The Springboks need to get back to winning ways against the All Blacks in Wellington this coming weekend or risk watching their season unravel.
The Springboks are in danger of possibly seeing their season unravel if they are unable to bounce back from their Eden Park loss and get back to winning ways against the All Blacks in Wellington this coming weekend.
It has been an underwhelming 2025 campaign for the Boks so far, with them arguably only producing two solid performances out of seven games, which is a real worry as they struggle for cohesion, and momentum.
Their opening 54-7 win over the invitational Barbarians, and a 45-0 blank of Italy in the second Test, have been their best efforts, while wins over Italy (in the first Test), Georgia and the Wallabies were unconvincing.
On top of that they have suffered two deserved defeats, against the Wallabies (38-22) at Ellis Park and this past weekend in Auckland (24-17).
Superb 2024
They have already lost the same number of games that they did over a superb 2024 season, which saw them win 11 out of 13, while those two defeats, against Ireland in Durban and Argentina in Santiago del Estero, came by just a solitary point.
After this coming weekend’s encounter the rest of the season doesn’t get any easier, as they take on Argentina in Durban and at Twickenham, to close out the Rugby Championship.
They then head off on a gruelling five week end of year tour that starts at Twickenham against Japan, before taking on France, Italy, Ireland and Wales as they travel through the UK and Europe.
If the Boks can’t produce a big response this week and get back to winning ways, they will put other teams on notice and will be ripe for the picking in their remaining matches.
Argentina would surely be buoyed and fancy themselves another win, while the French and Irish would be eagerly awaiting those games, knowing they have a real chance of securing a win against a big rival.
In all it has been a strange and unconvincing season for the Boks so far, and this coming weekend’s match is vital if they want to stand any chance of retaining their Rugby Championship title.
It is also a perfect opportunity for them to make a major statement, that they are not a team on their way out, and that they are still as dangerous as ever.
All to play for
Coach Rassie Erasmus admitted after the defeat that there was still all to play for and that they may make a few changes to the team for the coming game.
“I know it (the Rugby Championship) can open up next week if we win. So it is going to be a crunch game,” said Erasmus.
“But we will definitely make some changes in our team for the next match. Before this (Eden Park) game we thought we would go with more or less the same team next week, but I think we will make a few changes now.”
Players such as prop Wilco Louw and lock Lood de Jager could be up for a recall to the starting side, after playing off the bench, while it will be interesting to see if hooker Malcolm Marx is still backed after a few poor performances in the lineouts, with Jan-Hendrik Wessels a possible bolter.
The return of eighthman Jasper Wiese from suspension will also be a welcome boost, and he is likely to slot straight back into the starting mix, but that will make for an interesting selection conundrum as Marco van Staden has played well at No 6, while captain Siya Kolisi has covered No 8.
Fullback Damian Willemse could get a look in, and flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu might get a chance to start as well, as possible changes to the backline.
