Springboks: Rassie Erasmus’ verdict on Nations Championship clash with England side that is ‘certainly hitting their straps’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus (inset) and the England team singing their anthem.
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus is wary of England after their impressive form at international level in 2025 and expects a tough challenge from them when they meet in the inaugural edition of the Nations Championship later this year.
The Red Rose will go into the 2026 Test campaign in a confident mood as they are currently occupying third position in World Rugby’s official rankings list, behind the Springboks and All Blacks.
This, after England won 11 out of their 12 Tests played in 2025 with their only defeat registered against Ireland in their Six Nations opener in Dublin last year.
Steve Borthwick’s troops then went on an 11-match winning streak which means they finished the year with the best win ratio (92%) of all the Tier One nations, while the world champion Boks were next best after winning 86% of their games.
Prior to their Nations Championship campaign, England will be competing in the Six Nations where they are among the pre-tournament favourites alongside defending champions France.
One of the most eagerly anticipated Tests of the year
However, the Red Rose’s clash with the world champion Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on July 4 in their Nations Championship opener is one of the most eagerly anticipated Tests of the year and Erasmus is wary of his opponents.
Erasmus praised England’s superb form and drew a comparison with the Springboks team from the 1990s – of which he was a part of as a player – who also had an outstanding winning streak which came to an end at Twickenham in 1998.
“England are certainly hitting their straps now and their win record of 11 games is good,” he said. “I remember when we played, we were going for our 17th (18 actually) win in a row, with Nick Mallett (as head coach) it was against England and we lost.
“They’re hitting their straps.”
Erasmus believes the entire game in England has been in a good space for a while now and drew a comparison with Northampton Saints, who earned rich praise from ex-Bulls boss Jake White after an Investec Champions Cup win over his side in 2024, and England’s national team.
“I remember (ex-Bulls coach) Jake White, they played against Northampton and Jake said an interesting thing and I thought why is Jake saying that, but he actually hit the nail on the head. He went into their changing room and said, ‘You guys are really building something special here’.
‘There’s something going in the English team that’s special’
“And Northampton won and they went on to beat Leinster away and you feel that about the England team now. I know Northampton and England are different, but you can see there’s something going in the English team that’s special.
“So, for us to beat them in the first game will certainly (be tough).”
The Boks mentor is not underestimating the Red Rose especially as they will have several matches under the belt by the time the Nations Championship kicks off while it will be the world champions’ first Test of the year.
“They will have the Six Nations before that and maybe they win the Six Nations or maybe they’ve lost a few games there but for us it’s massive,” he said.
“We’re playing England in South Africa, the first game of the Nations Cup (Championship) it’s very important.”
Erasmus revealed that they are planning a warm-up Test in the build-up to the clash with England to give his players some game time ahead of the Nations Championship.
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