Springboks At A Crossroads: Burning Questions After Two Rounds
Springboks At A Crossroads: Burning Questions After Two Rounds
After two rounds of The Rugby Championship, the Springboks face burning questions over tactics, aging stars and Rassie Erasmus’ path forward.
‘Boarding a jet plane, don’t know when I will be back again’ Rassie Erasmus.
Well, that is not entirely true on any front, but can’t you just imagine the charismatic Springboks coach moonwalking his way onto his team’s flight bound for Auckland?
Departing for the land of the long white cloud, having uncharacteristically slipped up at home against the Wallabies, the Springboks always knew the next two rounds would define their 2025 Rugby Championship.
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Certainly, the loss at Ellis Park stung, and quite frankly, the performance in Cape Town was only a touch better.
Had James O’Connor packed his kicking boots in Round 2, the Boks very realistically could have been traversing the Southern Ocean with their dreams of back-to-back titles in tatters.
Instead, a pulse remains.
Whether their fate is fully in their own hands remains to be seen, with four electric matches in Round 3 and Round 4 set to decide the complexion of this year’s Championship.
Lose both matches to the All Blacks, and the Boks are as good as cooked.
Win one, and then it will come down to how the Wallabies and Pumas series plays out.
Win both, and it is Roy at the Rovers time for Erasmus’ side with two challenging, but winnable, tests against Los Pumas in Round 5 and Round 6.
Enough of our daydreaming, it is time to snap back to reality.
Having named a hugely experienced squad for the next two rounds, Erasmus and his Boks have a ‘last dance’ feel about them.
Not even the most green-tinted spectacles can blind Springbok fans and pundits from the reality of an ageing squad in desperate need of rejuvenation.
Entering this year’s competition, esteemed South African pundits informed the world that the Boks had five match-day starting XVs that could win the World Cup. In reality, the Wallabies dispelled this notion in rather brutal fashion in Round 1.
Racing into what should’ve been an insurmountable 22-0 lead, the Boks appeared to punch themselves out at Ellis Park. Dropping their intensity, missing their assignments and generally appearing heavy-footed, the Boks looked old and past their best.
Round 2 offered some respite with a much-needed win, which was more akin to the big Springboks wins of the past five years, with Handre Pollard kicking the leather off the ball. This formula may not paint a beautiful picture for some, but there is no denying its effectiveness.
This brings us to our first burning question for the Springboks heading into Round 3: Does the Tony Brown blueprint mesh with the Springboks DNA?
Undoubtedly one of the most brilliant attacking minds in professional rugby, Brown has been a success at just about every stop.
Now facing his greatest challenge, Brown is attempting to impart a game plan that goes against the very fabric of the Springboks' identity.
In employing an all-court attack game, the Springboks have opened themselves up to making mistakes, something they did not do during their historic runs in the past two World Cup knockout stages.
In reality, South African Rugby always has been at its best with a similar, but lethal, formula that starts up front.
At their best, the Boks are a runaway freight train with their pack rampaging forward, their halfbacks and fullback kicking for territory, their centers clattering over the gainline and their wingers adding a sprinkling of magic dust and bundles of pace. Simple.
Under Brown, the Boks pack, in particular, has been challenged to interplay more.
Instead of simply looking for contact, the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche, Siya Kolisi and co. have, at times, operated as ball-playing decoys. Certainly, when things have been going well against inferior opposition, this has looked great.
Yet, this system has exposed a few areas that should concern South African fans.
Firstly, when the Boks have been matched physically, they still have attempted to play this wide game. This has seen them not only run themselves off the park, but also concede silly errors and penalties.
Most recently, of course, is that loss at Ellis Park, but think back to 2024 when the Boks were beaten in Durban by Ireland and on the road by Argentina. In both cases, the matches were there for the taking, and instead of simply closing out the games, the Boks continued to play when territory should’ve been their first choice.
Secondly, this emphasis on tempo and skill has led to the Boks' famed blitz defense dropping a crucial percentage or two. In turn, the Boks have conceded a whopping nine tries through the opening two rounds to the Wallabies, who, while they are vastly improved, still are a new side.
Tying this gameplan issue into what arguably is a greater concern, the Boks simply look old and past their best in 2025.
While there is no doubting the depth of young talent coming through the ranks, the reality is that sport’s cyclical nature remains undefeated.
Make no mistake about it, the Springboks of 2019 through 2024 were a generational group of players. Fast forward to 2025, and the bulk of these great players are firmly on the wrong side of 30, with some already deep into their mid-30s.
Take, for example, the powerhouse lock group of Etzebeth (33), Franco Mostert (34), Jean Kleyn (32), Lood de Jager (32) and RG Snyman (30), and one gets a snapshot of the challenges facing Erasmus heading into 2027.
Across the board, the Boks' top performers are going to struggle to make it to the 2027 Rugby World Cup fit and firing.
While Erasmus has blooded tons of players since 2023, he rarely has backed them for sustained runs. That is just the cold, hard truth of the matter.
Among these veteran players is Handre Pollard, who in Round 2, reaffirmed his importance to this squad with an impervious kicking display. Often maligned for his lack of X-factor, Pollard proved once again that when it comes to winning matches, he is the Boks' best option.
Conversely, a player dripping with X-factor in Manie Libbok, once again proved that when all around him is crumbling, he is not the man to stop the rot.
For clarity’s sake, when things are going well, there are few playmakers better than Libbok. Yet, what the Ellis Park disaster proved was that when his pack are not completely dominant, Libbok is unable to bury his natural instinct to play. Attempting to run from deep when it clearly wasn’t on, Libbok put his side under immense pressure.
This puts the Springboks in somewhat of a conundrum: Do they stick with the dependable, but perhaps limited Pollard, or do they risk it all for a magic carpet ride with Libbok?
In truth, neither is the correct answer.
Already possessing a player who has shown his aptitude for the big stage and with plenty of razzle-dazzle to unlock defenses, DHL Stormers young gun Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has the hallmarks of a generational playmaker.
Capable of bossing a game with his tactical nous, kicking game and physicality, while also threatening opponents with his willingness to attack the gainline, offload and spot a gap, he feels destined to be the long-term solution.
This begs the question: What does Erasmus do?
As far as we can see, there are two options.
First, he pairs Feinberg-Mngomezulu with one of the two veterans by deploying him at inside center, thus learning from both, while offsetting their weaknesses.
Or he rips off the bandage and nails his colors to the Sacha mast as his undisputed first-choice fly-half.
To Erasmus’ credit, few coaches in world rugby have shown as much willingness to back their instincts and make a big call as he has.
Heading into what has the potential to be the last hurrah for this iteration of the greatest period in South African rugby history, these are the burning questions facing the Boks' brain trust.
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