Six season-defining matches in 2025
It was an intriguing, fascinating and engaging year.
No Tier One country stayed unbeaten, even though South Africa dominated the landscape and finished three points clear at the top of the world rankings.
Looking back at the year, some matches stand out for me because of the significance of their results.
Italian women 24-29 South African women
(Sunday, August 31 – York Community Stadium)
Not only did South Africa beat Italy for the first time, but they advanced to their first World Cup quarterfinal with a win that reverberated around the world.
Yes, there was an amazing first-half performance to keep the mighty New Zealand to a 10-all half-time score in the quarterfinal (eventually losing 17-46), but the win in York sent a strong message to the rest of the rugby-playing nations.
South Africa’s women finally arrived on the main stage!
In an emotional and dramatic ending to the thrilling match at the York Community Stadium, a truly roller-coaster ride, Libbie Janse van Rensburg’s goalline drop-out that bounced into touch to end the match was as iconic as Sinazo Mcatshulwa’s match-winning score in the 75th minute.
South Africa were on the front foot straight from the kick-off, scoring two tries, first off the back of the first of several dominant scrums, then through a slick backs move down the left after turning the ball over in the middle of the pitch.
A Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi try secured their first points after a period of sustained pressure, but after another powerful scrum in centrefield, wing Ayanda Malinga secured South Africa’s lead with a try in the corner.
Back came Italy again. First, a clever line-out move resulted in hooker Vittoria Vecchini scoring a try before half-time. Then, after the break, Vecchini turned provider, her inside pass putting Francesca Sgorbini over the tryline to make it 17-17.
Yonela Ngxingolo (South Africa) and Sara Seye (Italy) exchanged short-range tries to make it 24-24. But with six minutes to go, openside flanker Sinazo Mcatshulwa touched down after a series of pick-and-goes to put South Africa into their first Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
Libbie Janse van Rensburg was named Player of the Match, as she controlled the match from flyhalf, allowing South Africa to blend their power game with threats out wide.
(Continue below ….)
South Africa 22-38 Australia
(Saturday, August 16 – Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
A bad day at the office!
As clichéd as that sounds, it was one of the worst Springbok performances since Rassie Erasmus returned to South Africa to take charge of the Springboks in 2018.
But let’s not understate and disparage the Wallabies’ performance, their first win at the once iconic Ellis Park in 60-odd years.
The Wallabies produced arguably their finest comeback in the professional era to defeat the Springboks in Johannesburg.
Down 0-22 after 18 minutes, the Australians were all at sea against a rampant Springboks side.
However, the Australians rallied and crossed for 38 unanswered points, also recording their first win in South Africa in over a decade.
It was their first victory at Ellis Park in 62 years, with Harry Wilson crossing for a double.
Flank Fraser McReight was immense with several turnovers as a deserving player of the match, typifying the Wallabies’ fight in defence.
The performance harmed the reputation of some Boks, and while Erasmus will not say it publicly, it is significant that Manie Libbok has not started a Test since.
The 28-year-old came off the bench in seven subsequent Tests, including the wins over New Zealand in Wellington, France in Paris and Ireland in Dublin.
Bomb Squad member does have a nice ring to it.
France 17-32 South Africa
(Saturday, November 8 – Stade de France, Paris)
It was hyped as a ‘revenge match’ by the French media, but the Springboks marked the 100th Test match of iconic skipper Siya Kolisi in fitting fashion.
The marketing ‘gurus’ that used the ‘payback’ tag did not account for the absence of key players like Matthieu Jalibert, captain fantastic Antoine Dupont, Uini Atonio, Peato Mauvaka and Cyril Baille.
Nolann Le Garrec (No.9) and Romain Ntamack (No.10) just did not have the same control as Jalibert and Dupont had two years earlier at the same venue.
South Africa was also galvanised by a red card to Lood de Jager to silence the Stade de France crowd once again with a scintillating victory against Les Bleus.
