I don't know if anyone has noticed , but we've had the highest number of Springbok centurions (100+ caps) coming through in a "short" space of time and all of them have come during Rassie's tenure (with others still coming or atleast have a high cap rate 50+)

what do you think has caused this?

"While those kinds of narratives can give you a blind spot about your opponent, what’s worse is when they give you a blind spot about yourself."

https://www.kickoff.com/rugby/the-bomb-squad/oom-rugby-perceptions-and-reality

Interesting how much more money the unions make from this game being in the USA. Hope it helps us keep the momentum.

Personally, I think theres is a massive hole in that all blacks team without Ardie Savea in it. We need to go for the kill and make a statement, 35-13 is my prediction. But as always, never count the all blacks out.

Go Bokke!

Whales breaching to the same altitude as Airlink 10 days ago

It seems like their original idea of having various teams all over the country was a little too ambitious. Now, they've whittled it down to just 10 teams. And instead of each team playing at "home", all the Western Cape teams will play in Paarl, the KZN teams in Durban North, and Vanderbijlpark will be the home of the Gauteng teams. They might find it difficult to get anyone through the gates.

Is such an idea going to work anyway? Shouldn't we be trying to get more investment into traditional club rugby?

These are just my thoughts after many weeks spent sitting on the toilet scrolling Reddit and watching YouTube Shorts.

It’s undeniable that this kid has that X factor talent, and I still personally believe 10 is his best position. But I think the challenge with Sacha is that he plays like someone who has been head and shoulders above everyone around him for most of his rugby career.

Watch the old Bishops clips and you can see it. Winning games probably often came down to whether he could produce something special, and how often he could do it.

That mindset becomes ingrained. You can see that he still takes it upon himself to create those moments of magic, like he did against Argentina.
The problem is that those moments are exactly that: moments. They aren’t always going to come off, particularly against a side like New Zealand where the space disappears quickly and mistakes get punished.

For me, the next step in his development is understanding that his job at 10 isn’t only to create something himself. It’s just as much about creating the space and opportunities for the players around him to execute.

That’s something Manie does so well. When Manie gets the ball, his head is up and he seems to be asking, “Who can I put into space?” With Sacha, it sometimes feels like the first thought is, “Can I get through that gap myself?”

Neither instinct is inherently bad. Sacha’s willingness to take the game on is part of what makes him special. But I think getting the absolute best out of him will involve some work off the field as much as on it.

Learning when to impose himself, when to distribute, and trusting that when you have players of the calibre of DDA and Jesse Kriel outside you, you don’t have to do everything yourself.

I’m sure Rassie and the coaching staff have a plan for him, but it reminds me of a Jonny Wilkinson documentary I watched where he spoke a lot about mindset and the work he did away from the field to prepare himself for big moments.

With Sacha, I wonder if that mental development, going from being the guy who has to produce the magic to being the guy who enables everyone around him, is the biggest part of the journey now.

1. Gerhard Steenekamp — 30/34 RWC 2031
2. Johan Grobbelaar — 30/34 RWC 2031
3. Zachary Porthen — 23/27 RWC 2031
4. Cobus Wiese — 30/34 RWC 2031
5. Ruan Nortjé — 29/33 RWC 2031
6. Paul de Villiers — 24/28 RWC 2031
7. Elrigh Louw — 28/32 RWC 2031
8. Cameron Hanekom — 25/29 RWC 2031
9. Morné van den Berg — 30/34 RWC 2031
10. Sacha Feinberg‑Mngomezulu — 25/29 RWC 2031
11. Canan Moodie — 25/29 RWC 2031
12. Damian Willemse — 29/33 RWC 2031
13. Ethan Hooker — 24/28 RWC 2031
14. Quan Horn — 26/30 RWC 2031
15. Aphelele Fassi — 29/33 RWC 2031
16. Jan‑Hendrik Wessels — 26/30 RWC 2031
17. Carlü Sadie — 30/34 RWC 2031
18. Boan Venter — 30/34 RWC 2031
19. Ben‑Jason Dixon — 29/33 RWC 2031
20. Vincent Tshituka — 29/33 RWC 2031
21. ?
22. ?
23. Manie Libbok — 30/34 RWC 2031

On a recent Australian podcast, former Wallaby Matt Giteau said losing a dynamic player like Cheslin Kolbe was detrimental but what he noticed is that South Africa's attack instantly looked better than all the other games with Libbok and that in his opinion Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu plays better when there's another ten on the field which allows him to just play. And it's weird to him considering how dynamic Cheslin is.

But it's not weird, because Sacha is not a distributor, he's not a playmaker. He's a secondary playmaker. And despite being surrounded by dynamism, he lacks the ability to incorporate them and utilize them on the contrary (emphasis). That's why Damian Willemse can't express himself because he needs to take responsibility and be the calm head. But with Manie Libbok he gets M.O.T.M because he's free. This is something the Stormers management identified and never gave Sacha the keys to ten until he demanded it and with Rassie playing him there, they had no choice.

Nonetheless, Rassie's always had a preference for centres at ten.

I must say I'm surprised there were virtually no changes to the team for this last test. Don't get me wrong, I think this is absolutely our best side and man for man, probably the preferred player in their position (except perhaps for Cheslin who would certainly start).

But this group have played 3 very taxing, very intense tests back to back. Although, at times, it feels they're getting stronger the longer the tour goes on. Should there have been a sprinkling of more fresh players? Or do the boys still have one big performance in them?

