Rassie Erasmus Springbok coah Rassie Erasmus will cast his net wide in the 15 Tests this year to sift through the players ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Photo: Ayanda Ndamane Independent Media
Image: Ayanda Ndamane Independent Media
“We are hoping to get the 15 matches; every single one is almost confirmed.”
Those were the words of an excited Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus after announcing this week that they’ll be looking to play 15 Tests in 2025. It will help him to properly sift through the players at his disposal ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
South Africa will also play a festival match against the Barbarians, starting the season on the 28th of June, with the venue still to be announced. This could be another opportunity to unleash new faces who’s been lighting up the United Rugby Championship (URC) in recent weeks.
A total of 16 matches will give Erasmus and his Bok assistant coaches plenty of game time to see who has what it takes to make it at the top level and who is not quite ready for the challenge of 2027.
It’s likely the final year where the Springboks can experiment with certain teams they put out in a Test match, while for plenty of the older generation, who have won two World Cups already, it will also be a last-chance saloon to state their case.
The world champions will go into the first alignment camp in Cape Town this coming week. It will kick-start their season.
The biggest Test matches they are building up to are the double clashes against the All Blacks in New Zealand during the Rugby Championship. Then, the Year-end tour will bring revenge matches against France and Ireland - two vital clashes the Boks would want to dominate.
In the only URC match of the weekend, the Lions travel to Durban looking to make it a double win over the Sharks.
After dominating at Ellis Park, they are in a prime position to do so and their players can impress even more ahead of the Bok alignment camp.
But the Sharks will be out to set the record straight and Kings Park may be the ally they need to get back to winning ways and avoid another setback in their quest to claim the SA Shield ahead of the Stormers.