France struck first in the match with a moment of classic flair after just seven minutes, Damian Penaud finishing in classic style.
France’s discipline wavered midway through the first half, conceding penalties that allowed Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to reduce the gap to one point.
The Springboks’ scrum also flexed its collective muscles.
The hosts extended their lead on 25 minutes with a second try for Penaud.
South Africa hit back with a stunning solo effort from scrumhalf Cobus Reinach.
Spotting space near halfway under penalty advantage, he accelerated through a gap, chipped over the last defender, and regathered to score under pressure. Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to make it 14-13 and swing momentum back towards the visitors.
Just as the Springboks looked poised to take the lead from a penalty, the TMO intervened to review lock Lood de Jager’s tackle on fullback Thomas Ramos. After a lengthy discussion, referee Angus Gardner deemed it met the red-card threshold.
South Africa would play the remainder with 14 men – a huge moment in such a tightly-fought contest.
The hosts struck first after the restart, with Ramos slotting a penalty on 58 minutes to stretch France’s advantage to 17-13.
At that stage, with the extra man and home crowd behind them, Les Bleus looked poised to push on.
However, South Africa had other ideas.
They were simply sensational and clinical in executing those ideas.
The momentum shifted dramatically from the hour mark. A high tackle penalty allowed Manie Libbok, on at flyhalf, to kick deep into French territory. From the resulting maul, the Springboks powered over through Andre Esterhuizen, the centre operating as a makeshift back row forward in his now famous hybrid role.
South Africa had the lead for the first time at 18-17.
France’s hopes suffered another blow when wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on near his own line. The Springboks capitalised ruthlessly.
Replacement scrumhalf Grant Williams darted through from close range after a dummy, scoring under the posts to make it 25-17 with eight minutes remaining.
With France back to 15, South Africa refused to settle. Their scrum dominance earned another penalty deep in French territory, and from sustained pressure, Feinberg-Mngomezulu swept wide to finish in the corner. The conversion was good, and the Springboks closed out a remarkable 32-17 triumph.
Ireland 13-24 South Africa
(Saturday, November 22 – Lansdowne Road, Dublin)
The Springboks’ dominance was captured in the disciplinary statistics.
Ireland conceded 19 penalties and four yellow cards (it should have been five), the James Ryan yellow was upgraded to red for 20 minutes.
They missed 20 tackles, but most significantly was the Boks’ set-piece dominance.
There were numerous scrum penalties and two yellow cards for repeatedly collapsing the set piece. It should have been three, as the penalty try on the stroke of half-time should also have been a yellow card.
The Springboks won six scrum penalties, including one that resulted in that penalty try, not to mention the numerous scrum resets before the referee ran out of patience.
An hour-long first-half ends with a Springboks penalty try and Ireland down to 12 players ??
Boos ring out around the stadium as the teams head off.
It’s all happening in Dublin! ?? pic.twitter.com/PqQRhiqNpU
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 22, 2025
The annihilation was of such a nature that South Africa earned their first win away to Ireland in 13 years with a dominant scrummaging performance in a pulsating Nations Series clash in Dublin.
Unlike most nations, Ireland has had a strong recent record against South Africa and has beaten them three times in the past three years.
They started impressively, with a couple of miss-passes and a Sam Prendergast misstep in the first minute, helping to whip up a raucous home crowd.
However, the Springboks were in a ruthless mood and raced into a 12-0 lead on the half-hour mark.
They never conceded that lead.
Tadhg Beirne had his try rubbed out when the TMO spotted an illegal clear-out from James Ryan. In a double-whammy, the try was ruled out, and Ryan was sent to the sin-bin, which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
The Springboks then laid siege to the Ireland line, with a series of relentless scrums that continually resulted in penalties.
To make it worse for Ireland, Prendergast was sin-binned for repeat team infringements to leave them with 13 men.
