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Loose Pass: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry questions as tour hasn’t hit the hype heights of the British and Irish Lions This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with getting all the storylines for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in one place… Questions, Questions So here we are. Two pretty underwhelming matches, one of which was also a pretty underwhelming occasion in general, plus the livelier hit-up in Pretoria last Saturday has preceded the three-Test series in South Africa (plus the one in Baltimore). It probably hasn’t hit the hyped-up heights of a Lions tour, but it has not been a failure to launch either. While the match against the Stormers was one where the tourists were clearly shaking out the journey from their system, and while the match against the Sharks was played out in front of desperately empty rows of seats, New Zealand’s momentum has built in steady steps to a stage where not everybody is predicting a whitewash, such as might have been the case after the Nations Championship. The storylines have been coming thick and fast as New Zealand’s tour has taken shape. Has Beauden Barrett had his day? It’s never wise to write off experience such as his, yet the call-up of Richie Mo’unga means that Barrett’s game-time, assuming it comes, will be at full-back rather than at ten, especially if Damian McKenzie does not recover in time from his ankle injury. He’s had such a mixed bag of form over the past couple of years, but the performance against the Bulls was Barrett back in his best form for a while. Will Dave Rennie’s game-plan unlock the Springboks’ defence? It remains the defence that is the foundation of South Africa’s strategy. The speed and accuracy of the blitz, the body positions and clarity of roles at the tackle, the intelligence of the scramble when the ball gets past the first wave of defenders. But this tour has been notable for both silky soft All Black handling moves that shift the ball to the overlaps at blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speed, and the accuracy of the passing decisions made under pressure. Some of the improvisation on show has been of the topmost order as well. Yet, only against the franchises. The speed and accuracy will both have to improve if New Zealand are to make inroads into the green wall. The set-piece battle and Springboks readiness What about the scrums? The New Zealand scrum has been less of a weapon over the past few years than it used to be; it’s no coincidence that the break-up of Super Rugby has seen the level of the New Zealand scrum fall a bit. There’s clearly been an emphasis on regaining the lost ground. Fletcher Newell and Tyrel Lomax have been in good form so far on the tighthead side, while the only doubt on the loosehead side might perhaps be the inexperience of the emerging Xavier Numia. Rassie Erasmus is showing all the signs of depending on the bomb squad again, but there are fitness doubts, surrounding Ox Nche, and another question is surrounding the Bok team… ‘Everyone talks about Springboks set-piece, but they’ve grown’ – All Blacks coach Was one Test in Argentina enough? The Boks have been in camp and some of the players have had some precious minutes for the franchises, but the Test against Argentina was one of the flattest performances from Rassie Erasmus’ men for a while, and there’s been nothing else much going on since the Nations Championship a month ago. Not that any Springbok team under Erasmus is going to be undercooked, but lingering faintly in the memory is the way Australia, with very little rugby behind them, couldn’t live with the battle-hardened B&I Lions in the first Test before showing their true colours in the last two Tests. Steve Hansen suggested as much as well this week, saying that this first Test was probably the moment when South Africa will be at their most vulnerable, with injury returnees and a simple lack of top-level game-time meaning they look less knocked in. Those doubts have been raised before of course, and they were roundly answered, but asking the question is valid. All Blacks great: ‘The one advantage we have over the Springboks at the moment’ What about the Official battle? The mind games have started in earnest. Do South Africa slow the game down? Will it be a tactic? Will the referee clamp down? For Jaco Peyper and Erasmus to chair a press conference this week saying that World Rugby has not mentioned South Africa slowing the game down is not the same as a denial of it happening. For World Rugby to say anything directly criticising a specific team for a tactic would, frankly, cause a game-wrecking furore. New Zealand’s speed of play has been noticeably faster under Dave Rennie, so plenty will depend on the official interpretation of who is rolling away and how fast, whether the tackler released or not, and whether the jackler is carrying his own body weight. The more leeway is given, the better the Boks can compete, and whatever improvements have been made to New Zealand’s forwards since the departure of Scott Robertson, there is simply no better set of competitors at the 150 or so rucks per game than South Africa. The team that best fits Matthew Carley’s interpretations will win a huge advantage. Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust. So is it just New Zealand’s speed and guile against South Africa’s defence and breakdown work? Hardly. South Africa’s likely starting backs, as suggested by this website a few days ago, features a septet of mature, strong, swift and skilful backs who pose a threat all over the park. However dangerous Will Jordan is on a line from deep, Patrick Tuipulotu, Codie Taylor and Tupou Vaa’i also bring a level of physicality and defence-smashing running in New Zealand’s forwards that is just as effective a weapon if used right. No, this will be a Test – and series – full of intrigue, one that could, and should, break a few pre-held ideas of what these two teams are about. One year out from the Australia World Cup, you’re probably watching the winners taking shape. READ MORE: Nick Evans: Where the Springboks have improved ‘massively’ and how the All Blacks could open them up