Last up in our set of previews ahead of the Rugby Championship, we examine the prospects of the Rugby World Cup champions, South Africa.

It’s a year of more of the same but plenty of change at the same time for the Springboks as Rassie Erasmus has taken over the reins as head coach once again following the departure of Jacques Nienaber and leads South Africa into the Rugby Championship for just the third time.

Erasmus’ second tenure at the helm kicked off with three wins from four, defeating Wales, Ireland and Portugal but falling to the Irish in the second Test due to Ciaran Frawley’s kicking excellence.

While the ex-director of rugby will have been hellbent on grabbing a clean sweep in the mid-year internationals, the Springboks head into the Rugby Championship with plenty of confident fresh faces along with the tried and tested experienced heads.

Erasmus led the Springboks to Rugby Championship glory in 2019 when they became the first team to win the tournament and the World Cup in the same year but South Africa fans will be demanding that the Boks add to their measly four titles since 1996.

With a new attacking emphasis inspired by attack coach Tony Brown, a new defence led by Jerry Flannery and the next generation of stars making their claim, it’s a particularly exciting campaign for the South Africans.

Last year

Due to the Rugby World Cup last year, the Rugby Championship with shortened – which is the case every four years – with each team facing off just once.

A much-changed matchday 23 got the Springboks off to a perfect start, hammering Eddie Jones’ Wallabies 43-12 at Loftus Versfeld with high-flying winger Kurt-Lee Arendse bagging a hat-trick.

Nienaber then rang the changes for the clash against their fiercest foe, New Zealand, in Auckland, sending several stars over early to prepare but the decision did not pay off as they succumbed to a 35-20 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks. That result ultimately decided the title race with New Zealand defending their crown.

The Springboks returned to the Republic for their final game on home soil before the Rugby World Cup and were made to work hard for a 22-21 victory over Argentina to finish second overall.

This year

It’s a return of a fully-fledged Rugby Championship fixture list in 2024 and the Boks are on the road first up with a trip Down Under for back-to-back Tests against Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies.

Historically, the Springboks have been poor tourists to Australia, particularly to Brisbane where they go in search of just a third win at Suncorp Stadium and first since 2013. That opening game in Brisbane is followed by a trip to Perth for the second Test before the world champions return to the Republic.

In South Africa, the Springboks collide with their old foe the All Blacks in two mouth-watering replays of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, the first taking place at the iconic Ellis Park Stadium – the venue for the 1995 World Cup final – and the second hosted at DHL Stadium in Cape Town – a venue where the All Blacks will get plenty of support.

A visit to Santiago del Estero to tackle Los Pumas follows with the Boks concluding their campaign on home soil in Nelspruit against Argentina.

Rugby Championship: Five bold predictions as Springboks set to whitewash All Blacks

Key players

There were serious concerns around the number 13 jersey last year before the Rugby World Cup when Lukhanyo Am was ruled out through injury, but Jesse Kriel rose to the challenge of filling his void and thrived. Kriel has not looked back since and while he was a defensive rock in 2023, he is now inspiring the new attack structures without it having a detrimental effect on his defence. He is primed to retain the starting role going forward but Am showed signs of getting back to his best against Portugal, setting up a tasty battle and a threatening double punch in the role for the Boks.

A visit to Santiago del Estero to tackle Los Pumas follows with the Boks concluding their campaign on home soil in Nelspruit against Argentina.

Rugby Championship: Five bold predictions as Springboks set to whitewash All Blacks

Key players

There were serious concerns around the number 13 jersey last year before the Rugby World Cup when Lukhanyo Am was ruled out through injury, but Jesse Kriel rose to the challenge of filling his void and thrived. Kriel has not looked back since and while he was a defensive rock in 2023, he is now inspiring the new attack structures without it having a detrimental effect on his defence. He is primed to retain the starting role going forward but Am showed signs of getting back to his best against Portugal, setting up a tasty battle and a threatening double punch in the role for the Boks.

While the youth is making its mark on the Bok team and pressing for further involvement, some of the older heads like Pieter-Steph du Toit continue to set sensational standards. Man of the Match in the World Cup final victory, Du Toit has continued his superb Test form into 2024, performing stunningly against Wales and Ireland in the mid-year internationals. With the injuries to Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert, he will need to take on more responsibilities at lineout time but around the park, he continues to excel on defence and has had a major influence in the trams in Brown’s new attack.

Players to watch

15 tries in 18 Test matches is just a snapshot of the threat that Springboks flyer Kurt-Lee Arendse possesses as he terrorises any opponent on both sides of the ball. The Bulls star was in spectacular form in the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup and didn’t quite hit the same highs in July, despite solid shifts, and will be eager to impress once again.

Elrigh Louw made the most of a cameo off the bench against Portugal to book his place in the Rugby Championship squad to tour Australia and will be hunting more regular minutes. With Evan Roos ruled out for the rest of the year, there is some wiggle room in the squad even with Jasper Wiese returning from suspension and Louw so far has impressed.

Faf de Klerk’s injury has opened the door for the other scrum-halves in the squad to get a shot but even before then Grant Williams was staking a claim for the starting role. He was a driving force in the Sharks’ Challenge Cup success but has also recreated that form at Test level with brilliant impacts off the bench against Wales and Portugal. After a crushing first-minute injury in his starting debut last year, he will relish a fresh start in his second Rugby Championship campaign. His pace has also been an eye-catching part of his game but he has become a more well-rounded number nine with a vastly improved kicking game.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has played all four of the Springboks’ games ahead of the start of the Rugby Championship and has been simply excellent. The 22-year-old has looked unfussed by the step up in quality to Test rugby and is bound to play a key role throughout the campaign, whether he finally gets a first start or continues to make telling impacts from the bench. He has delivered on his promise already and has the Bok coaches tipping him for a captaincy role sometime in the future. He may be a superstar of the future but is already shining at the highest level.

Prospects

The Rugby Championship is well-weighted in the Springboks’ favour this year particularly because of the fact that they play serial tournament winners New Zealand twice in the Rainbow Nation.

South Africa have struggled for results in Australia but even with the improvements that Schmidt has made, two wins from two will be expected of the back-to-back World Cup winners.

While Springboks fans are pleased by winning the last two World Cups, the performances of the team between the tournaments has left much to be desired and something that Erasmus has said that he wants to address and that will start this year.

Frankly, anything less than the title will be a disappointment for the Springboks, who have had the least disruption in coaching staff and player turnover of the four competing teams.

The first two Tests will be crucial but the next two in South Africa will decide the tournament. The Springboks will be looking to make a statement and the only way to do that is to win a full Rugby Championship, anything else will and should be deemed as a failure. First.

Rugby Championship preview: All Blacks to continue growing under Scott Robertson with South Africa mini-tour deciding the title

Fixtures

Saturday, August 10 v Australia (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, August 17 v Argentina (Optus Stadium, Perth)
Saturday, August 31 v New Zealand (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, September 7 v New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
Saturday, September 21 v Argentina (Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago)
Saturday, September 28 v Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)