Boks sharpen focus for 2025 season where they need to combat against complacency

While the Springboks gathered in Johannesburg this week as part of their preparations for the upcoming season, the Bulls players had a few days off, licking their wounds after a chastening United Rugby Championship (URC) final loss.

The Bulls were thumped 32-7 by Leinster in the URC final at Croke Park last week. It was a humbling defeat as the Bulls were outplayed and out-thought by a rampant Leinster that will remind greater South African rugby that news of Ireland’s demise might be premature.

The way Leinster exposed the Bulls, regardless of their superior Test experience, was a timely reminder for the Boks that there is no room for stagnation.

Bulls coach Jake White’s assertion that Leinster’s victory was built on Test experience, an example of which was the luxury of calling giant Bok lock RG Snyman from the bench, has some truth.

Leinster had vastly more Test experience. But a week earlier the Sharks had nearly 200 Test caps more worth of Test experience than the Bulls in the URC semifinal and lost.

Experience is one thing; innovation, tactics and execution are another, and if the Bulls are honest, they didn’t only lose the final because they were less experienced than their opponents.

They lost it tactically and technically, as Leinster were sharper, taking away the Bulls’ strengths, starving them of time on the ball and playing at a tempo that the Bulls couldn’t match.

It’s not like the Bulls were thrown together this season either. This is the fifth year of their development under White, so even though they lack the same Test experience, it wasn’t an inexperienced Bulls URC team in action.

The Bulls were always unlikely to win in Dublin, but honest assessment should reveal that they didn’t play all that well in the final either. And it had less to do with inexperience and more to do with tactical execution.

Staying fresh

Which brings us to the Boks.

They are about to embark on their eighth season with coach Rassie Erasmus in the changeroom.

Erasmus hasn’t always been head coach – that position belonged to Jacques Nienaber between 2020 and 2023 – but he has been a permanent Bok fixture for seven seasons as director of rugby for a period.

More than 20 players have also been part of the Springbok setup since 2018, when Erasmus and Nienaber assumed the coaching roles.

In a high-performance environment, that has benefits and pitfalls.

To White’s point – there is a huge amount of experience in the Bok squad, both on the field and in the coach’s box. This group has won everything there is to win. Viewed simply through a prism of experience, it’s a very good thing.

The flipside, though, is that success, experience and entrenchment is fertile land for complacency and entitlement to grow and stagnation, even regression, to set in.

That’s the challenge primarily for the management, which must make the Springbok setup a place of continuous innovation and stimulation. That requires fresh thinking, new ideas and a resetting of goals.

And even with all those aspects in place, Bok players, especially the two-time Rugby World Cup winners, need to stoke their inner fires to avoid their own motivational softening.

It’s a tough balancing act because many of those players are also ageing, hitting their mid-thirties. Even if their minds are willing, their bodies might not respond as well as hoped. These next few months should provide a clearer picture of the future for the Bok squad heading to RWC 2027 in Australia.

The 2025 season is therefore likely to be a period of intense evolution and strategic recalibration for the Boks.

“Getting the balance between building and continuing to win is the most important thing (in 2025) because the World Cup draw is at the end of the year,” Erasmus said. 

“We will try to build, but if we don’t have momentum, we won’t be able to build in the next Test.

“Our planning must be right for every Test; if you lose a little momentum, you could take one step back before you can take two steps forward.

“We really have our plans pretty much right. However, you never know if a team will come along that will put a stop to them. In that case, you have to plan again from scratch.”

Building blocks and depth assessment

The non-Test against the Barbarians on 28 June at Cape Town Stadium serves as a crucial strategic opportunity for Erasmus.

He has already stated his intent to “play around” with the team, selecting a “pretty steady team” while simultaneously aiming to “blood some guys” at what he expects to be “Test match intensity”.

This approach allows for early experimentation with combinations and provides a platform to reintegrate seasoned players such as lock Lood de Jager, who last played a Test on 15 July 2023.

Following that Barbarians examination, back-to-back Tests against Italy on 5 July Pretoria and 12 July in Gqeberha, followed by a clash against Georgia on 19 July in Nelspruit, offer more scope for tinkering.

Italy and Georgia are ranked 10th and 11th currently and on paper should pose no realistic threat to the Boks on home ground.

Erasmus, though, has naturally warned against complacency. In many ways these Tests will be a crucial indicator of the Boks’ collective mindset. It’s one thing for a group of experienced World Cup winners to motivate themselves for a Test against the All Blacks. It’s another when facing Georgia.

Flat performances in these July Tests might indicate a creeping sense of complacency.

This initial phase of four matches before the 2025 Rugby Championship provides a controlled, slightly less-pressured environment to assess new talent such as Bulls lock Cobus Wiese and Sharks utility back Ethan Hooker while integrating returning veterans.

Rugby Championship and beyond

The intensity of the season escalates significantly with the Rugby Championship.

This phase features a demanding schedule, including two home Tests against Australia, followed by two away clashes against old foes the All Blacks in New Zealand, and concluding with home and away fixtures against Argentina.

This will be the real gauge of squad mentality and the management’s long-term thinking.

It’s possible that Erasmus will employ a similar plan to what he has done in the past by playing a virtual “B” team against Australia in the second Test, while sending an early advance party to New Zealand to prepare for the Eden Park Test against the All Blacks on 6 September.

The difference this year, though, is that there is a two-week gap between the Aussie clash and the first meeting with the All Blacks. That could allow the Boks to be at full strength for both.

Eden Park is a huge match in isolation. The All Blacks have not lost at the fortress since 1994, with 48 wins and two draws in that period. It remains the biggest challenge for the Boks in 2025, simply because of the All Blacks’ record at the venue.

Away Tests against France and Ireland on the November Tour will also be a crucial measurement of the Boks’ progress in 2025.

“This year will be one of our toughest seasons ever, and I want us to win those 15 games and put some guys in that pressure cooker and see what comes out,” Erasmus said.

“It’s nerve-wracking, but a more exciting nerve-wracking feeling than a nervous one.” DM

Fixtures: