Changes among the teams outside the top six will determine who the Boks are drawn against for the next edition of the global showpiece.
After a successful defence of their Rugby Championship title for the first time in their history, the Springboks will keep a wary eye on the World Rugby rankings ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw in early December.
The Boks were made to work hard to retain their title, eventually managing to do it on points difference, after finishing level with the All Blacks at the end of the tournament.
It was an up and down competition that saw the Boks lose two of their first four games, before closing out with two contrasting wins over Argentina, a 67-30 hammering in Durban, and a tight 29-27 result last weekend at Twickenham.
Their two losses, a shock 38-22 defeat against the Wallabies at Ellis Park and a 24-17 defeat to the All Blacks at their fortress Eden Park, saw the Boks yoyo on the World Rugby rankings, dropping as low as third, but eventually ending the competition back on top.
The Boks won’t be worried about their own ranking, as they will finish within the top six by the end of the November internationals, and most likely in the top four, with themselves, the All Blacks, Ireland and France able to swap places depending on their results.
But it is the teams outside of the top six that they will need to keep an eye on, as they will be drawn to face them in the showpiece event in Australia.
The 24 teams taking part in the tournament are ranked from one to 24, and put into four bands of six based on those rankings, with one team from each band drawn to make the six pools of four teams.
Top six
The current top six are the Springboks, All Blacks, Ireland, France, England and Argentina, while the current six that will be in the second band are Australia, Scotland, Fiji, Italy, Georgia and Wales.
That means the Boks would currently be drawn alongside the Wallabies, Scotland, or Wales, but those rankings will most likely change during the November internationals, with the Australia and the Scots possibly able to force their way into the top six band if they pick up some good wins.
Speaking after their tight win over Los Pumas to defend their Rugby Championship title, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus felt they were well placed ahead of the draw, but they faced a tough end-of-year tour to maintain their spot at the top.
“I’m satisfied with the result and winning the Rugby Championship back-to-back. This was a massive game for us, and although it was a far from perfect performance, I would prefer to see us learn while we are winning rather than losing,” explained Erasmus.
“We are still in a good position for the World Cup draw, but there’s no doubt we have five tough matches ahead (in November) and a lot of work to do.”
The Boks will face Japan at Twickenham, France in Paris, Italy in La Nucia, Ireland in Dublin and Wales in Cardiff, over their end of season run next month.
