Given where they started the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, the fact that the Springboks ended with back-to-back championship wins and retained their No. 1 status while growing the squad is testament to just how good the current squad is.
Cast your mind back to the start of the tournament where the Boks were underwhelming in many pundits' eyes after regulation wins over Italy and Georgia in the Incoming Series, and then contrast it against the celebrations at Twickenham for winning the Rugby Championship.
A lot has changed, and a lot has stayed the same. This is no longer a Springbok side at the start of the evolution.
This is a Springbok side that is evolving at a rapid rate. Where they started the Championship with a sucker punch loss to the Wallabies, a defeat that reverberated in World Rugby circles and where the Boks were very much their own worst enemies, this same side finished the Rugby Championship as the leader of the pack of countries chasing that No 1 spot, confidence and having unleashed a new attack.
LOADS OF WORK-ONS STILL
It hasn’t always been perfect, and there are a lot of work-ons still for this coaching group before they get to play the perfect 80 minutes, but in terms of resilience and fight, in terms of new stars coming to the surface and in terms of results, there is very little that can be criticised.
The Boks have chopped and changed, evolved and won and while this has been the most competitive Rugby Championship for decades, they have dominated it despite the final log saying they only won it on points difference.
There are those who will doubt it, and those who will point to the flaws of this side, but few will remember that they started the Rugby Championship with a very different team. They started the tournament with a clear idea who the No 1 player in each position is, and they finished it with a very different idea.
In almost every position, there are three players who can slot in at any moment, and in some there have been some shooting stars.
LONDON WIN SHOWED BOKS CAN WIN IN OTHER WAYS
London’s finale may not have been the big win the Bok fans wanted, but it showed a side that managed to control a game for most of it, and while there are still flaws, knows how not to panic, and knows how to claw their way back from setbacks.
In terms of gains this Springbok team has ended the season with a star like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and some strong contenders for permanent starting spots. While Durban will always be remembered for Sacha’s exploits, the rise of players such as Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie, Wilco Louw, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Ruan Nortje will always be seen as a positive.
Some of them started already last season, and just took that extra step up this season, leaving Bok rugby in a very positive space going into the last five games of the year.
The Rugby Championship proved the Boks are a step ahead of the pack, and that they still have work to do. But slowly they are moving to a new attacking level. As Twickenham showed, their game management still needs work, there are still flaws on defense but when they get going there isn’t a team in the world that can stop them.
NOT FINISHED PRODUCT
They are not the finished product yet, but they are at least 20 per cent better than they were when they won the Rugby Championship last season.
And their growing pains may be there, but they are positive and they are moving through a process at an alarming speed, something that will worry other nations ahead of their quest for a Rugby World Cup three-peat in 2027.
This is the Boks' golden age and it is only getting better.
There are five games left until the end of the year and the World Cup draw for 2027. Those five games bring their own challenges. But the Twickenham win was a massive achievement in securing the back-to-back Championship, and even coach Rassie Erasmus admitted they were still learning.
FAR FROM PERFECT
“I’m satisfied with the result and winning the Castle Lager Rugby Championship back-to-back. This was a massive game for us, and although it was a far from perfect performance, I would prefer to see us learn while we are winning than losing,” he said after the game.
“We are still in a good position for the Rugby World Cup draw, but there is no doubt we have five tough matches ahead, and there is a lot of work ahead for us.
“The reality is that Argentina defeated Australia, New Zealand, and the British & Irish Lions, so we’ll celebrate tonight and take that positive from this match.”
Given where they started and the horror of the Ellis Park loss, the way they finished was such a vindication of the attacking transition that it won’t be abandoned.
The Boks know they can get better, and that is the frightening prospect.
The rest of the world know it as well, and will be hoping someone in November can stop them, or at least find a way to slow them down.