As with all things Springbok rugby, there is always a plan for Rassie Erasmus and at the moment, barring injuries against Argentina, the plan is slowly coming together ahead of next month’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
Erasmus on Tuesday revealed that several of the walking wounded - and most notably Eben Etzebeth and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu - were all cleared to play next week against Argentina in Buenos Aires, which will be the final preparation for the four-test series against the All Blacks.
The Boks have heavily rotated their squad, not only in the Nations Championship, but also in the previous two seasons, getting them to a point where there are two different teams that can, at any time, take the field and not let standards drop for the double World Champions.
That depth, which is exceptional by rugby’s own standards, will get a boost when players like Etzebeth, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, captain Siya Kolisi, Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie, Morne van den Berg, Lood de Jager, Ox Nche and Franco Mostert return ahead of the series.
Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie have both named 44-man squads for #RugbysGreatestRivalry next month 🇿🇦🇳🇿#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/G4R0xZl1Kp
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 28, 2026
At the moment only Nche and Mostert are still on the injured list, and everything points to them being back at some point, if not before the opening test at Ellis Park on 22 August.
WHEN TO PEAK
So with four back to back games, the series is not a sprint but more of a marathon and the Boks’ depth would serve them well in a month of intense rugby.
The fact the Boks have rotated so much means that the management team will know by now just who they want to play in which game, and while they may tweak depending on what the All Blacks bring to their opening three tour games against URC opposition, they are pretty much locked and loaded for the test series.
That also means the team that starts the series is not necessarily the team that will end the series in Baltimore, USA, on 12 September.
“We feel comfortable that over a four-test series against New Zealand they shouldn’t peak in the first game and then not be able to last all four games,” he said on Tuesday, underlining the way the Boks look at the series as a whole.
“We are fairly confident that we’ll be 100 per cent for the New Zealand tour. But a four-test series is long, and the last test is in Baltimore.”
MORE THAN FIRST TEST
For that reason, the Boks will not only be looking towards the test opener, which is important in itself because it sets the tone for the series, but also to win the series.
“We play the first match and try to win it, and then after that it’s another three test matches, so I really don’t think you want to say from game one, we are so ready.
“You want to build and build so that when it comes to the crunch matches you are at your peak. I don’t think any of us thinks the other team is going to beat the other 4-0. It’s going to be much tougher than that.”
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has given an extensive injury update ahead of their Test match against Argentina and #RugbysGreatestRivalry next month 🤕🗣️#SSRugby pic.twitter.com/0pVTFzMYTD
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 28, 2026
Erasmus added that a decision will be made which Boks will be released to their franchises closer to the time, but that the Boks would first analyse how the All Blacks would be playing against the franchises before any final decisions would be taken on how to take them on over four weeks. Erasmus used the flyhalves as an example.
"If we play Sacha, Handré, or Manie at flyhalf, we have to decide whether we play a kicking game or a running game,” Erasmus said.
“It depends on what team we pick and how the All Blacks go in the franchise matches. We haven’t done a lot of analysing when it comes to the All Blacks, that is why the squad for the greatest rivalry series will only be announced after the Argentina match."
Erasmus did say he found it interesting that the All Blacks only had three scrumhalves in their squad, with several tour matches, meaning all three would have a high workload.