South Africa vs New Zealand: Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie’s war of words escalates as series hangs in the balance

Picture the scene: The touring All Blacks win the opening Test with a 33-16 at Ellis Park . Then, the Springboks hit back with a thrilling 33-26 victory over New Zealand in Cape Town .

Named in the front row for the Springboks for that contest were Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw. Just one hour before kick-off, that was changed to Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit with the original three dropping to the bench.

Erasmus said this was down to conditions and a chance of rain not materialising.

"We thought it was going to be wet and that's why we picked the front row, Erasmus said after the match. "The whole weather prediction, the whole week, was it was going to be wet."

On this matter, Rennie refused to criticise.

"We stuck with the team we named and it doesn't worry me at all," Rennie said on the matter.

"They named their team on Monday. That had no bearing on the team that we named. So, yeah - no drama from my perspective."

It is important to note that, under World Rugby regulations, medical dispensation is usually required for a team to be permitted to be make changes within 48 hours of the game kicking-off.

However, with Rugby's Greatest Rivalry independently administered, Erasmus can chop and change as much as he pleases.

In total, Erasmus made five changes from the squad he named on Monday for the second Test, including a complete change to the front row. During the week, Handre Pollard went from fit to injured and was eventually withdrawn, while Cheslin Kolbe went from injured to fit and was ultimately named on the wing.

That is why he is keeping it under his hat ahead of the third Test in Johannesburg - if conditions require it, of course.

"If it's clear and dry this will be the team that's starting, but if it rains we might make a change or two," Erasmus said.

Scrum disagreement erupts: 'Don't come with that nonsense'

While there have been no real arguments over late changes, with diplomacy reigning supreme, one issue that has erupted is a disagreement over scrums.

Rennie has accused the Springboks of "walking around" during scrums, alleging they are illegally angling sideways rather than staying square and driving straight. He believes this gives them an unfair advantage by allowing them to get around the All Blacks' front row.

The New Zealand head coach is so irked by the issue that he said he had provided feedback to World Rugby.

"The scrums were better tonight. I think the referee [Angus Gardner] was pretty strong around setting a mark and trying to keep hookers in the same sort of space. The Springboks moved across further left and he stopped them," Rennie said.

"We will give a bit of feedback around that. It is still a bit of an issue for us because they are able to walk around and then go straight through our tighthead.

"There are a couple of little technical things we will share, again, but I thought at the end, both teams were able to play off them. So, I think Angus did a reasonable job there."

Of course Erasmus responded to Rennie's comments saying "don't come with that nonsense" in a fired-up response.

"We've been playing with the pack of these guys together. It's the first time ever in history that people are talking about us walking around. Why would we, all of a sudden, walk around?

"I wouldn't come with that nonsense and say we are walking around and try to put those things out in the media. If I'm starting to put things out, the last lineout was skew and we contested. I'm not going to moan my a--- off about that.

"If they just want to start moaning about stuff like that, then they are under pressure."

Is it pressure? Is it mind games? Whatever it is, it has set the stage for a third Test that promises to be even spicier, more dramatic, and a further reminder of why this series was dubbed Rugby's Greatest Rivalry.

South Africa vs New Zealand Test series schedule

All games live on Sky Sports; kick-off times UK and Ireland

First Test (Ellis Park) - South Africa 16-33 New Zealand

Second Test (Cape Town Stadium) - South Africa 33-26 New Zealand

Third Test (Saturday September 5) - FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (4.10pm)

Fourth Test (Saturday September 12) - M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, USA (10pm)

Watch every minute of New Zealand's tour of South Africa, exclusively live on Sky Sports. Stream rugby and more sport contract-free with NOW