Bok report card: The boxes Rassie ticked

OPINION: The Springboks have delivered on their promise to win, as well as experiment, during the mid-year block and are well placed to peak in the Rugby Championship.

In the build-up to the Boks’ mid-year Test programme, coach Rassie Erasmus laid out the team’s goals.

Development was prioritised, although Erasmus assured all and sundry that the group’s quest to build wouldn’t compromise their results.

Fast-forward to the present, where the Boks have completed their mid-year programme and have ticked every box.

The results alone make for impressive reading.

The Boks beat the Barbarians 54-7 in Cape Town, Italy 42-24 in Pretoria and 45-0 in Port Elizabeth, and Georgia 55-10 in Nelspruit.

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Overall, the attack racked up 196 points and 28 tries, while the defence limited the opposition to 41 points and five tries.

For context, 21 and three tries were leaked in the latter stages of the first Test against Italy.

It was one of the Boks’ worst second-half displays since Erasmus took the head coach reins in 2018.

In the wake of that leaky performance, the Boks lifted their standards over the next two Tests.

While the numbers make for good reading, there are some areas of concern.

The Boks struggled to control the breakdown for much of the series, while the maul failed to operate at its usual high standards.

Italy mauled the Boks from some 20 metres out to score a memorable try at Loftus Versfeld, while Georgia made a statement after their maul set up the opening score at the Mbombela Stadium last Saturday.

The scrum dominated at times and crumbled at others, while the line-out display was erratic.

Further context is needed, though.

Perfection was never on the cards for the Boks in a block games designated for experimentation.

Erasmus promised to rotate his squad throughout the four matches and made good on his word, using all 46 players that trained with the initial group.

When you break that squad down, you start to understand how Erasmus is building depth across the respective positions and departments, and how he is sharing the workload between rookies and veterans alike.

Jesse Kriel, Salmaan Moerat and Siya Kolisi were given the chance to lead the team over the course of the series – with Kriel becoming the newest Bok captaincy option.

As it stands, seven players in the group have now led the Test side in an official capacity.

Vincent Tshituka, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cobus Wiese, Ethan Hooker, Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouché won their first Test caps, and all seven rookies made a positive impact.

Lood de Jager, Jean-Luc du Preez and Damian Willemse played their first matches for the Boks since 2023, while other veterans such as Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese returned to play after lengthy injury lay-offs.

Before the series, Erasmus highlighted his intention to give most of the players two matches throughout the four-game block, and to manage their game minutes carefully.

In the end, 39 of the 46 players played two or more matches.

Overall, no forward played more than 170 minutes, while no back played more than 250.

There was no clear ‘A’ or ‘B’ team selected across the matches. as Erasmus shuffled his starting lineups as well as his Bomb Squad formations on a weekly basis.

With regards to the latter, Erasmus favoured a 6-2 split between forwards and backs for the first two matches and a 5-3 formation for the next two.

Hybrid player André Esterhuizen was unleashed on the flank against the Barbarians, while Erasmus introduced a couple of trick plays against Italy in Port Elizabeth.

The deliberate infringement at the first kickoff got the rugby world talking, as did the midfield line-out moves later in the game.

While the kickoff may have served as a message to the game’s custodians and lawmakers, the midfield manoeuvres spoke for themselves, producing two excellent tries.

With regards to approach, the Boks switched between an expansive and more pragmatic strategy throughout the series.

The kick-chase was perhaps the most consistent and impressive aspect of their game, and it would have pleased Erasmus to see one of the rookies, wing Edwill van der Merwe, contesting and often winning the aerial battle, much like his more experienced teammates, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse.

All in all, it was a hugely successful campaign – and one that will lay the platform for the more challenging Rugby Championship to come, and the end-of-year fixtures against France and Ireland.

Erasmus used 35 players during the 2024 Rugby Championship, and may use a similar number of players in the coming six-game campaign.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Erasmus splitting his squad, with the first-choice combination travelling to New Zealand for the all-important Tests against the All Blacks.

If other mid-year results are anything to go by, it promises to be another closely contested tournament.

Over in New Zealand, the All Blacks were always expected to beat an understrength France side 3-0.

While Scott Robertson’s side achieved that goal, questions about the team’s approach and depth in certain positions continue to persist.

Argentina, arguably the most improved nation of the past few years, have had an inconsistent start to the season, beating the B&I Lions in Dublin before losing back-to-back Tests to a weakened England at home.

The Wallabies scraped past Fiji before losing 19-27 in the series-opener against the British & Irish Lions in Brisbane.

Joe Schmidt’s side may extend their streak from one to five in the coming weeks, if they lose all three Tests against the B&I Lions as well as the Rugby Championship double-header in South Africa.

The complexion of the latter series could change, of course, if the Wallabies fight back to beat or draw with the Lions.

Either way, Erasmus will be satisfied with the answers he received in the recent fixtures.

The Bok group will have four weeks to fine-tune their plans, before hosting the Wallabies in Johannesburg on 16 August.

@rugby365com