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The All Blacks lost the second test in Cape Town but were they actually that bad?

Andy Rowe is joined by former All Blacks captain and two-time Rugby World Cup winner Kieran Read to break down a game that turned on two minutes at the start and an aerial battle the All Blacks still can't win.

Read explains the untidy exit that had New Zealand seven points down inside two minutes, why the Springboks changed their defensive picture (14 in the line, nobody hunting the ruck) and what that means for the way the All Blacks attack. Plus the accuracy numbers: South Africa took 4.8 points from every 22 entry, New Zealand just 2.8 from nine.

There's the 2009 parallel (Matfield, box kicks and the series that changed how New Zealand played the game) and why the All Blacks are still catching high balls the old-school way. Pieter-Steph du Toit's 100th test. Then there's Rassie. The suit and tie, the team sheet handed over half an hour before kickoff, the F-bombs in the press conference and the complaint that the All Blacks are planting seeds in the media (from the man who put out an hour-long video on the referees during the Lions series). Read's take: "coaches have been doing this for a long time, but Rassie is the absolute king of it." Plus the scrum row it all came from: "we're not walking around, we're scrumming." And what changes for the third test, including Sam Darry, a six-two bench and where Rieko Ioane fits.

Over the Tasman, the Wallabies win 27-21 in Argentina, Les Kiss loosens the structure, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii starts on the bench — would you put him on the All Blacks wing to catch our high balls?

This episode is brought to you by Gallagher Insurance, your trusted insurance broker. The Gallagher Fearless Player of the Week goes to Leroy Carter.

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The All Blacks have gone to Ellis Park and won five tries to one and Marshy was standing in the middle of it.

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Justin Marshall joins us live from Pretoria, three tour games deep, one week out from Ellis Park and the mood in South Africa is exactly as cocky as you'd fear. Andy, Kieran Read and Marshy get into the arrogance ("if the All Blacks draw the series, that's a result for THEM"), why South African rugby is booming from schoolboy level up, and the recruitment problem that's got them worried about 13-year-olds on retainers.

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30 years ago the All Blacks won their first test series on South African soil.

Andy Rowe sits down with two men who were there: Frank Bunce and Justin Marshall. They relive the 1992 return tour after apartheid, the intimidation of Ellis Park, Jonah Lomu's 1995 World Cup, and the week in Pretoria where Sean Fitzpatrick told the team: "There's no way we're going to Ellis Park with the series on the line."

Plus: the Michael Brial fight, the famous "too old, too slow, two tries" headline, Bunce's legendary partnership with Walter Little, why the All Blacks haven't settled a midfield since Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, and whether this All Blacks side can win the series again.

Subscribe for weekly rugby chat from Justin Marshall, Kieran Read, Jeremy Paul and Andy Rowe.

00:00 Intro: two members of the '96 All Blacks in studio

00:28 1992: the first tour back after apartheid

02:19 Danie Gerber: greatest centre ever?

03:56 Ellis Park: walking into the lion's den

07:31 1995: Jonah Lomu changes rugby forever

11:58 Running out for the '95 World Cup final and Mandela

14:25 Turning the page to the 1996 tour

15:13 The midweekers: why a squad of 36 won the series

17:03 Tri Nations battles and Bunce's winner in Brisbane

19:28 "We win it in Pretoria" — Fitzpatrick's message

22:16 Facing that Springbok side

24:07 John Preston, Zinzan's drop goal and the pivotal moments

26:23 The goal-line stand

28:40 The toughest Springboks Bunce ever faced

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The All Blacks squad to tour South Africa is out and the boys have questions. Seven wingers but no out-and-out fullback, only three halfbacks, five injury-prone locks, and Damian McKenzie named at first five but destined for the back field. Justin Marshall and Kieran Read drop into what it's actually like touring the Republic: altitude, boot parties, beer cans at the bus, and why four Tests in a row is like playing four finals.

