Codie Taylor the latest senior All Black to ink long-term deal

No doubt SA will be hoping to only play against 14 NZers for as long as possible...

Perhaps you should find out why Nick. You write a complete article around it but dont know?

Nisbo asked his team after 30 minutes whether or not they had seen anything different in the All Blacks play under Robertson. Mils stumbled on that question. Myself, I had thought that we could have been 30 points up by that stage of the game. To me that was great and a drastically visible turnaround from the recent 3 games of last years (let alone 21/22's) rugby. However, having watched those 6N games, that pretty much was the case for Englands opposition in every one of them, they were leaving holes and space all over the place. Looking back now I actually think we played rather 'directly' into their hands (that was my thought at the time as well but only in terms of an AB weakness, not an England one). Englands punch on attack was also there throughout the series and to made New Zealands defensive scorelines look no better than Italy's, Wales, or Scotland.

Do you think that the English were a little more structured, on defence particularly, by the time they had reached New Zealand Nick? On attack, there was a lot of pre talk about Furbank, but he made as many mistakes as Steward did during the 6N, and while he has a different dynamic, I thought it was that which Immanuel brought which might have been the biggest improvement. Conversely though I thought the back three (loosies) were much more threatening in Europe, aside from perhaps what Chandler brought here.

You want D-Mac and Beaudy playing as a pair, you want to give them a shot at demonstrating their synergy from the very beginning of games

I'm happy to move on personally. You're examples from Beauden exemplify the X-factor you are talking about, his classic solo kick chases, it was great to see him running onto the ball again. Personally I can't wait to go back to a more rounded fullback like Jordan.

Unlike other cycles between World Cups where SA focus has been on rebuilding towards the next cup, by mixing and matching new players, Rassie seems to have one intention this year. Win TRC. He is for once keeping with his best team and slip in two or three new players to get that exposure to international rugby and to soak up the experience of those around them. The title to NZ is not a given this year. The Boks is coming out to play and prove a point that they can win between WCs.

This is going to be a great series. The ABs want to prove that they can beat the Boks. We know and the Boks know that they can, and when they are backed into a corner, there isn't a more dangerous team in the world than the ABs. These 2 matches, Boks vs ABs will decide the series. It's going to be like 2 monster trucks doing battle.

Argentina will be dangerous because they have those games where they just upend everything and next time they get slaughtered. It's Argentine rugby for you. The Aussies will be difficult because of their coach and should not be underestimated as they will be much like the Argentines currently, but with Joe Schmidt as the head coach, expect them to be competitive. Nothing is impossible in this series, and I'm just glad for once that the Boks is taking the TRC seriously. I love my Boks, but I will never ever underestimate any AB team.

Then Rassie got the job. He had only 1 non negotiable request. He is the coach and he choose his players. Disband the selection panel. He got his way. He could choose whomever he wanted. On his request, they changed the law on eligibility and how many players he could choose from players not playing in the country. He could choose as many as he wanted. The rest is history. 2 World Cup titles and a B&I Lions series later, the Boks are back to their best. With him in charge, not only of the Boks but the whole system, he could establish a safe and strong path to negotiate talent coming through. He is still not happy as there is a lot that can change for the better. However, with so many young stars coming through, the Boks future are bright.

It is what Australian rugby need. A complete overhaul, because they got some fantastic talent, yet unable to use due to players going to AFL and RL.

maybe SA will beat Australia by 40 points tomorrow 🤣