Springboks Also Perfect: South Africa Loom as the All Blacks' Biggest Test

The All Blacks came out of the July window unbeaten, and that is exactly what fans should be celebrating. Just do not look south with any complacency, because the Springboks did the same thing, and they did it with menace.

South Africa closed a perfect July across three Nations Championship rounds. It opened at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, where Sky Sports reported the Boks ran in seven tries to beat England 45-21 on 4 July. The start was breathtaking. Three tries landed inside the opening 12 minutes, through Thomas du Toit in the third minute, Cheslin Kolbe in the sixth and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the 12th, and England were chasing the game before they had settled.

A week later the champions were pushed harder. Sky Sports noted that Scotland fought back from 14-0 down to level at halftime in Pretoria on 11 July, only for South Africa to pull clear again and win 42-28, Jesse Kriel finishing off a late breakaway try.

The third round left no doubt. RugbyPass reported that a seven-try South Africa overwhelmed Wales 43-0 to complete the sweep, and that both the Springboks and the All Blacks dominated the round-three team of the week. Three from three, no defeat, and a points difference that reads like a warning.

That leaves the two most decorated sides in the game sitting level at the top of the Southern group after Round 3, both unbeaten and separated by little more than pride. For All Blacks supporters it is the collision everyone quietly circled when the fixtures dropped.

And it is coming. The two sides meet across a four-test tour of South Africa in August and September, part of the schedule that reshaped the southern calendar this year. Four tests between New Zealand and South Africa is a rare and enormous thing, and both teams will arrive with a spotless July behind them.

There is a lot to like about how the All Blacks have gone about their winter. There is just as much to respect about the way the Boks have gone about theirs. Ellis Park, Loftus and beyond will be loud, physical and unforgiving. The good news for New Zealand fans is simple. If you want to prove you are the best, you have to beat the best, and the best are waiting.