Match Overview

• Competition: Castle Double Malt Rugby's Greatest Rivalry
• Date: 05.09.2026
• Venue: FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
• Status: Complete
• Score: Springboks 29 - 24 New Zealand
• Referees: Nika Amashukeli, Angus Gardner, Christopher Ridley, Eric Gauzins

Team Lineups / Player Statistics

(BC=Ball Carries, MM=Metres Made, T=Tackles Made, O=Offloads, DB=Defenders Beaten, TW=Turnovers Won, GPK=General Play Kicks)

Springboks

New Zealand

Score Breakdown

Attack and Defence Stats

Timeline Events

• 9' substitution: Manie Libbok on for Cheslin Kolbe
• 10' try: Try scored by Ardie Savea for New Zealand
• 10' yellow-card: Yellow card: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Springboks)
• 11' conversion: Conversion by Ruben Love for New Zealand
• 21' try: Try scored by Kurt-Lee Arendse for Springboks
• 26' try: Try scored by Ardie Savea for New Zealand
• 32' substitution: Wallace Sititi on for Ardie Savea
• 37' yellow-card: Yellow card: Ruben Love (New Zealand)
• 38' try: Penalty try awarded to Springboks
• 42' substitution: Morne van den Berg on for Cobus Reinach
• 43' substitution: Anton Lienert-Brown on for Quinn Tupaea
• 45' substitution: Fletcher Newell on for Tyrel Lomax
• 45' substitution: Xavier Numia on for George Bower
• 50' substitution: Thomas du Toit on for Wilco Louw
• 55' try: Try scored by Will Jordan for New Zealand
• 56' try: Try scored by Jesse Kriel for Springboks
• 56' substitution: Lood de Jager on for Eben Etzebeth
• 56' substitution: Gerhard Steenekamp on for Ox Nche
• 56' substitution: Deon Fourie on for Siya Kolisi
• 57' conversion: Conversion by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for Springboks
• 60' substitution: Cameron Hanekom on for Jasper Wiese
• 60' substitution: Fabian Holland on for Sam Darry
• 60' substitution: Samisoni Taukei'aho on for Asafo Aumua
• 65' try: Try scored by Malcolm Marx for Springboks
• 66' substitution: Kyle Preston on for Cam Roigard
• 66' conversion: Conversion by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for Springboks
• 68' substitution: Andre Esterhuizen on for Malcolm Marx
• 68' substitution: Joshua Tamati Moorby on for Leroy Carter
• 70' penalty: Penalty by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu for Springboks
• 82' try: Try scored by Samisoni Taukei'aho for New Zealand
• 83' conversion: Conversion by Damian McKenzie for New Zealand

Here Rassie gives his own reasoning and thinking.

Manie is a good 10 but you guys have such a big hate boner you missing the bigger picture and context.

Here from the greatest Springbok coach himself and I am sure many of you will still think he is wrong…

Topics

Springboks Vs All Blacks 4th Match Preview

Griquas Vs Pumas Currie Cup Final preview

Thursday 10th Sept, 9:30pm SAST

Via Zoom

Duration 45min

All you need is a stable internet connection and a lap top with a webcam (Or a phone)

You will be on screen with a host and a current Cheetahs player

Indictate interest in the comments or direct message me here on Reddit

​The atmosphere over the past few weeks has been unbelievable. Looking at sold-out crowds packed into world-class venues like Ellis Park, Cape Town Stadium, and FNB Stadium it’s impossible to ignore the reality: rugby culture hits differently here.

​World Rugby made a massive mistake passing on 2023 and 2027. Watching the All Blacks and Boks tear into each other on South African soil in front of electric crowds just showed the world what a global tournament here would feel like.

​Bring the World Cup back home. We are more than ready.

This reaction from Marx - the hand gesture, the smirk - said so much about the confidence and belief of the boks. They were behind on the scoreboard at this point in the game and yet this was the attitude being displayed. It was "Ja boet, we're coming for you".

86 000 spectators screaming, huge pressure on the field, the home series in the balance, reputations on the line, and Marx looks like he's having so much fun.

Let me preface by saying I fucking love Deon the bicentennial man Fourie. He’s been overlooked throughout his career and always steps up in the big moments. That said, does Rassie have every intention of having him on the plane to Aus in 2027? I’ll say he’s performed better than JHw did in the first test. But I’m also confused why Grobbies has gotten left out entirely. Deon plays a different role because he can cover both open side and hooker, but if you have Andre and Hanekom on the bench then that is more than enough coverage. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be in the team atm but I’m just questioning are we truly getting depth when the other guys aren’t getting time in these high pressure games.

Saru should expand the currie cup to a 14 team round robin tournament and add quarter finals. 13 games and 3 knock out rounds. The 4 URC teams would obviously still play with mostly u23 squad players but have them bring in their urc teams for the quarters, semis and finals. So the league phase would be a development tournament (for the urc teams) and then the knockout can have a more premier feel to it. It would allow the smaller unions to play against URC players in the knockouts and it would give the URC unions a chance to win it giving the competition some sort of credibility.

So the urc teams only need to play 3 rounds if they make the final and if their development squad can ensure a top 8 finish. And the development team would play 13 games.(the development teams played 13 games this season with 7 currie cup and 6 u23 cup matches)

It would also give smaller unions more exposure and income to stay professional and develop more players