Springboks’ 2026 season is already a massive success — so what’s next?

South Africa continues to bask in the afterglow of the Springboks’ 3-1 series victory against the All Blacks – and rightly so.

The Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) Tests were every bit as intense and compelling as the marquee matches of a World Cup or British & Irish Lions tour, and as is the case in those showpiece events, the final result will echo into eternity.

What the Boks achieved in the inaugural series may take decades to fully appreciate. In time, we may view Malcolm Marx’s timely breakdown interventions, the relentless maul that broke the back of the All Blacks’ resistance in the third Test and Kurt-Lee Arendse’s try from the end of the Earth in an entirely new light.

Consider how much the Bok side will change ahead of the next RGR series in 2030.

Rassie Erasmus will remain at the helm until 2031, but decorated veterans such as Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and others currently in their mid-to-late thirties will move on after the 2027 World Cup.

The next series will be a lot tougher to win in New Zealand, and by the time the tour returns to South Africa in 2034, the Bok team will have changed completely, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Ethan Hooker potentially among a handful of survivors from 2026.

The point is that the quadrennial series between rugby’s leading nations matters a great deal, and future generations may reflect on the 2026 fixtures much like we reflect on Morné Steyn’s winning penalty against the Lions in 2009 or Joel Stransky’s iconic drop goal in 1995.

Kolisi’s Boks had a shot at history this season and made it count – and the group has every right to feel it’s a case of job done.

While the Boks are building towards the 2027 World Cup, it’s safe to say that they have already realised their primary objective for the 2026 Test season.

Rest and asset management

Earlier this year, Erasmus spelled out the team’s priorities in no uncertain terms.

The Greatest Rivalry series was the Boks’ most pressing assignment while the 2027 World Cup – and the quest for a third consecutive title – was their long-term goal.

The inaugural Nations Championship, said Erasmus, was simply not as important.

It’s worth revisiting those comments now, following the Boks’ series victory against the All Blacks.

While the result was massive in isolation, the intensity of four back-to-back fixtures may have prepared the Boks for the challenge of four consecutive World Cup playoffs next year.

Recent matches against New Zealand will have taken their toll, of course, and it’s likely that a line will be drawn after the next clash against the Wallabies in Perth on 27 September.

Erasmus intends to give the players a “proper break” thereafter, although he’s yet to clarify whether a group of World Cup probables will be rested for the second phase of the Nations Championship, which will be staged in Europe across four weeks in November.

The move would make a lot of sense for a team bent on winning a third consecutive World Cup title.

After the Nations Championship, the local players will return to their franchises for Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship fixtures, while those based at Japanese and European clubs will head abroad.

In 2027, the club season will be succeeded by an intense Test schedule that includes a full six-match Rugby Championship – as opposed to a truncated format seen in previous World Cup seasons. The global tournament will kick off on 1 October – a month later than usual.

It’s a long season by anyone’s standards, let alone a South African contingent that continues to straddle two hemispheres and competes year-round.

And if Erasmus must choose, he should be forgiven for sacrificing the Nations Championship Tests this November and prioritising the 2027 World Cup.

Ambition in perspective

That’s not to say that the Boks will travel to Italy, France and Ireland without a chance of winning all three matches.

While key players may be rested, a few big names who were surplus to requirements in the recent series against the All Blacks – Handré Pollard, Canan Moodie, Aphelele Fassi and Franco Mostert, to name a few – could receive an extended run.

Erasmus may use these fixtures to see whether international newcomers such as Carlü Sadie and Paul de Villiers are ready to feature at a World Cup and may give other contenders valuable game minutes in a challenging Test environment.

In short, Erasmus will take a powerful side to Europe. Such is the strength of South Africa’s depth that they can afford to leave a few players at home and still expect to win the bulk of their matches on tour.

Bizarrely, the Boks may find themselves in a scenario where they win all of their Nations Championship league matches with a bonus point and still fail to qualify for the grand final in London on 29 November.

The competition has been structured to ensure that the top-placed northern and southern teams meet in the decider, and the Boks are effectively competing against the All Blacks for pole position in the latter conference.

The All Blacks have the easier draw this November and could rack up a superior points difference over the course of their games against Scotland, Wales and England. 

Whether they can overtake the Boks – who will start the next phase with a 30-point advantage – remains to be seen.

Dave Rennie’s side is playing an attacking brand of rugby, but there’s no guarantee they will close the gap on the wet and heavy fields of the UK.

The Boks may have the chance to play for another trophy at Twickenham this November, and their second- and third-choice players may get the opportunity to show their mettle in a knockout fixture.

The tour will give Erasmus plenty of food for thought ahead of the 2027 season, and the ambitious group will be going all out to finish 2026 with more silverware.

If they fall short, however, the 2026 season will remain a groundbreaking success, following the team’s monumental win in the Greatest Rivalry series.

Indeed, anything that the Boks win between now and the start of the next World Cup should be viewed as a bonus.

The quality of the performances may be of greater interest to Erasmus and company as they fine-tune their squad and strategy ahead of a tournament that truly matters. DM