The Springboks will win the Rugby Championship and the All Blacks will finish third.
That's the prediction of awarded-winning rugby pundit, Mark Keohane after he blasted the current state of Steve Hansen's team.
Writing for Sport24, the South African believes the improving Springboks under new coach Rassie Erasmus, will be too strong for the All Blacks come August.
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"The Springboks will win the Rugby Championship. The All Blacks won’t finish in the top two," Keohane opened his controversial column.
He suggested the current crop of New Zealand players pale in comparison to the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning squad and described their wins over France as 'woeful'.
"From what I have seen in the last 12 months, that incredible All Blacks era has peaked and the All Blacks graph is in decline and the chasing pack is starting to climb.
"To those who put the All Blacks on a pedestal so high that all visual of their fallibility is blurred, take an aerial view of the men in black. You’ll see more inglorious than glorious. The core of that wonderfully talented 2015 World Cup squad is gone.
"The next generation isn’t anywhere near as potent."
Injuries have continued to plague the All Blacks this international test window with a number of their forwards suffering injuring before and during the French series.
But that hasn't stopped Keohane from attacking their struggles upfront and even suggested Australia boast the better back-line.
"The All Blacks backs are always world class, but it doesn’t matter who you pick in numbers 9-15, if your forwards aren’t up to it, you won’t consistently have dominance.
"South Africa, on balance, have more depth and quality in their forwards than New Zealand. The Wallabies have greater presence in their backs than the All Blacks.
"I’m picking South Africa and Australia to be the top dogs in this year’s Rugby Championship, with New Zealand in the unfamiliar third place."
The All Blacks begin their Rugby Championship campaign against Australia in Sydney on August 18 (NZT).
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