State of the Nation: Rassie Erasmus left with ‘plenty to smile about’ as Springboks cement status as world’s best team

David Skippers 16 Dec 2025 3:27 PM

Rassie Erasmus and Malcolm Marx image — Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and star hooker Malcolm Marx (inset).

Following the conclusion of the 2025 Autumn Nations Series, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it’s Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks.

The world champions came into their end-of-year campaign in a confident mood after another impressive Rugby Championship campaign in which they won the prestigious southern hemisphere competition for the second successive year.

There were some hiccups in that tournament as the Boks suffered defeats against the All Blacks and Wallabies at Eden Park and Ellis Park respectively. However, those results were mere blips on the world champions’ impressive record as they headed into their end-of-year tour in a confident mood.

The Springboks’ Autumn Nations Series campaign kicked off against Japan at Wembley Stadium in London before they headed to Paris to take on France and that eagerly anticipated encounter was followed by further Tests against Italy in Turin, Ireland in Dublin and Wales in Cardiff.

Although things did not always go their way, as there was plenty of drama in the aforementioned fixtures, the tour was a great success as they were victorious in all five Tests and their brilliance saw them reaping the rewards in the end.

That meant they finished the year on a high as the top ranked side in World Rugby’s official rankings and the scary thing about them is that they are still a work in progress and if they continue on their current upward trajectory, they stand a good chance of being crowned Rugby World Cup champions for a third successive time in Australia in 2027.

Autumn Nations Series summary

The Springboks made a statement of intent in their opening encounter against Japan as they delivered a dominant all-round performance en route to a comfortable 61-7 victory.

As the scoreline suggests, it was one-way traffic as the Boks outscored the Brave Blossoms by nine tries to one and that set them up nicely for their clash with Les Bleus.

That Test was viewed as a grudge match by the home side as it was the first time the sides would face off since their 2023 Rugby World Cup final, which South Africa won by one point.

The clash at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a straight red card to Boks lock Lood de Jager for a shoulder-to-head hit on France full-back Thomas Ramos late in the first half.

Despite that setback, the Boks adapted brilliantly and dominated proceedings despite their numerical disadvantage and eventually cruised to a deserved 32-17 victory with Cobus Reinach, Andre Esterhuizen, Grant Williams and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu all crossing the whitewash as the Boks outscored their hosts by four tries to two.

It was a similar story against the Azzurri the following weekend as, once again, the Boks were reduced to 14 men after another experienced lock, Franco Mostert, also received a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Italy fly-half Paolo Garbisi.

The difference this time was that he received his marching orders in the 11th minute but the Boks kept their composure again and ran out 32-14 winners with Marco van Staden, Morne van den Berg, Williams and Ethan Hooker scoring tries.

That set up a tough challenge against Ireland, who they had not beaten in Dublin since 2012, but the Boks put in a superb performance with their dominant scrum laying the groundwork to a 24-13 triumph.

The Irish had no answer for the Boks’ excellent scrummaging which saw them rewarded with a penalty try while Damian Willemse and Reinach also dotted down.

The world champions finished their tour in style with an emphatic 73-0 over Wales which underlined their squad depth – as Erasmus was without several first choice due to the Test falling outside World Rugby’s international window – and their status as the world’s best team.

Despite a controversial ending to that match after Eben Etzebeth was red carded in the game’s dying moments, Erasmus had plenty to smile about as the Boks ended the year on a win rate of 86% as they won 12 out of 14 Tests in 2025.

Standout players

During such a splendid year in the international arena, there have been numerous players who have come to the fore with outstanding individual performances and to single them out would be unfair to the others.

However, what can not be ignored is how experienced Boks hooker Malcolm Marx has performed in green and gold this year.

Marx’s efforts were rewarded when he was crowned World Rugby Player of the Year and that was a deserved award as the experienced hooker was at the forefront of the Boks’ forward onslaught throughout the year.

His ball carrying ability gave his side good momentum while he was also a menace at the breakdown, where he did well to slow down the ball for his opponents and won some crucial turnovers.

Springboks legend offers proposal to World Rugby after talk of Six Nations and Rugby Championship alignment

Other players who also caught the eye was fellow World Rugby Player of the Year award nominee Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jasper Wiese and Ruan Nortje amongst the forwards, while Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Reinach and Willemse led the charge amongst the backs.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu is now firmly entrenched as the Boks’ first choice number 10 as he started in four of their five Autumn Nations Series Tests and his half-back partnership with Reinach was one of the world champions’ undoubted strengths as they combined brilliantly on attack.

Another player who deserves a special mention is Andre Esterhuizen, who Erasmus has converted into a hybrid player, and he brought great physicality off the bench in key matches against France and Ireland whether he packed down on the flank in the forward exchanges or launched attacks from inside centre in the backline.

Stat leaders

After cementing himself as the Boks’ first choice number 10, it’s not surprising that Feinberg-Mngomezulu was amongst the leading players in the game in several categories in 2025.

The 23-year-old finished in joint third place – alongside New Zealand’s Will Jordan and Fiji’s Kalaveti Ravouvou – for tries scored with seven five-pointers from his 10 Tests played.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu also scored the fourth most points (92), was sixth highest for defenders beaten (36) and finished in 10th spot for metres gained (766) during the season.

Meanwhile, fellow Boks fly-half Handre Pollard had the third best goal-kicking accuracy for the year (95,5%) and lock RG Snyman finished in the same position for offloads made (15) from five and 10 matches played respectively.

Success story

While there were plenty of positives for the Springboks during this year, the one thing which would have pleased Erasmus during the Autumn Nations Series is how his players have adapted to their altered game-plan and still win matches and in most cases even dominate their opponents in the process.

Since being crowned 2023 Rugby World Cup champions, Erasmus has added former All Blacks fly-half Tony Brown to his coaching staff as their attack coach and that has proven to be a masterstroke from the Boks mentor.

While the world champions’ attack has come on in leaps and bounds, they have not diverted much from their core strength which is their outstanding physicality, especially from their forwards, which still sets an excellent platform from which their backline can launch attacks.

However, whereas in the past, the Boks persisted with a pragmatic style of play where their fly-halves would usually give them momentum with an excellent kicking game, they now have the ability to unleash X-factor backline players like Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cheslin Kolbe, Willemse, who all can change the course of matches with their brilliant skill-sets.

In the past, it used to be that opponents knew what was coming from the Boks but due to their improvement on attack, the new-look world champions now possess an unpredictability which no side managed to get the better of during the Autumn Nations Series.

Main regret

It’s fair to say there were few negatives for the world champions during this year and while Erasmus and his troops can be happy with all their performances during the Autumn Nations Series, their final match against Wales ended on a sour note and there will be plenty of regret in their ranks, particularly from Etzebeth.

With the match well and truly in the bag as South Africa held a commanding 73-0 lead, a scuffle broke out between the most capped Springbok of all time and Wales back-row Alex Mann in the 78th minute of the match.

Television replays subsequently revealed that Etzebeth had eye-gouged his opponent during the fracas.

It was not a good look for the 142-cap international and referee Luc Ramos had no hesitation in issuing a straight red card to the Boks’ legendary second-row.

Etzebeth then appeared before a World Rugby disciplinary committee who found him guilty of foul play and he received a 12-week suspension.

Although his punishment means he will only miss matches at club level for the Sharks and none for the Boks, that indiscretion took a lot of gloss off the result as well as the world champions’ successful tour.