Are the All Blacks judging themselves against a competition that doesn't reflect the real gap to the rest of the world?MW Welman and Harry Jones sit down with New Zealand rugby broadcaster Martin Devlin for a wide-ranging chat on the Greatest Rivalry Tour so far, and one question cuts deeper than the rest: is Super Rugby giving New Zealand players an inflated sense of where they actually stand?Devlin doesn't dodge it. The conversation moves through the All Blacks' tactical ceiling, the scrum battle brewing before the Test series, and a tiebreaker proposal that has him fuming.In this episode:- Whether Super Rugby is a fair yardstick for Test rugby readiness- Can the All Blacks win playing any way other than razzle-dazzle- The scrum interpretation gap catching New Zealand off guard- Devlin's verdict on a possible series tiebreaker

The two coaches went into the opening weekend of the Greatest Rivalry Tour with completely different problems, and neither one let you see what he was actually thinking.Harry Jones and MW Welman discuss both games from the first weekend of the Tour: the Stormers taking a youthful, undermanned side within touching distance of the All Blacks in Cape Town, and a rotated Springbok team grinding out a 17-10 win in Buenos Aires against an Argentina side that came in white hot. Two very different tests. Two coaches who gave almost nothing away.

Is Dave Rennie's high-carry game plan just an excuse to bash into the Springboks more?

That's Harry Jones' theory on the Lekker Rugby Pod: the All Blacks' CPR numbers under Rennie are off the charts versus his own history, and it's not really about running rugby. It's a delivery system for punishment, with a score to settle after last year's record loss in Wellington.

In this episode:

• Why Rennie's CPR spike looks like a vehicle for violence, not a style
• What that record Wellington defeat still means for this All Blacks squad
• Home ground advantage, tested honestly from both sides of the rivalry
• Why captain Ardie Savea staying home in New Zealand has split opinion

Harry and MW discuss the revenge angle with Martin, the depth gap between the two squads, and whether the All Blacks can actually back it up this time.

You can read Martin's article referred in this episode at https://www.rova.nz/articles/martin-devlin-the-springboks-are-favourites-and-theyve-earned-it?fbclid=IwdGRzaATfD4BjbGNrBN8PenBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEe17Pk4sD7PfkRkiP37NKiZXrgjAxypeiuBXQAgeHtxaUkh1K4gPiu_EyQAfc_aem_PIib9J5E__yBKSbE_cfCUQ&sfnsn=scwspwa

If you enjoy the show, the best thing you can do is LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and hit the BELL so you never miss an episode.

On this episode of The Lekker Rugby Pod, MW Welman and Harry Jones sit down with rugby journalist Martin Devlin to preview the Greatest Rivalry Tour between the Springboks and the All Blacks.

If South Africa isn't going to out-carry the All Blacks, what exactly is the plan?Harry Jones and MW Welman turn from New Zealand's carrying numbers straight to the Springboks' answer: a deliberate, aggressive, relentless kicking framework built by Tony Brown around contestable ball. We explain why last year's kicking meltdown against Australia wasn't actually Tony Brown's system, and what the real version looks like when it's executed properly.We also unveil the name we are giving this Springbok kicking system, with a cheeky nod to a very different kind of takeaway, and walk through the law change nobody talks about that's quietly reshaped the modern kicking game in South Africa's favour.In this episode:- Tony Brown's philosophy on turning every kick into a genuine weapon- Why the Boks' kicking collapse against Australia gets misunderstood- The law change that's rewarded South Africa more than anyone else- The name Harry and MW are giving South Africa's kicking system

Is Dave Rennie about to gamble the All Blacks' entire identity on one number?Harry Jones built a blunt, simple, unavoidable stat called CPR: carries, passes and rucks combined, to track how hard a team commits to running rugby. Under Rennie, New Zealand's CPR has shot past anything the All Blacks have recorded, and it isn't a fluke or a cherry-picked result.We answer our harshest critics on the methodology, and ask the harder question: what four brutal tests against the world's most physical pack actually costs a team built to carry, pass and ruck at this rate.In this episode:- Why New Zealand's CPR under Dave Rennie has never been higher- Harry and MW answer their critics' methodology line by line- What four tests against the Springboks costs a high-carry side- Why Rennie may be betting his contract on this gamble

