One of the most surprising aspects of the Springbok triumph in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks was that it was achieved with very little change to the team.
Largely coach Rassie Erasmus stuck to the same core unit that started the opening game against the All Blacks in Johannesburg, which was in turn pretty much the team that started the 2026 test match season for the Boks by beating England 45-21 at the same Ellis Park venue seven weeks before that.
The fact that there were as many as seven weeks separating the two Ellis Park games might have played a big part in Erasmus’ decision to stick to the same unit. The Boks had the same if not more physical dominance in the opening RGR game that they had in the subsequent games that they won, but were let down by a lack of cohesion.
Erasmus had spoken in the buildup to the series of the probability that he would go deep in his squad, and was adamant on the eve of the Ellis Park game that players who were not featuring in the starting side could expect to feature later on. That this didn’t happen was probably down to a loss that might have been unexpected, just as the one to Australia at the same venue last year was.
The message drummed out by New Zealand’s resistance and then ability to capitalise on what was effectively the Boks being charitable by not putting the All Blacks away was that some continuity in selection and some bedding in of combinations would be necessary if the series was to be won.
RGR WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO SUSPEND RWC AS A FOCUS
There’s always a lot of talk about the Rugby World Cup these days around any international contest, but this was one time when that could be suspended - with No 1 and No 2 in the world being pitted against each other over four consecutive Saturdays, the RGR was a mini-world championship in itself. Indeed, you won’t get many quibbles with the contention of Erasmus that it was tougher than a World Cup.
So for the duration of the series we saw the same centre combination playing outside the same flyhalf, the same loose trio with the exception of the first game where Siya Kolisi’s injury meant a start for Paul de Villiers, the same back row and the same starting front row (although Erasmus did mix up the latter combinations at the last minute in Cape Town).
Injury saw Kurt-Lee Arendse miss out in Cape Town but he was back for the win in the third test in Soweto, where regular fullback Damian Willemse was missing because of a minor hamstring tear sustained in the second test. Cheslin Kolbe was a constant presence until he was injured for the last game.
Ethan Hooker didn’t play in the first game but was an influential figure in the back three in the three wins and if there is one area where Erasmus might be particularly spoilt for choice it is when it comes to fullback and wing - particularly after Arendse’s excellent impersonation of the French wing sensation Louis Bielle-Biarrey in the final test in Baltimore. Remembering too that Canan Moodie was not used at all in the series.
ROTATION OF SELECTION SHOULD RETURN FOR AUSTRALIA AND BEYOND
Mention of Moodie cues what must surely come next. The World Cup is still a year away and the team that completed a resounding comeback in the series to win it 3-1, and thus firmly underline their status as the top side, has an average age of a touch over 30. That is not to say there haven’t been movers who are much younger than that during the series - Paul de Villiers, although he played just one game, Hooker and Cameron Hanekom all laid down a marker.
But given the trend that Erasmus started, the lack of rotation was unusual, and we can expect him to return to that with what happens next, which is a one-off test against Australia in Perth on Sunday, 27 September.
That is the day after Deon Fourie, who was the back up hooker for the Boks in three of the four games, turns 40. It would be a wonderful touch to see him rewarded with a cap the day after he enters his fifth decade of life, but it is debatable that is the way Erasmus will go given that neither Johan Grobbelaar, who didn’t play at all, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who was just there off the bench in the first game, were really used in the RGR.
If there is a player who appears irreplaceable it is Malcolm Marx, and although there have been good reports about Bongi Mbonambi’s conditioning and readiness to get back to his best, hooker is a potential problem area given that Fourie was always an unlikely long term solution in that position. After all, he doesn’t play there for the Stormers.
WESSELS NEEDS TO CRACK ON IN QUEST TO BECOME THE NEXT MARX
Wessels looks the most likely Marx type of player going forward and Erasmus probably sees it that way too, while Grobbelaar was good in the test against Argentina in Buenos Aires and also good when he came on for the Bulls in the second half of their game against the All Blacks. The smart money would surely be on both players featuring against Australia, and probably the hugely promising young tighthead Zachary Porthen.
The Stormers player was impressive in the Nations Championship fixtures before making way for the experience of Thomas du Toit after the bench failed to make the hoped for impact in Johannesburg. Porthen, who is incredibly young for an international prop, may have paid for his lack of impact but really it is more likely that Erasmus just preferred Du Toit for the experience he brings. Porthen will be backed going forward, and it will be surprising if he is not involved in the Perth game.
The same can be said of scrumhalf Grant Williams, who was poor at Ellis Park but deserves a chance to show that was just an aberration, while there have been good things about Herschel Jantjies’ contributions in training. He won a World Cup in 2019 so his claims should be taken seriously, although right now the man who has taken his chance is Morne van den Berg.
POLLARD SHOULD GET HIS CHANCE IN PERTH
A player who is hardly new to international rugby but needs to play if he is to remain part of the Bok flyhalf triumvirate is Handre Pollard, who can also of course be used as an inside centre.
When it comes to No 12, it would be great to see Damian Willemse get another go there, and Aphelele Fassi is probably due another game at fullback, but the hybrid player, Andre Esterhuizen, is of course also no stranger to inside centre and may be due a go in his most regular position.
There are so many options available to Erasmus and so many considerations to take into account as he looks forward, not the least of them who would back up Eben Etzebeth at No 4 lock. Hopefully the concussion that stopped Ben-Jason Dixon from travelling to America will clear up in time for him to feature in Australia, or beyond that in the northern leg of the Nations Championship in November, because right now it feels like Pieter-Steph du Toit is the only option at No 7. Dixon can also be used at lock, a position that Stormers coach John Dobson might expect him to play a lot this coming URC season.
INTERESTING TO SEE HOW RASSIE APPROACHES NOVEMBER MATCHES
Talking of the Nations Championship, that’s another interesting juncture that lies ahead of the Boks in the remainder of 2026. Had the Boks lost the RGR series they’d be heading on that trip with their backs to the wall and needing to win the inaugural title to make up for the disappointment. But with a 3-1 series win over the All Blacks in the bag, Erasmus might be able to take more risks and do what he needs to do - expose more players to really tough, high pressure games.
And if you take away the All Blacks from the equation, challenges do not come any stiffer than playing France in Paris and Ireland in Dublin, which are the two games that end off the league part of the Nations Championship. If Erasmus is prepared to be brave, and we know he is, don’t bet your house against him going to Europe without some experienced players he may feel need resting.
THE REMAINING SPRINGBOK FIXTURES FOR 2026
One-off international:
Sunday, 27 September - Australia (Optus Stadium, Perth, 11.30)
Northern Hemisphere leg of Nations Championship:
Saturday, 7 November - Italy (Allianz Stadium, Turin, 13.40)
Friday, 13 November - France (Stade de France, Paris, 22.10)
Saturday, 21 November - Ireland (Aviva Stadium, Dublin, 18.40)
Saturday, 28 November - Opponent TBC (Twickenham, London - Finals day)