It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
THEY\u2019RE ON FIRE!<\/p>\n
The Greatest Rivalry: It was September 2024 when the All Blacks were last in South Africa, suffering two Rugby Championship losses under Scott Robertson in Cape Town and Johannesburg, but what is set to unfold in the coming weeks when they return with Dave Rennie at the helm has certainly gripped the imagination of rugby fans, not only in the two participating nations but around the world.<\/p>\n
Whereas the recent Nations Championship<\/a> was all about one-off matches and blink-and-you-missed visits by the Southern Series\u2019 travelling teams, the prospect of an old-school tour \u2013 the sort that only the British and Irish Lions undertake every four years \u2013 goes very much against the prevailing in-and-out-quickly trend and we can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n There are still 11 days to go before the opener where the Stormers host New Zealand in Cape Town on August 7, but the prospect of seven All Blacks matches in South Africa in four weeks before the rivalry\u2019s novel denouement in the USA has us and everyone else salivating. The hype so far has been brilliant<\/a>, a proper shot in the arm for the sport and the treasure that is proper old-school touring.<\/p>\n Test power rankings: Springboks top the charts \u2018in every department\u2019 after \u2018sublime\u2019 Nations Championship while France \u2018set alarm bells ringing\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Springboks: The unbridled way Rassie Erasmus keeps picking his squads means that every announcement generates plenty of headlines and intrigue. The coach isn\u2019t everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but no one can deny he is excellent at promoting rugby as he gets people talking. That is an ability worth its weight in gold.<\/p>\n Erasmus\u2019 South Africa<\/a> selections have taken on an art form and his latest canvas consisted of gathering a group of 43 players in Johannesburg on Sunday to prepare for the August 8 match away to Argentina ahead of their All Blacks series opener at Ellis Park on August 22. Being able to recall 10 fit-again, seasoned Springboks \u2013 a list of household names that includes the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu \u2013 was a riveting development.<\/p>\n Welcome too was his decision to release five players \u2013 Ntuthuko Mchunu, Evan Roos, Andre-Hugo Venter, Embrose Papier and Jaco Williams \u2013 to the franchise to help their prospects when they play the All Blacks in the lead-up to the Test series. Well played, coach, even though you had to revise your decision on Monday, recalling Mchunu and making it a 44-player Test squad.<\/p>\n Dave Rennie has already picked his team for Springboks showdown as All Blacks boss details how travel disruptions have influenced selections<\/a><\/p>\n All Blacks: The battling France certainly won\u2019t agree, given how close they came to a Nations Championship round one upset in Christchurch with a team missing several unavailable stars, but having New Zealand<\/a> travel to South Africa with an unbeaten three-from-three record under new boss Rennie has added gravitas to The Greatest Rivalry tour and will ensure All Blacks fans will be early risers at home to watch their team\u2019s tour games.<\/p>\n A curiosity about the squad Rennie has named \u2013 a total of 44 players consisting of the 34 from the Nations Championship and 10 additional picks \u2013 is that it has six more players than the 38 that Andy Farrell originally chose for last year\u2019s 10-match Lions tour to Australia (nine in Oz after commencing in Dublin).<\/p>\n It highlights the greater resources New Zealand are throwing into \u2018the toughest tour in rugby\u2019, an eight-match trip that visits four South African cities before winding up in America\u2019s Baltimore. Recalled players such as Rieko Ioane and Ethan Blackadder will be delighted that the largesse helped to get them back involved. Thrilled too will be the three uncapped inclusions, especially Semisi Tupou Ta\u2019eiloa just weeks after his Moana Pasifika franchise went bust.<\/p>\n All Blacks squad: Dave Rennie names three uncapped players for Greatest Rivalry series as key men make timely returns<\/a><\/p>\n Les Kiss: It has been a considerable 15-month stint waiting in the wings to take charge of the Wallabies after his appointment was originally announced in April 2025, but the former rugby league international has now finally succeeded Joe Schmidt at the helm and will get down to work this week with the squad of 34 named for the upcoming two-match series versus Japan.