The Springboks started and finished 2025 as the world’s number one-ranked side and their extraordinary depth and monstrous scrum suggest they will be the team to beat at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The Boks retained the Rugby Championship title, inflicted a record Test defeat on old foes New Zealand, completed comprehensive wins in France and Ireland, and racked up a record score against ailing Wales in Cardiff. It was not a perfect 12 months, however, with a second-half capitulation at Ellis Park against Australia, who claimed a rare win in Johannesburg, and a poor performance in defeat by New Zealand as they failed to break an 88-year Auckland hoodoo at Eden Park.
But having used over 50 players in 2025 South Africa managed to win 12 of their 14 Tests, most easily, all the while bedding in a more expansive playing style under attack coach Tony Brown that secured a historic 43-10 win in Wellington over the All Blacks. 🗣️ “Siya and the seniors, they’re hard workers.. We owe them a lot for what they’ve done for the country.”Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu caught up with@MattP555after the Springboks celebrated winning#TheRugbyChampionship🏆Full reactions available on YouTube 🇿🇦pic.twitter.com/M2gERjC5b0 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu emerged as the new star, racking up the most tries ever by a Springbok flyhalf with nine between September and November alone, surpassing Morne Steyn and Handre Pollard.
It was the continued evolution of their scrum, however, no matter who made up the forward pack, that will sound alarm bells for rivals. When the Springboks needed a penalty, the set-piece almost always delivered. Hooker Malcolm Marx won World Rugby Player of the Year, though loosehead prop Ox Nché was their most potent scrummager and but for an injury in the second half of the season might well have won that award.
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South Africa captain Siya Kolisi on his side becoming the first Springbok team to win back-to-back Rugby Championships 🗣️pic.twitter.com/n5HRP2iKKH The way the Springboks dismantled the Ireland scrum in Dublin was one of the most powerful performances ever seen in the Test arena. Having tied coach Rassie Erasmus down to a new contract until 2031, plenty of international rivals will have sleepless nights on how to counter the Springboks’ power at the next two World Cups. France won the 2025 Six Nations Championship but had a mixed 12 months having sent a weakened team on a three-match tour of New Zealand that ended in a 3-0 defeat.
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