Rassie Erasmus's Springboks have delivered an unprecedented 2025 season, securing 11 wins from 13 Tests and defending both the Rugby Championship and Freedom Cup titles for the first time. The team balanced youth development with veteran experience while maintaining an 85% win record. A potential victory over Wales could push their success rate to 86%.
The Springboks' 2025 campaign stands out in South African rugby history, challenging long-standing criticisms of inconsistency between World Cups. Since professional rugby began in 1996, the team has claimed four World Cup titles and two Lions series wins, yet often struggled in non-tournament years. Under coach Rassie Erasmus, the past three seasons have shifted this narrative, with 2023 and 2024 both ending at an 85% win rate—the highest since 1998 and 2013.
In 2025, the Springboks started with alignment camps involving over 80 players, leading to 50 squad members used across 13 Tests and a match against the Barbarians. Eight players debuted, including front-rowers Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Neethling Fouché, and Zachary Porthen, plus forwards Vincent Tshituka, Cobus Wiese, and utility back Ethan Hooker. Erasmus integrated newcomers into key fixtures, such as Venter starting against France and Ireland, and Hooker on the wing in a 43-10 victory over New Zealand in Wellington.
Rotation has been central, with 18 front-row combinations employed without weakening the scrum—evident in a 24-13 win over Ireland despite missing regulars like Ox Nché and Frans Malherbe. Tactical experiments, including a midfield lineout maul against Italy and repositioning André Esterhuizen as a hybrid centre-flank, complemented traditional strengths. Bench splits varied from five-three to six-two.
Key results included retaining the Freedom Cup with the Wellington triumph, a 67-30 rout of Argentina in Durban, and narrow 29-27 win over them in London. They thrashed Japan 61-7, beat France and Italy by 15 and 18 points while down to 14 men, and ended a 13-year Dublin drought with a 24-13 defeat of Ireland. Early setbacks—a 38-22 loss to New Zealand and first Johannesburg defeat to Australia in 60 years—were offset by later dominance, positioning the team as the most consistent in history.
Looking ahead, Erasmus eyes the 2027 World Cup, blending emerging talents like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu with veterans such as 35-year-old Cobus Reinach.