New Zealander Tony Brown's arrival as attack coach in 2024 pointed to South Africa's ambition to dominate in all facets of the game. The former Highlanders head coach, who will join the All Blacks in 2028, is known for creating a cohesive attacking shape built on sharp ball movement. But having been outscored in terms of tries over the first two Tests, the Springboks flipped their pack-power trump card - pivotal to their back-to-back World Cup successes - to prevent a repeat of New Zealand's victorious 1996 series win in South Africa. Nothing illustrated that more than a monster maul that started just inside New Zealand's 22 and ended with Malcolm Marx peeling off to score the decisive try under the posts. That came after a penalty try from a scrum in the first half. In Baltimore, their power again proved too much.

Fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who was injured at the end of May, returned to start all four Tests. He was initially named on the bench for the second match, only for Handre Pollard to withdraw. Despite improving as the series went on, the 24-year-old lacked his usual flashes of individual brilliance. It remains to be seen whether South Africa turn back to 32-year-old Pollard, as they did in 2023, on the biggest occasions to close out games. Rassie Erasmus' experienced back-to-back World Cup winners - Marx (32), Eben Etzebeth (34), Pieter-Steph du Toit (34), Siya Kolisi (35), Damian de Allende (34), Cheslin Kolbe (32) - all remain regular starters.

Scott Robertson's dismissal in January after two years as head coach sunk New Zealand to a new low. Dave Rennie, not the flashiest appointment, had to hit the ground running, and a stunning Test win over South Africa at Ellis Park was a case of doing just that. The 33-16 victory injected jeopardy into a series which many had the Springboks winning comfortably, given their home advantage and recent dominance. Hurricanes half-backs Cam Roigard and Ruben Love, both aged 25, were trusted by Rennie to instil a return to the All Blacks way - the ability to score from transition from anywhere on the field and compound scoreboard pressure. Four or more tries in each Test in South Africa showed just that, with the third Test all square at half-time.