Is Dave Rennie asking too much of his All Blacks before a ball's even been kicked in South Africa?
Harry Jones and MW Welman dig into Harry's own CPR index, combined carries, passes and rucks, and what it's showing about Rennie's opening rounds. New Zealand's CPR under Rennie is the highest on record for an All Blacks side, well past Steve Hansen's peak teams and Scott Robertson's numbers under Razor. Harry thinks that pace was built for opponents who aren't the Springboks.
Harry walks through the historical CPR data, from the 2015 semi-final to Twickenham 2019 to last year's World Cup final, and explains why more carries, passes and rucks doesn't automatically mean a better system. MW pushes back with the case for Rennie's game plan.
In this episode:
- What CPR actually measures, and why coaches and analysts have started using it
- Why Rennie's 581 CPR is unprecedented for an All Blacks side
- How much the series hinges on Cam Roigard staying fit
- Why Ardie Savea and the pack face a different kind of physical test in South Africa

How brutal will the Greatest Rivalry Tour with the Springboks and All Blacks series really get?Martin Devlin joins MW Welman and Harry Jones to break down New Zealand's Nations Championship form ahead of the All Blacks' first tour of South Africa in 30 years. This isn't just a form debrief. It's the opening bell for Ellis Park. Devlin explains where Dave Rennie's side has progressed, what still worries him about untested combinations, and why this rivalry now outweighs the British and Irish Lions series. Harry pushes back with his own concerns about Rassie Erasmus's rotation gamble and whether the Springboks have had their strongest team on the field together at all.In this episode:- Devlin's verdict on what kind of team the All Blacks have become- Whether Rassie's rotation policy leaves the Boks undercooked for the first test- The scrum battle, and why it opens the real fight- The new All Blacks combinations Devlin is watching closest before Ellis ParkIf you enjoy the show, the best thing you can do is LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and hit the BELL so you never miss an episode.

What if the gap between the All Blacks, the Springboks and the rest of world rugby is bigger than anyone realised?Harry Jones has built something new for the pod: CPR, a specific, simple, brutal statistic that tracks how much each team carries, passes and rucks the ball in attack. Run it across the Nations Championship so far and the picture is stark. New Zealand and South Africa sit at opposite ends of the scale, but both are miles ahead of everyone chasing them.In this episode:- Harry unveils the CPR index and walks through how it's calculated- Why the All Blacks build almost double the rucks of the Springboks- How the All Blacks and Springboks each embody a completely different way to attack- What the numbers mean for selection and conditioning heading into 2027MW and Harry dig into what the numbers actually show, and where the theory still needs work.

Who thought up this strange competition? Did anybody even think it through?Harry Jones sits down with rugby content creator Riaan Louw to pull apart the Nations Championship, rugby's newest and strangest, competition. Not just the idea, but the logic underneath it, a finals ladder that quietly turns southern hemisphere fans into short-term allies of the north. Which is not what they wanted!In this episode:- Why the Nations Championship's finals seeding forces fans to root against their own hemisphere rivals- What's actually working, and what isn't, in the tournament's branding, stats, and graphics- Why Ireland avoided travelling to Japan and what problems that could cause going forward- Riaan's wider verdict on rugby's branding problem, from Ellis Park to Loftus VersfeldIf you enjoy the show, the best thing you can do is LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and hit the BELL so you never miss an episode.

Is there actually a right way to win test rugby, or is the game splitting into two irreconcilable philosophies?The Lekker Rugby Pod is back, and this one goes deep. MW and Harry break down the spectrum that's quietly reshaping test rugby, with South Africa anchoring one extreme and New Zealand the other, and every other top nation picking a side to copy.In this episode:- The kicking spectrum explained, and why South Africa's attacking kick numbers are unlike anything else in the game- Why real momentum, the kind sports science actually measures, might be disappearing from rugby- A detailed breakdown of the pillar and post system, and exactly how Scotland's line broke through it- Big moments over the slow grind: why scraps are winning more matches than scrums nowHarry and MW also get into Rassie Erasmus's thinking on legacy and succession, the shape of the back line in transition rugby, and whether Paul de Villiers's size is a limiting factor or an asset at test level.