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The All Blacks put Ireland to the sword at Eden Park and Justin Marshall and Jeremy Paul aren't holding back, calling out the Irish for blaming the ref instead of themselves. Marshy and JP break down the Tupou Vaa'i blindside masterstroke, the bench that's finally delivering "championship minutes", the Luke Jacobson TMO call that got common sense right, and whether Quinn Tupaea at 13 is the answer heading into South Africa.

Then James O'Connor joins the show, fresh off the Mad Monday that saw him sleep through last week's episode, to reveal he's told Les Kiss he's available for the Wallabies, why the spine is costing Australia games, and where Joseph Aukuso Sua'ali'i really should be playing.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro — JOC's no-show & Mad Monday stories

05:00 All Blacks dismantle Ireland at Eden Park

06:13 The Tupou Vaa'i blindside call

09:14 Bench impact & championship minutes

12:20 Set piece stepping up a level

13:35 Were Ireland tired — or just beaten?

17:58 "A pack of whingers" — Ireland's excuses

21:05 The Jacobson yellow card & a TMO masterclass

25:16 Hooker debate — who starts in South Africa?

31:26 Quinn Tupaea at 13: the answer at centre?

36:54 Harvey Norman Moment of the Week

39:12 Wallabies set piece & Josh Canham's lineout learnings

42:34 Tizzano, Harry Wilson & the captaincy question

48:02 James O'Connor joins the show

50:33 Back to club footy with Brothers

53:06 JOC on the Wallabies' spine & game management

56:41 Joe Schmidt's legacy & the Les Kiss era

59:28 Where Sua'ali'i should really play

1:02:20 Wrap-up

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Damian McKenzie joins us live from All Blacks camp and Marshy puts him on the spot over the fullback debate, arguing Will Jordan should be wearing the 15 jersey. D-Mac opens up on his role at fullback, the halftime messages from Razor and Barrett, Will Jordan's record-breaking hat trick, Ardie as captain, and what the All Blacks are expecting from Ireland at Eden Park.

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Justin Marshall, Jeremy Paul and Kieran Read break down a massive test weekend: the Wallabies blowing a golden chance against Ireland, and the All Blacks outgunning France in a four-try thriller.JP pulls no punches on the Wallabies' discipline and "championship minutes," Marshy explains why Ireland's block plays are the best in the world, and the panel asks the big one: is Ardie Savea — arguably the world's best player — stuck in the wrong position?Plus: Cam Roigard's case as the best 9 on the planet, Ruben Love's fearless debut start, pod systems explained (and why France ditched them), the Tupou Vaa'i at blindside grenade, and why winning in South Africa this year means winning the World Cup next year.

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Dave Rennie's All Blacks era begins — and the boys are calling it early: Start The Hurricanes front row and throw Segna in at six.

Kieren Read and Justin Marshall break down every pick ahead of the All Blacks vs France test, while Bordeaux champion Big Ben Tameifuna joins us to reveal the players who could shock New Zealand — and opens up about the moment he "shot himself in the foot" with the All Blacks.

Then Wallaby legend Jeremy Paul drops his biggest claim yet: three tests, three wins. Plus, the ANZAC Test gets the deep dive it deserves, and we hand out score predictions across all three weekend tests.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Intro, Harvey Norman & Will JP Survive the Live Show?
00:52 — Dave Rennie's All Blacks: What's Actually Going to Change?
05:48 — Start The Hurricanes: Debutantes, Segna at Six & Selection Picks
11:20 — Harvey Norman Next Gen Moment: George North's Legendary Send-Off
13:31 — Big Ben Tamifuna: Bordeaux's Secret Weapons Revealed
16:40 — Ben's Journey: From Flaxmere to European Champion
19:55 — Hurricanes vs Bordeaux — Who Actually Wins?
21:15 — Jeremy Paul Joins: Wallabies Will Win Three From Three
24:47 — JP's Full Wallabies Team Selection Deep Dive
37:02 — The Anzac Test: A Historic Moment for Rugby
43:00 — Predictions: All Blacks, Wallabies & The Springboks

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