Rugby Rivals - Sir John Kirwan & Victor Matfield

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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Victor outlines the tactics he'd use to beat the All Blacks and JK counters with his cunning plan to beat South Africa.

Rugby's Greatest Rivalry is here - and Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield are making their calls.

Thirty years on from the Incomparables, the All Blacks are back in South Africa for a full tour. Eight matches, four Tests, and the most anticipated series between these two nations in a generation. It starts Friday in Cape Town.

But first - the story that's dominated the build-up. Thousands of South Africans turned out at DHL Stadium to welcome the All Blacks, a genuine sea of black in the heart of Cape Town. The Cape Crusaders are back, and the reaction online has been fierce. JK and Victor go there.

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Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield react to Dave Rennie's 44-man All Blacks squad for the Greatest Rivalry Tour of South Africa and Rassie Erasmus' 43-man Springbok group, as the two greatest rivals in world rugby prepare to collide in a four-Test series.
In this episode:
- The uncapped trio - Siale Lauaki, Josh Jacomb and Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa - injecting young talent into the touring squad
- Rieko Ioane and Fabian Holland recalled
- Rassie's big guns return: Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Handré Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu all back from injury
- The men who won't be there - Kwagga Smith and RG Snyman ruled out for the season
- The first full All Blacks tour of South Africa since 1996 - eight matches, four Tests, one unforgettable series
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