Coach Rassie Erasmus says winning remains the Springboks’ primary objective despite the ongoing drive to build depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
The Boks will kick off their 2026 campaign against the Barbarians in Gqeberha next Saturday, with South Africa A taking on Zimbabwe in the curtain-raiser.
The world champions then host England, Wales and Scotland in July in the new Nations Championship.
Erasmus said maintaining momentum was non-negotiable for the Boks, even as they introduce new blood into the system.
“If you don’t keep winning, you lose momentum,” he said. “You lose momentum with supporters, within the squad and around the Springboks. Winning will always remain our priority.
“We’d love to go unbeaten,” he added. “Like the last year and the previous year when we tried to go unbeaten, but lost one, two or three matches.
“So we will always try to achieve that. That is our mindset.”
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While Erasmus has used the past two seasons to expose new players to Test rugby, he believes the focus is now shifting towards refining combinations and ensuring the squad is ready for Australia 2027.
“We’ve got a pretty good idea of the players who can take us to the World Cup,” he said. “But there are some players who need more game time because we believe they could become important for us.
“We’ll have to get more game time into some guys who don’t have enough caps, for if we need them at the World Cup.”
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Erasmus said next Saturday’s matches against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe will provide opportunities for fringe players and youngsters to stake their claims, before the international season begins in earnest.
“The goal is to get game time into players who haven’t played for a while and help young players settle into the environment,” he explained. “We want them to understand how we do things and become comfortable in the system.”
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The Bok coach said success in those matches would not simply be measured by the scoreboard.
“We want to see the things we’ve been training actually happen on the field. We want players to execute the game plan and grow in confidence.”
Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
The post ‘Winning will always remain our priority’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Coach Rassie Erasmus says winning remains the Springboks’ primary objective despite the ongoing drive to build depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
The post ‘Winning will always remain our priority’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
