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Exeter Chiefs have signed winger/full-back Charlie Poynton from the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2026/27 season.

The 19-year-old, who was born in New Zealand, will provide cover for the injured Paul Brown-Bampoe and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who is on a break after international duty.

Nick Mallett believes the Springboks have the strongest scrum in the world 🌎

“If we go in with [Malcolm] Marx and Ox Nché and, I don’t really care who they have at ho**er or tighthead, they’re in for a really tough afternoon. But if they’re faced with [Gerhard] Steenekamp and Deon Fourie, very good rugby players, but don’t have that explosive power at scrum time that the other two have.

“And Wilco – let’s not underestimate how powerful that guy is and how technically correct he is. He’s absolutely dead straight, rather like [Frans] Malherbe. Malherbe was better around the field, made more tackles, cleaned more rucks, but Wilco has got the same scrummaging power as he had.

“So when we get Wilco, Ox and Marx in the front-row, I challenge any front row in the world to match those guys. They can’t. There’s no one who can match those guys. In fact, the best would be Thomas du Toit, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Steenekamp. Those would be the guys who would handle our best row the best.

“The All Blacks haven’t got the personnel, I don’t care what they say. They haven’t got a tighthead, nor have France got a tighthead, nor have England. We dominated them as well.

“We smashed Ireland in the front-row. No one’s accused us of walking around in any of those games. We just got penalty after penalty because those are the laws.“

Ex Springboks coach Nick Mallett on Sacha FM 🇿🇦

“He picked a team with Pollard in it that looked as though it was the correct one, and then Pollard had to withdraw on Thursday, and Sacha came back in,” Mallett said.

“What was very positive was that Sacha played like Pollard. His defence was very good, but he didn’t try to do anything himself.”

“He [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] absolutely just stuck to the game plan, as did Cobus Reinach, who I thought also played nicely, played up his forwards, and played the backs at the right time,” he continued.

“It was just a very focused performance. Only four penalties against the Springboks – that’s extraordinary in a Test match – and eight against the All Blacks. So only 12 penalties in a game. I mean, the ref did a lot of coaching on the field… but we were good. We were very, very good.“

Kieran Read believes Rassie Erasmus is the “absolute king” of influencing referees

“First and foremost, I don’t think I’ve seen Rassie wear a suit and tie to a Test match before. People would say he’s always lost his head and it’s whether he’s sometimes on an even keel or not,” Read told the GBRANZ podcast.

“I’m interested in it because you want to hear it. Rassie starts talking and you want to keep your eyeballs on it and listen,” he said. “I don’t mind it because all he’s trying to do is influence slightly what’s going to come in the next two Tests around refereeing decisions.

“They’re going to watch Dave Rennie complain about their angles, so both of them are planting little seeds for the refereeing teams to maybe look at when they’re reviewing the footage.

“It’s part of it and with Rassie you’ve got to expect it. Coaches have been doing this for a long time, but Rassie is the absolute king of it.”

Springboks getting ready for test 3

The All Blacks and Springboks are the most successful nations in the history of Test rugby, with the men in black having a 76% winning record and the Boks are second best with 64%.

Is Siya Kolisi underrated?

Dan Biggar doesn’t believe Siya Kolisi is getting the credit he deserves

“I actually thought Siya Kolisi was amazing on the weekend,” he said on Biggar Thinking: Rugby Analysis. “I know he only played 42, 43 minutes.

“Rassie (Erasmus) said that the lack of game-time over the last six, seven weeks is the reason why he pulled Siya off.

“I don’t think he gets enough credit for his ability as a rugby player. I thought he was brilliant. I thought he was brilliant against Argentina for that 20, 25 minutes that he played a few weeks ago.

“I just think for me, when you have Siya Kolisi, that type of leader, inspirational person on the field, I think it’s worth five to 10 points.

“And I think you saw the leadership, the way in which he, even when he was off the pitch, dragging teams, team-mates forward, pointing at posts, deciding, you know, just being an out-and-out leader.

“So, I thought he was fantastic on the weekend and a brilliant rugby player, as well as a brilliant leader.”

Former springbok coach Nick Mallett has praised Rassie Erasmus for his brilliant tactics ahead of the 2nd test against the All Blacks

“It was classic Rassie,” Mallett, a former Springboks coach, said on SuperSport’s Final Whistle Presents Side Entry.

“He thinks about every single thing, and he told the media afterwards that he expected a wet, slow field and wanted to start with a heavy pack, then bring lighter guys on later.

“When it was drier than he anticipated, he thought perhaps I should put on the lighter front row and save the heavier and more experienced to finish the game. It worked beautifully; it really did.

“If you go back, Wilco Louw came off the bench a lot in the past, even though we know he was the most destructive tighthead. He was often doing the last 30 minutes, and Thomas du Toit was starting.

“Ox has usually started, but he has also spent time in the past coming off the bench and finishing a game, and Malcolm’s done it when Bongi [Mbobambi] has been fit as well. I did think it worked really well.”

📸 Planet Rugby

Rassie Erasmus welcomed Kurt-Lee Arendse back into the Springbok starting XV for Saturday’s third Test at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, while explaining the need for continuity.

“By sticking to these combinations and making one switch with Cheslin at fullback, we thought it would be the best for this match.

“Kurt-Lee was unlucky not to play last week after Cheslin recovered from his ni**le, so we are pleased to see him back. He is a quality player and his 25 tries in 33 matches so far shows the type of player he is.”

Stormers loosehead Ntuthuko Mchunu is the latest player to be linked with a move to Bordeaux Bègles, who are keen on bolstering their front row resources.

Bordeaux have compiled a list of possible signings for next summer, including Bath and England prop Beno Obano, whom they spoke to and showed around their training facilities last week.

✍️ RugbyPass