Boks to 'pick their battles' to avoid being punch drunk
REACTION: South Africa is willing to ‘take a few shots’ on their way to winning an unprecedented third successive World Cup.
This is the brutally frank revelation by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, after the 2027 World Cup draw was made this week.
The draw revealed that hosts Australia will face a blockbuster group clash with New Zealand, with the defending champions, South Africa, pitted with Italy.
The four-time champion Boks will also play Georgia and Romania in Pool B at the six-week showpiece from October 1 to November 13, featuring a bumper 24 teams and 52 games.
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Erasmus was at pains to downplay his side’s early ‘favourites’ status, pointing out that the world rankings and team form could change dramatically in the next 18 months.
The Boks just completed an unbeaten run on their year-end safari, after retaining their Rugby Championship crown and taking an eight-match unbeaten streak into the new year.
In 2026, the Springboks will have no ‘soft touches’ like this year, which included Georgia and an understrength Wales, while Italy also put up only token resistance in the three Tests against the Boks.
Wales and Italy will be back for more next year.
South Africa hosts England, Scotland and Wales on consecutive weekends in July.
This is followed by rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, an alternating quadrennial tour between South Africa and New Zealand. In the tour’s maiden year, South Africa will host New Zealand in August and September 2026.
Ellis Park (Johannesburg), Cape Town Stadium (Cape Town), and Soccer City (Soweto) are confirmed as South African Test venues, preceding a landmark fourth Test hosted at a neutral international venue.
Details of the fourth Springbok versus All Blacks Test is to be confirmed.
In November 2026, the Boks travel north to face Italy, France and Ireland, all three teams that took a beating from the Boks on the just-completed year-end tour.
Erasmus said he would not mind having high-profile opposition in the pool stages, as they did with Ireland and Scotland in 2023.
Potentially meeting New Zealand earlier in the play-offs also doesn’t matter much, as they have played them twice this year and will meet them four times in the Greatest Rivalry series next year.
“We will be really used to each other, and you will have three [World Cup] pool matches to also assess them,” the Bok coach said.
Turning to his plans for the 2026 campaign, he admitted that focusing on the new Nations Cup may not be as high on their list of ‘priorities’ as the World Cup and the Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.
(Rassie Erasmus explains why Boks are shifting their focus to ’27 RWC….)
“You want to try and win every game,” Erasmus said, adding: “Will it be the end of the world if you don’t win the Nations Cup and lost a game here and there?
“My head is that we should not chase the Nations Cup and risk not being ready for 2027.
“The World Cup is 18 months out, and we must start focusing on [winning] the Webb Ellis Cup.”
The Bok coach admitted it will be a ‘difficult’ balancing act to start looking ahead to ’27, while trying to win the Greatest Rivalry next year.
“The moment you try to win every game, with the Nations Cup effectively a Tier One World Cup, you want to avoid being punch drunk next year, November and December,” Erasmus said.
“You want to ensure the players you want to select for the next year [’27] can win.
“We won’t be taking any game lightly, but we will be willing to take a few shots and roll the dice.
“World rankings are not important next year, and we would rather be ready for the World Cup.
“The Greatest Rivalry [series against the All Blacks] is massive for us.”
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