South Africa tightened their hold on the top of the world rankings by beating New Zealand 3-1 in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, a result that bolsters their standing with the World Cup in Australia a year away. The four-match contest substituted for this year’s Rugby Championship and is scheduled to return in 2029, giving both nations a clear deadline to sharpen tactics and squads.
After losing the opening Test in Johannesburg, the reigning world champions won three straight, closing the series with a 43-28 victory in Baltimore. The defining feature of those wins was a return to physical dominance up front, with South Africa repeatedly choosing to drive through the scrum and maul to impose control and score points from close range.
The Springboks’ set-piece emphasis produced match-turning moments, including a penalty try awarded from scrum pressure and a maul that finished with Malcolm Marx crossing under the posts. Schalk Brits, a 2019 World Cup winner, summed that mindset: "South Africa have tried to play expansively a couple of times when we have dominance after hurting teams in the maul or scrum," he said. "New Zealand didn't have that dominance in the forwards, but people said they played beautiful rugby. I don't care if it is beautiful or not. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I love a maul and scrum."
Young fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 24, started all four Tests after returning from injury, but the series contained stretches in which he did not deliver the sustained impact supporters expect. That leaves space for Handre Pollard, now 32, to re-emerge as a tactical option on days when pressure and territory control are decisive. Rassie Erasmus continues to build around a veteran nucleus, with Malcolm Marx (32), Eben Etzebeth (34), Pieter-Steph du Toit (34), Siya Kolisi (35), Damian de Allende (34) and Cheslin Kolbe (32) all featuring regularly.
New Zealand showed signs of renewal under Dave Rennie despite the series loss. The All Blacks, reset after Scott Robertson's dismissal in January, produced a statement at Ellis Park, winning 33-16 and demonstrating an ability to score quickly from transition. Rennie trusted Hurricanes half-backs Cam Roigard and Ruben Love, both 25, to restore the attacking identity New Zealand prize, and the All Blacks crossed for four or more tries in each Test against South Africa. Former England wing Ugo Monye praised Rennie's approach, saying, "Scott Robertson was a good culture coach but maybe not a brilliant technical coach. Dave Rennie is a brilliant technical coach."
Yet inconsistencies remained: Love's influence diminished after strong starts, and Richie Mo'unga, making his first Test since the World Cup final, was not at his 2023 peak. Rebuilding Mo'unga's best form is a stated priority for New Zealand over the next 12 months. Both teams leave the series with clearer workplans — South Africa reinforced that forward superiority can decide tight, high‑stakes matches, while New Zealand have re-established an attacking framework that will be dangerous if they can secure front-row and set-piece parity ahead of the World Cup.