<\/p>\n The only way, surely, is up after Schmidt\u2019s tricky time in charge. A dozen wins in 31 matches was a hard-to-swallow success rate of under 39 per cent from the Kiwi\u2019s tenure, and how Kiss goes about shaking things up is going to be fascinating.<\/p>\n Remember, it was as an Ireland defence coach where he made his name in union coaching, coming up with canny tactics such as the choke tackle. His time since then as Ulster and Reds boss was underwhelming, and the big question now is if he can make a telling difference back in the Test arena with Australia<\/a> 11 years after he finished up as an Irish assistant under Schmidt. It should be an exciting honeymoon after all the waiting to get started in the job.<\/p>\n Wallaby legend\u2019s verdict on \u2018aggressive style kid\u2019 who \u2018loves the smack\u2019 and what Test prop made of sharing room with the \u2018big, scary dude\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Currie Cup: The gap between the finish of the Nations Championship Southern Series and the start of The Greatest Rivalry tour allowed the domestic South African competition to grab the limelight as the only show in town last weekend, and what materialised was optimism that the Cheetahs are potentially better stacked this year as they look to win the title for the first time since 2023.<\/p>\n They have been beaten semi-finalists in recent seasons, but back-to-back home wins have gotten them off to an unbeaten start with new signing Faf de Klerk getting two of their seven tries in the 43-21 win over the Sharks.<\/p>\n Of course, the climb towards the title steepens next weekend with an away assignment at Griquas, the defending champions, but that will be another weekend where the Currie Cup has an uninterrupted opportunity to shine with only the opening round of the New Zealand NPC for competition. It\u2019s exposure that is very welcome in an attention market that is otherwise congested most of the year.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n Nations Championship awards: Springboks and Scotland lead the way whilst a tracksuited red card, a shush from the bus and Argentina\u2019s week of hostilities steal the show<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n COLD AS ICE!<\/p>\n Tom\u00e1s\u00a0Albornoz: Rugby can\u2019t be allowed to become the ugly watch that football has become, where players all too frequently let it emotionally fly when talking and gesturing to a referee. Yes, referees get decisions wrong and yes, we don\u2019t like the way the governing body is lately sternly clamping down on coaches talking in the media about these types of incidents \u2013 these talking points need public comment or the sport will just become a bland exercise in zero free speech.<\/p>\n However, rugby has always made out its on-pitch tradition of respect from players towards its officials is a point of difference that enhances its credibility, so it was encouraging to see the governing body tell the Argentina<\/a> out-half that he has a case to answer following the July 18th defeat to England at Santiago del Estero.<\/p>\n We highlighted in last week\u2019s column<\/a> that the general behaviour of the Argentinians was a let-down, so seeing their No.10 face misconduct charges for his post-match remonstrations<\/a> with the ref after the final whistle was a positive development. On-pitch backchat of this nature can\u2019t be allowed to become commonplace.<\/p>\n Ellis Genge\u2019s expletive-laden \u2019cause some pain\u2019 pep talk before England beat Argentina and the \u2018under our skin\u2019 warning from sidelined star veteran<\/a><\/p>\n Nic Berry: Much was made last week about the Australian official\u2019s controversial decision to only yellow card New Zealand\u2019s Luke Jacobson for nearly taking the head off of Ireland\u2019s Josh van der Flier in Auckland. The decision wasn\u2019t the winning and losing of the game \u2013 the All Blacks were deserving winners by a country mile, but for a sport trying to say it takes player safety seriously, the referee only doling out a yellow wasn\u2019t a good look for parents concerned about their children playing or taking up the game.<\/p>\n While two-a-penny, rent-a-quote pundits such as Matt Williams were adamant that Berry was right to decide the offence merited only a sin-binning, the analysis from ex-Test referees Nigel Owens and Owen Doyle was damning and needs to be listened to. Owens has explained why he would have \u201cgiven a 20-minute red card\u201d while the more exasperated Doyle described the yellow card as \u201ca shocker of a call\u201d, leaving him fearing for the sport\u2019s future over what he had called some weeks earlier a \u201clicence to assault\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n