Rassie Erasmus has revealed that the next Rugby World Cup is often in the back of the mind as the Springboks look to get the balance right between results and building for 2027.

South Africa won the 2023 Rugby World Cup with predominantly the same group of players that lifted the Webb Ellis Cup four years earlier.

It was an incredibly experienced team with the majority of the individuals who started the final the wrong side of 30.

Erasmus knows that they have a significant rebuild on their hands ahead of the World Cup in Australia, but the head coach is wary of doing it too quickly.

The balance

The 51-year-old very much wants to keep their spot at the top of the sport while he brings the younger players through.

The side to face the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship this weekend features 10 starters from the 2023 showpiece event, while RG Snyman and Ox Nche, who also line up in the XV, were in the 23.

However, the Springboks have included Elrigh Louw and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who are both 25, which suggests that Erasmus is mindful of not sticking with the tried and tested.

“We are definitely trying to make the squad understand and be as honest as we can that this is a group effort going to the 2027 Rugby World Cup,” he told reporters.

“It is about what Damian (de Allende), Lukhanyo (Am), Jesse (Kriel) and Canan (Moodie) has to do to help the younger guys like Ethan Hooker who we had in camp to work together as a group.

“We will probably prolong some guys’ careers and see how deep they can go until the next World Cup and where they will fall off the pace and maybe spare their bodies a lot.

“That’s what we are expecting from the young guys, to bring that energy and swap in and out and then against a major country like Australia, select four or five of them and then maybe next we go a little bit bolder. But again, it’s all about momentum.”

The Springboks got it right at the World Cup but the four years between the 2019 and 2023 global tournaments were mixed.

Erasmus understands the scrutiny the Boks will come under if there are poor results and performances, and hopes that they can get it right over the four next years.

“It’s also about how our supporters are feeling and how you guys in the media are feeling. As you know when it’s sometimes a bad loss, it stops momentum and growth and so on,” he said.

“So hopefully we can keep momentum and these guys can produce and show what they have.”

Sacha’s big chance

One youngster who is expected to play a big role over the next few years is Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who starts for the Boks against the Wallabies this weekend.

The 22-year-old has impressed off the bench in 2024 and will now get an opportunity in the fly-half jersey in Brisbane on Saturday.

It is a bold call but one that Erasmus is willing to make, given that the playmaker could become a star of South African rugby and be crucial to their World Cup hopes in 2027.

“We do have a lot of options, but it’s because we as the selecting committee and the coaches made some brave choices and sometimes we lose matches to try and see how guys can go from one level to another level,” the head coach added.

“That’s why we had the SA ‘A’ games, that’s also games that Sacha and other guys played and you get to learn the characters to understand the characters and that’s most important – the succession planning whilst trying to win.”

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Erasmus Back Insane: Springboks’ Lock RG Snyman in doubt for Australia Clash

Rassie Erasmus has explained his thinking around the 6-2 split to tackle Australia in the Rugby Championship opener, particularly with Springboks lock RG Snyman in doubt for the clash.

Unsurprisingly, Erasmus has opted for another 6-2 split in favour of the forwards for the tournament opener but with a slight twist, with two back-rowers included as the back-five cover along with the versatile Ben-Jason Dixon covering lock.

Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch provide front-row cover in the ‘Bomb Squad’ while Grant Williams and Handre Pollard are the two backs.

Pieter-Steph du Toit’s return to lock

The Bok coaching staff see Dixon as a blindside flanker but Erasmus believes that there is plenty that the Stormers star can learn from the world-class Pieter-Steph du Toit in his ability to cover the back and second-row.

Du Toit started his career jumping between the two positions and many pundits and Erasmus himself believed that lock was where he was better but he has since become one of the best flankers in the world.

While Du Toit hasn’t returned to the second-row for some time now, he may well do so on Saturday against Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane following the plethora of injuries that the Boks have suffered in the role.

Lood de Jager sustained an injury in the Japan Rugby League One season final while Franco Mostert broke his leg in the second Test against Ireland. Meanwhile, Jean Kleyn has still not returned to the pitch after picking up an injury during the World Cup final.

In this match, I think the way to go is either the two locks must go the full 80 minutes or Pieter-Steph must move to lock,” Erasmus said when asked about the make-up of his bench.

“We have been trying Ben-Jason Dixon at lock in training but we are careful not to play him out of position but almost perform like Pieter-Steph did in the past.

“A lot of people said that Pieter-Steph should only play lock which we all thought was his best position in the beginning but then he became one of the best sevens in the world. So we think Ben-Jason, can learn a lot from Pieter-Steph and the way he can alternate between 7 and 5.”

Breakdown blitz

Malcolm Marx joins Smith and Van Staden on the bench after recovering from the injury he sustained in the second Test match against Ireland, which means that the Boks have three breakdown specialists in the ‘Bomb Squad’ for the Wallabies, a move to combat that the Wallabies’ strengths.

We are playing an Australian team that likes to keep the ball in hand and will definitely try and move us around a lot,” Erasmus explained.

So we will have to make sure there are not too many gaps and normally it is the forwards who suffer when the pace is really high. So either we will move Pieter-Steph to 5 and get three fresh loose forwards on or maybe move Ben-Jason to one of the locks.”

RG Snyman in doubt

South Africa’s injury woes in the second-row could be worsened before kick-off on Saturday with Erasmus revealing that starting lock Snyman is in doubt for the clash.

Snyman has been named in the pack alongside Eben Etzebeth and in the case that he is unable to feature against the Wallabies, the Bok head coach revealed that Bulls lock Ruan Nortje could catapult into the starting XV.

“RG has got a little bit of niggle and we might even move Ruan Nortje into the starting line-up to have a specialist number five lock but it’s just a normal 6-2 split,” Erasmus added.

“And Kwagga can always cover if we get three injuries in the backline.”