South Africa's exodus from Super Rugby has only benefited the Springboks at test level, coach Jacques Nienaber believes.
Part of Super Rugby from 1996, South Africa's sides were a vital and mainstay part of the competition that brought the southern hemisphere's nations together.
On three occasions, the Pretoria-based Bulls won the competition, while South African sides finished runners-up on eight occasions, with the Sharks, Stormers and Lions all reaching the final.
Overall, their presence provided vital lessons for Kiwi and Australian teams, forced to endure difficult away tours that exposed them to a different, forward-oriented style of play. That exposure counted greatly at test level too, with players able to apply those lessons to northern hemisphere opposition.
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, NZ Rugby made the decision that its sides would go it alone, forming Super Rugby Aotearoa as a domestic-only competition.
Despite the reunification with Australia for Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in 2021 and Super Rugby Pacific the following year, South African franchises never returned.
Instead, they looked north and became part of the newly created United Rugby Championship, joining forces with clubs from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy.
Being part of the URC also gave them entry into Europe's Heineken Cup, competing against the best sides from England and France.
In 2020, All Blacks coach Ian Foster admitted his concerns over the lack of South African sides.
For Nienaber, South Africa have been the winners from the move at test level, with their players exposed to another way of playing the game, while the All Blacks have often struggled to adapt to opposition tactics.
"I think South African rugby is in a good state," said Nienaber. "We get the best of both worlds.
"We get exposure to the URC in the northern hemisphere competitions, the Heineken Cup - different countries, different styles.
"When I was with Rassie [Erasmus] at Munster, we were in the Pro12 back then… we coached against more New Zealand coaches then than in Super Rugby.
"That's the club side of things. We're lucky and fortunate from the Springboks point of view to still be part of the Rugby Championship.
"We get the exposure with the 'Boks playing against quality sides, with great individuals that can create magic, playing against Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
"We're in a good position for me personally. I feel we're in a good position in terms of South African rugby, getting that exposure [on] both sides - the north and the south."
Ddespite the All Blacks' struggles over the past four years, Nienaber denies the rivalry between the two sides has been diluted.
South Africa haven't played a test on NZ soil since 2019 and haven't lost in New Zealand since 2017.
On Saturday, the two rivals meet at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart and Nienaber expects nothing but the best from Ian Foster's side.
"For me, it will always be one of the biggest test matches in the world," he added. "The rivalry has been over 100 years, 100 test matches playing against each other.
"The rivalry is massive. For us, New Zealand have not lost their aura.
"They're still a formidable side, that's why they're ranked highly and consistently high in the world."
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