Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and his teammates achieved an impressive result against the All Blacks led by Russell Erasmus, further solidifying the team's dominance over their arch-rival.
The triumphant series for the Springboks, with a score of 3:1 against the All Blacks, revealed a significant gap between these two Southern Hemisphere giants. After the fourth test in the greatest rugby rivalry in Baltimore, where the world champions won 43:28 and secured their first trophy, it is becoming increasingly difficult to claim that these two teams are evenly matched.
The Boks are now operating at a different level, and even the mighty representatives of New Zealand are struggling to keep up. To win three consecutive matches against the All Blacks requires a special team, and this is exactly what the Boks did, concluding the series after a loss in the first match at Ellis Park in August. However, three dominant performances, backed by immense squad depth, allowed them to defeat their bitter rivals.
Squad depth is the defining advantage of the Springboks
What makes the defeat of the world's second-ranked team even more significant is that in the last 10 encounters, the Springboks have won eight times, while the All Blacks have managed only two victories—one in Auckland and one in Ellis Park.
Meanwhile, the Boks have dominated them, especially in the match where they crushed the team 35:7 in Twickenham, the 43:10 victory in Wellington, and the latest win in Baltimore. This indicates that the evolution of the Springboks machine has surpassed the development of the mighty black team, and they are currently dominating their competitors. It is almost unheard of for the New Zealanders to lose three consecutive matches to the same team, let alone eight out of the last ten meetings against them.
However, this is the current situation between the two sides. And the most worrying thing is that in none of the Greatest Rivalry matches were the Boks playing at their best level. Issues such as lineup changes due to injuries, uncharacteristic errors, inability to convert numerous attacks in the 22-meter zone into points, and a high number of penalties slowed down the Springboks at various times. Nevertheless, even making these mistakes, the world champions find a way to win.
This is what currently distinguishes the teams: the depth of the Boks' squad, the ability of all players to fulfill any role, and the quality of that depth. New Zealand has failed to catch up over four tests, and injuries have severely undermined them, with the loss of captain Ardie Savea in the third match likely being the most significant. South Africa has shown them how to cope and win despite various changes, and this kind of depth is currently unprecedented in world rugby. The task now is to continue moving in this direction. Erasmus has demonstrated that they can change tactics and still beat the best in the world.
A warning for the 2027 World Cup
Before the matches against the Wallabies and Italy, before they meet France and Ireland in the Nations Cup, opportunities open up for further squad experimentation from Erasmus and his management. If they manage to include players such as Paul de Villiers, Cameron Hanekom, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Vessels, Morne van den Berg, Ntutuku Mchunu, Zack Porten, Ben-Jason Dixon, Ethan Hooker, and Edwill van der Merwe, it will put the Boks in an even stronger position ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The Boks have already won the World Cup, defeated the All Blacks on home soil, dominated them in South Africa, and crushed them on neutral ground. More importantly, they did this with different combinations, different players, and under different circumstances. Perhaps this is the biggest wake-up call for the rest of the world: this Springboks team is not just beating the All Blacks—it is building sustainable dominance over them, making it a dangerous contender. Currently, the New Zealanders are chasing the world champions, and Erasmus and his management will want to maintain this state for many years to come.