Cape Town was showing off last weekend in a number of ways. The weather was outstanding and played its part in a brilliant start to a fantastic tour. Cape Town Stadium’s light show and fireworks were matched on the field by the valiant home side. They gave their all and eventually went down to a rusty but relentless New Zealand.

Seabelo Senatla under the poles was a crowd-energising try that showed the team’s spirit and camaraderie from the home side – I also loved the jersey swapping from the players, with Wynberg School Supporters Club getting my vote for men of the match! It was a festive celebration of rugby.

I spent some time with Robbie Fleck, the former Stormers coach, before the match.

He was the guest speaker at a lunch organised for the New Zealand travelling support, 31 days on tour for these stalwarts, great effort!

We all listened to him regaling stories about his time in the hot seat that is now occupied by John Dobson as well as his up-to-date analysis on players and the game plan. The Stormers were expecting physicality (which they got in buckets, but countered well).

Interestingly, before the game Western Province and the All Blacks had played each other four times and the tally between the two teams was two apiece. Robbie leaked some info about how Rassie and his cohorts have started to organise and standardise the age group level players, and build and strengthen our pipeline.

More structured and more long-term thinking.

There were a few moments about the slow pace of play in the match on Friday, that felt dictated mostly by the referee and TMO, but all in all I felt that Karl Dickson had a good if even a bit too strict handle on the game. It did feel like there was perhaps an over-involvement from the video men in the sky.

Giving free rein to people who are watching the game on many screens, far away from the action might be something that World Rugby wants to reconsider.

A number of times we (Stormers) were pulled backwards, sideways and across into a completely different part of the field to atone for a misdemeanour that would’ve gone unnoticed in the past.

The All Blacks were quite vocal about the pace of play and the way they wanted to play after the match, hinting at a bit of underhanded tactics, and this took a bit of shine off that all-out physical and emotional effort from the Stormers.

(Deon Fourie – SA legend, fact, no discussions!)

The fact that discipline would be super important and a star-studded lineup promised that the visitors would be much better in the mid-week fixture against the Sharks.

Much better was the mantra in all the aspects, except the crowd, as Durban has struggled to fill the big home patch for a while, let’s hope the crowd starts to appreciate the efforts of the new Sharks owners, who also unveiled a new logo and identity this week.

New logo or not, the magical All Blacks star-studded international team just had too much for the Sharks on a night that the home side would rather forget.

The tour has been covered from every angle and the All Blacks, like the quality side that they are, were similar in the way they covered every inch of the grass in Durban. A bone-chilling Haka from veteran Ma’a Nonu was a fitting way to pay respect to the event – and also draw attention to an incredible player and career that has spanned over two decades. With the physical and attritional nature of rugby, it’s a rare feat and a doff of the cap to a player who has plied his trade all over the world with skill and success.

Rugby travelled far and wide this weekend – and the Springboks took on their most resilient and charged-up opponents of the international season so far.

Buenos Aires was the venue and the home crowd cheered (and whistled and booed) like the crowd at a medieval arena. It lifted the spirits of the home side, and they were brutal in their tackles and charges, using their powerful runners effectively, sending wave after wave towards the tackling Springboks.

A sleight of hand from the big Andre Esterhuizen was sublime and led to a try that no one could complain about – just brilliant!

The stories of the day were good and bad, the solid performance from Kolisi before he limped off, paled as we saw the emergence from the rubble of Cameron Hanekom – talk about putting your hand up when the going gets tough!

The tourists roll on and the Springboks remain unbeaten – moving with steely determination in a direction built by Rassie and his coaching staff that is increasingly resilient and well thought out.

Not perfect but very South African – it certainly deserves the praise it’s getting.

The All Blacks against the Bulls – mouth-watering stuff, Loftus will be a cauldron and the visitors will get their first real taste of the Highveld and its lack of oxygen – timely for them and will precede a visitors’ safari with some New Zealand legends coming out to the African bushveld to talk rivalry and sport and the magic of the contest.

Can’t wait !! Go Bulls !! (never thought I’d say that, but I mean it !!)