Rassie Erasmus ‘up for’ potential England Test with World Cup heavyweights on collision course for final

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus admits he would be open to facing England in a stand-alone Test ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The two sides are scheduled to face each other in the opening round of next year’s inaugural Nations Championship, but that is currently the only pencilled-in fixture between the teams before the tournament down under.

Both teams have enjoyed strong 2025 seasons, with England losing just one of their 12 Tests across the calendar year, while the Boks have lost just two of their 14 as well.

‘We will be all up for it’

The Springboks have already confirmed the majority of their 2026 Test schedule, with the inaugural Nations Championship seeing them face England, Scotland and Wales on home soil, before welcoming the All Blacks to South Africa for a three-Test series during the ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour – with a fourth game also confirmed for September on neutral ground.

They will then venture north to face Italy, France and Ireland on back-to-back weekends in next November’s Nations Championship fixtures, before a potential Finals date at the end of that month.

But, Erasmus has hinted at a possible extra Test against the team ranked third in the world, in a similar vein to how they faced Japan in a stand-alone Test at Wembley last month.

“We’ve got a pretty full year next year. We’re playing them next up,” said the Springboks boss.

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“If we can squeeze in another Test match before the end of the year tour as a friendly, as we do with other teams, we will be all up for it.

“If we can do another one before we go into the autumn series, we always need a Test match before the end-of-year tour. So maybe Charles [Wessels, Springboks General Manager] and they must get on the line and see if they can organise that for us.”

Should the fixture go ahead as hoped, it could serve as a true measuring stick for both sides, with them primed for a possible meeting in the 2027 World Cup Final following Wednesday’s draw.

The Boks have had the better of England in their recent outings against each other, with them winning four of the past five meetings between the sides – a run which includes the 2019 World Cup Final and 2023 World Cup semi-final.

‘We know we have to make sure we get our preparation right’

Despite that unwanted record against South Africa, England head into the 2027 tournament among the leading contenders for the title, with some even pitching them as the main speedbump in the Boks’ hopes of a three-peat, and skipper Maro Itoje has already laid down the gauntlet to his side following this week’s draw.

“That’s definitely our goal, that’s our aim, that’s our objective,” he said on his side’s title aspirations for two years time. “But to do that, we know we have to make sure we get our preparation right, and the next two years leading up to the World Cup is massive.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, so we need to build throughout time and make sure that we are tracking in the right direction.”

“It comes down to big moments and how accurate and clinical we can be in those big moments. The progression of this team is that you can see us taking advantage of those big moments more and more, and want to build on that and make sure by the time we get to 2027 when those big moments come.”

Borthwick’s side will begin their campaign with pool stage fixtures against Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe, and are unlikely to face heavyweights South Africa, New Zealand, France and Ireland before the Final – should they reach that stage.

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