head coach between 2020 and 2023.
Matthew Carley: There was lots of talk about the referee possibly deciding the outcome of the Springboks v All Blacks Test with a dubious decision, but that was not the case. Although there was plenty of pressure on Carley in the build-up to the eagerly anticipated encounter, he can be happy with his overall performance, and he eventually passed a difficult test with flying colours. While the Boks could grumble about some small things, the English match official was pretty fair on the whole, and there were no serious complaints about his refereeing after the Test match.
Northland: The Whangarei-based outfit made history when they claimed a shock 36-12 triumph over National Provincial Championship (NPC) heavyweights Canterbury at the One NZ Stadium in Christchurch last Thursday. That result was a significant one as it meant Northland won New Zealand’s famous Ranfurly Shield for the first time in 48 years. As the scoreline suggests, the visitors dominated proceedings and their captain Rivez Reihana and flanker Rob Rush were their star performers. Reihana finished with an 11-point haul after slotting four conversions and a penalty, while Rush was not far behind as he crossed for a brace of tries.
Faf de Klerk: The veteran scrum-half’s services might not be needed by the Springboks in the international arena, but he is still producing brilliant performances on a weekly basis for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup. The 34-year-old has been one of the Bloemfontein-based outfit’s best players in that competition, and on Sunday he scored a well-taken try as his side clinched a hard-fought 33-24 home victory against Boland. That was a significant result as it meant the Cheetahs secured a home semi-final, and it also emerged that De Klerk’s services are still in demand. This came after it was revealed that the Stormers are interested in signing the double World Cup winner on loan after the men from the Cape’s boss, Dobson, told South African newspaper Rapport that they are keen to bolster their scrum-half stocks after Imad Khan suffered a serious injury against the All Blacks earlier this month.
COLD AS ICE!
Springboks: While the All Blacks were deserved winners at Ellis Park on Saturday, let’s not forget that their opponents also contributed to their own downfall in surprising fashion. While the men in green and gold held the upper hand in the game’s early stages, the All Blacks wrestled the game away from them in the second half and Rassie Erasmus’ charges struggled to regain the initiative. The world champions’ decision-making left a lot to be desired, and they made a plethora of unforced errors which proved costly in the end. That defeat has resulted in changes to the matchday squad for Saturday’s second Test in Cape Town, so it will be interesting to see if they can turn the tables on their arch-rivals.
Axed Boks: As expected, some players have paid the price for that defeat at Ellis Park as head coach Erasmus has not been shy to make changes to his matchday squad for the next clash of the four-Test series. While Erasmus has kept the faith with the bulk of his starting XV, he has wielded the axe, with one of the biggest casualties being star fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has been dropped to the bench. Amongst the other casualties were Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Zachary Porthen, Cobus Wiese, Marco van Staden and Manie Libbok, who were all introduced off the replacements bench in Johannesburg but failed to make the necessary impact. Starting wing and scrum-half Cheslin Kolbe and Grant Williams also miss out, although Erasmus revealed they were not considered for selection due to niggling injuries.
Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot: It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the All Blacks during that memorable victory over the Springboks in Johannesburg as they battled in the scrums against the world champions. As the two starting props, Lomax and De Groot found the going tough in that department as their direct opponents – Ox Nche and Wilco Louw – had them back-pedalling on several occasions, and the Boks were also awarded several scrum penalties. Late in the first half, De Groot suffered a head knock which resulted in him being replaced by George Bower, while Fletcher Newell came on to take over from Lomax early in the second half, and they delivered a much improved scrummaging performance during the rest of that clash.
Scott Robertson: The All Blacks’ excellent and deserved triumph against the Springboks puts their former head coach Robertson back in the spotlight again, but for all the wrong reasons. Although it’s early in Rennie’s reign as the men in black’s head coach, the players look like they are enjoying themselves again, after reports that under Robertson’s guidance, that was not the case. Although he finished with a 74% win ratio during his stint as All Blacks boss, the man known as “Razor” only managed to beat the Boks once and suffered three losses against them. New Zealand also became a territory-based team with plenty of kicking under Robertson, but Rennie’s introduction has seen them revert to a more attacking approach, and it’s certainly paying off.
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Leicester Tigers kit: There was much fanfare from the PREM Rugby outfit when they unveiled their away strip for the 2027/28 season last week, describing it on their official website as: “The Leicester Tigers Away Strip is made to show the dramatic differences in culture that Leicester holds. The striking mauve number features splashes of sunshine on the upper body with engraved patterns, as Tigers take the traditions of the city across the country. It incorporates angled panelling and AerTek seams, leading to a comfortable yet performance-first feel, and will be worn as a third strip by Leicester Tigers men and away kit by Leicester Tigers women.” However, there has been a backlash on social media where fans have mocked the new kit and some even compared it to pyjamas.
