If 2025 is to be anything for the Springboks, it will be the year that coach Rassie Erasmus starts to show his hand ahead of the 2027 World Cup title defence.
The Boks used more than 50 players last season while navigating the 2024 year, remarkably coming up with a win per centage above 80 per cent and still not winning World Rugby’s team of the year award.
But in the process, they showed the incredible depth they now possess and with the first alignment camps on the horizon, that depth is only going to be increased as the season goes on.
The unique nature of the season - being overshadowed by the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia later this season - gives Erasmus an opportunity not only to give younger combinations a chance, but to add tests to their systems to ensure that the building towards 2027 is continued; but also that these younger players get dug in in terms of their test rugby apprenticeship.
SETTLE ON A CORE GROUP
Erasmus is on record saying that he will most likely settle with a core group of players that he wants to take through until the World Cup this year, and he is also on record saying that a number of those who made their debut in 2024 need to get at least 30 caps under their belts before they get to the World Cup in Australia.
So what does that mean for the massive group of almost 80 players that have been invited to the in-person and online Springbok alignment camps?
The biggest factor this year that will probably influence Erasmus’ thinking is not so much the newbies, but rather which of his select group of double World Cup winners has the longevity to make it to the World Cup in two years’ time.
Many of the players are still actively playing, and very few have fallen by the wayside. Other than Steven Kitshoff who has a potential career-ending injury, and Faf de Klerk that was left out over the course of the last season, the majority are still in the Springbok reckoning at the moment.
Deon Fourie got a call-up to the Bok alignment camp, despite himself believing his Bok days are over.
WHO WILL FALL BY THE WAYSIDE?
So the bigger question is just who will fall by the wayside this season as Erasmus starts to look for players to get more caps in the lead up to Australia 2027. So far, only one player - winger Makazole Mapimpi - has publicly ruled himself out of the next World Cup.
If you go through the squad of World Cup winners, at least 15 of them will be 35 or older when the World Cup comes around.
Willie le Roux will be 38, Mapimpi 37 while Damian de Allende will be 35. At halfback De Klerk will be 35 and Cobus Reinach 37 while captain Siya Kolisi will be 36, World Player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit 35 and Fourie 40.
Eben Etzebeth will be 35, Franco Mostert 36, Kitshoff 35, Frans Malherbe 36, Trevor Nyakane 38, Vincent Koch 37 and Bongi Mbonambi 36.
While England’s “Dads Army” won with a fairly old squad in 2003, the Boks know they will need renewal, and this doesn’t mean these 15 players will not make the World Cup squad at all, but will face some scrutiny.
In some cases, it means they will be put in cotton wool and managed so they can make the tournament - Kolisi, Du Toit and Etzebeth come to mind here.
YOUNGER PLAYERS LOOKING TO SHINE
And in most cases, there are younger players who are looking to elevate themselves into a starting position before 2027.
One thing is clear - if there are going to be players fall by the wayside, this season is probably the best time to do that, backing the younger players to get the required caps necessary.
The decision to try and add another test to the calendar before the opening Castle Lager Incoming Tour game against Italy is a perfect opportunity to add any new players to the Bok roster, while Georgia itself gives the Boks an opportunity to blood several youngsters as well.
The Boks will be a bit more circumspect against Italy, given the challenge they pose, but it would be surprising to see it not also used to give younger players more test experience.
The mixture of youth and experience should continue in the two home Castle Lager Rugby Championship tests against Australia, with the first full-strength team being employed for the New Zealand leg.
If one thing is clear, it is that Erasmus will “gamble” with youth, but will firmly want to win every test this season. Places are limited, and the desire to get the number of caps up in players who debuted in 2024 makes new Boks a rare species indeed.
NEW CAPS MAY BE LIMITED
Depending on injuries, the new caps this season may only be a handful, but they will be strategically chosen to ensure the Boks have enough depth going into 2027 to cover all bases.
Erasmus has always had two players in every position in his planning and then a third, young player to look towards for the future. If that is extended to four in each position, Bok rugby will be very healthy indeed.
Still, the message will be clear - the World Cup winners will fight for their places, and will need to be lifted out of them by the younger players. Competition will be intense, but Bok rugby will benefit.
A rugby season that will see the Boks face world No 2, three and four to keep themselves on top of the rankings will be the biggest focus. But those tests in between will be crucial for 2027, and by the end of the year we will have a much clearer picture of which players can start planning for a title defence in Australia.
And which players will bid farewell to some exceptional careers.