Remarkably, Ireland were down to 12 men at one stage, as Jack Crowley, on as a HIA replacement for O’Brien, was sin-binned for cynical play in the ruck.
Ireland was restored to 13 men, but Andrew Porter then became the fourth Irishman to receive a card after a scrum penalty just two minutes later, to put them back down to 12.
The most influential player was veteran Bok hooker Malcolm Marx, named Man of the Match and later also won the World Rugby Player of the Year award.
England 33-19 New Zealand
(Saturday, November 15 – Twickenham Stadium, London)
England, the most improved team of the year, recorded 10 wins in a row with a magnificent victory against the All Blacks in London.
It became 11 consecutive victories for the year, when they beat Argentina a week later.
However, the win against the All Blacks was a true reflection of England’s potential.
It was a classic come-from-behind show and as emphatic a win as they come.
New Zealand raced into a 12-0 lead in the opening quarter, with Leicester Fainga’anuku and Codie Taylor powering over, with Beauden Barrett converting one.
The home side broke through on the half-hour mark, when Ollie Lawrence crashed over after sustained pressure, reducing the deficit to 5-12. England’s intensity grew, and George Ford seized the moment late in the half with two impressively well-struck drop-goals to bring England within a point at the break.
Ironically, it was a Codie Taylor yellow carded early in the second half that saw England take control.
Tries by Sam Underhill and Fraser Dingwall, with Ford converting both for a 25-12 lead.
The All Blacks finally broke their scoring drought after 48 minutes without points, when fullback Damian McKenzie sent wing Will Jordan over untouched for his 45th Test try, reducing the gap to 25-19 after McKenzie’s conversion.
England were briefly down to 14 men when Earl was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements, but the home side held firm.
Ford’s composure proved decisive in the closing stages. The Sale Sharks man landed a crucial penalty on 76 minutes to restore a two-score cushion at 28-19. Then, with three minutes remaining, replacement back row Henry Pollock hacked a loose ball forward twice before Roebuck gathered and finished in the corner for the try he had threatened to score all match.
England can look back on an impressive 2025, especially the statement win over the All Blacks – their first at Twickenham since 2012 – underlined a growing composure as they recovered from that opening loss in the Six Nations.
New Zealand 10-43 South Africa
(Saturday, September 13 – Wellington Regional Stadium)
The game of the year.
No, not because South Africa won.
It showed that Tony Brown’s influence on the Springboks is beginning to pay dividends.
South Africa showed a frightening potential vision of their future with a dominant display, especially in the second half, with a five-try rout.
It was a performance to match the occasion when the 1937 Springboks inflicted what is commonly referred to as the worst loss suffered by the All Blacks, who were beaten 17-6 in a result that caused long ructions in the New Zealand game.
Siya Kolisi’s men’s victory is the heaviest loss suffered by the All Blacks, and with their 36 unanswered second-half points, they outdid the 2023 35-7 pre-World Cup thumping in London.
What enhanced the effort was the loss of match personnel to injuries that did nothing to upset the rhythm of the visitors, who coped confidently, whereas the All Blacks were unable to take any advantage in a limp response.
Building on their traditional dominance in the air with their kicking game, the Springboks infused their performance with some outstanding running play marshalled in consistent style by centre Damian Willemse. He toyed with the All Blacks, putting kicks behind them with uncanny accuracy, and encouraging the talent alongside him to take their chances.
The pack was also outstanding, powering their scrum to advantage while No.8 Jasper Wiese made an outstanding return to Test rugby in cahoots with flank Pieter-Steph du Toit, and locks Ruan Nortje and replacement RG Snyman.
None of their tries was better demonstrated than Kwagga Smith’s 68th minute try that began when debut South African wing Ethan Hooker ran a kick back with an unerring run that took him well into New Zealand’s half and in the resulting play, the replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok put a cross-kick in that found flank Pieter Steph du Toit and while he was grounded, he got a pass to Smith who scored.
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