In another deeply upsetting week, the All Blacks blew their chance to square the Greatest Rivalry Series at 2–2 and were instead wholly and completely beaten by the Springboks, who deservedly wrapped things up 3–1.

Much to our disappointment and dismay, the right team won.

Despite what some might call a few 50–50 calls. Were they really 50–50 calls, though? Or is Tony just a bit sour? Who knows, really.

Anyway, we go deep on the final Test, assess where both squads are at, lick our wounds, talk some bullshit, and then finally look beyond the Greatest Rivalry Series at what else is happening in the wonderful world of rugby.

Hopefully, at some point soon, we can stop making thumbnails with sad faces. Getting a bit sick of this.

Grab a beer and enjoy.

Thanks to Severn River Rugby Football Club for the beers.

https://www.severnriverrugby.org/

One of the most depressing weeks we’ve ever had to record Two Cents Gets Distracted.

Soak it up, Springbok fans. Your team was better. You won the series in South Africa, and we are very, very sad.

Despite a pretty decent effort from the All Blacks and a cracking start, the Springboks eventually proved their class — particularly at set piece, where we had absolutely no answers.

And then came the moment.

Will Jordan scores. For a few glorious seconds, we tasted hope. Joy. Possibility.

Then it all turned to ashes in our mouths as we sat through perhaps the most painful 15 minutes of Springbok dominance imaginable, watching them completely take the game away from us.

So, naturally, we talk about it. We unload. We grieve. We attempt to process what happened. It is a bitter, bitter pill to swallow.

We also cover Argentina vs Australia — a draw that, from Tony’s perspective at least, was pretty hard to get too excited about after everything we’d just witnessed.

And a massive thanks to Four Paws for sponsoring the NPC segment. What an absolute champion that bloke is.

Grab a beer, Springbok fans enjoy our sadness, and let’s get into it.

Masiev thanks Again to 4paws!!

A very sad week in the 2CGD household as the Springboks get up and beat the All Blacks in Test Two of the greatest rivalry in rugby.

And, annoyingly, it was an absolute cracker.

Two contrasting styles, two heavyweight teams going at each other, and another reminder of exactly why this rivalry is so bloody good. Unfortunately, this one didn’t go our way, which leaves the series locked at 1–1 and sets up a massive, mouth-watering Game Three — the unofficial decider at FNB Stadium in the Republic.

Far more important, obviously, than that little moneymaker happening in Baltimore.

We go deep on the second Test: where it was won and lost, what the Boks did well, what the All Blacks will be kicking themselves about, and what needs to change ahead of the big one.

Tony also goes on a completely calm and measured rant about the outrage surrounding Dave Rennie having the sheer audacity to mention something to the media. We certainly can’t think of any other international rugby coach whose name begins with R who might occasionally use the media to apply a little pressure…

Cough cough, Rassie. Cough cough.

We also touch on the Lions v All Blacks opportunity that popped up during the week, start building toward the enormous third Test, and — because we’re nothing if not thorough — try not to completely forget about our friends in Australia and Argentina.

The Wallabies are quietly putting together something resembling a winning streak. What a time to be alive.

It’s a bit of a doozy.

Grab a beer, settle in, and enjoy.