Rugby Rivals - Sir John Kirwan & Victor Matfield

The Springboks hit back. South Africa beat the All Blacks 33-26 at DHL Stadium in Cape Town to level Rugby's Greatest Rivalry at 1-1. Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield unpack how South Africa saved it, with Ric Salizzo refereeing in the middle.
The Boks led 24-14 at the break through tries to Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende and a returning Siya Kolisi, with Cheslin Kolbe flawless off the tee. New Zealand came late through Leroy Carter and Ardie Savea, but South Africa survived Lood de Jager's 79th-minute yellow card to hold on - the first defeat of Dave Rennie's tenure in his ninth Test in charge.
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JK and Victor are off the leash, so we've handed the mics to the fans. A special edition of Rugby Rivals pits two rugby podcasts against each other ahead of the second test in Cape Town - Rawiri and Gareth from Our Super Smack flying the flag for New Zealand, and Dane from Kick On Rugby holding the line for the Springboks.

The All Blacks have taken first blood in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry - five tries to one, the biggest All Blacks win ever at the ground, the end of a 12-Test Springbok winning streak, and the world No.1 ranking gone.

Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield break down how it happened. Why the Boks were 13-12 up at halftime and then nowhere. The scrum dominance that counted for nothing. The All Blacks' tackle-area tactics that Rassie admitted his side didn't see coming. And the big one: with three Tests still to play, can South Africa turn this series around in Cape Town?

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The All Blacks are three from three in South Africa. 142 points scored, 40 conceded - but what have we actually learned?

With the first Test at Ellis Park just days away, Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield ask whether this tour has told us anything at all about where the All Blacks are at yet.

Plus: the elephant in the half-empty stadium. 14,759 turned up in Durban. Cape Town fell short of a sellout. Loftus still had tickets on the morning of the game, with the good seats at R1,350. For a tour billed as Rugby's Greatest Rivalry - the first full All Blacks tour of South Africa in 30 years - where are the crowds?

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The All Blacks kicked off their South Africa tour with a scrappy, ill-disciplined 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town —\- surviving three yellow cards and needing four late tries to pull away from what should've been a comfortable night. Meanwhile, the Springboks ground out a nervy 17-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires, with the bench "bomb squad" bailing them out late as the Pumas threatened a serious upset.

On this episode, Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield break down where Dave Rennie's men went wrong in the Cape Town heat, why the discipline issues are a worry heading deeper into the tour, and how close Rassie Erasmus's Boks came to a shock loss in Argentina. Plenty to unpack from both matches.

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