Rassie's forward planning will tee Boks up for next two World Cups

OPINION: Current squad selections show how the Springboks have bolstered their young player stocks with a view to peaking in 2027 and beyond.

What do Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Aphelele Fassi, Grant Williams, Elrigh Louw, Phepsi Buthelezi, Ruan Nortjé, Thomas du Toit, Ntuthuko Mchunu, André-Hugo Venter and JJ Kotze all have in common?

Four years ago, they represented South Africa ‘A’ in matches against Munster and Bristol Bears on the Springboks’ tour to Europe.

While SA ‘A’ lost both matches, the exercise was declared a resounding success.

The Bok coaches learned a great deal about the fringe players, and how they might feature in the next World Cup cycle.

Since then, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has emerged as the Boks’ first-choice flyhalf during an era of unprecedented success for the national team.

Williams, Fassi, Louw, Nortjé and Du Toit have moved up the pecking order – with Nortjé and Du Toit among the regular starters for the Boks across the 2025 Test season.

Younger players like Buthelezi, Mchunu, Venter and Kotze are still in the wider squad – and could feature for SA ‘A’ this Saturday, when the second-string outfit makes its return against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha.

Some among that group may even go on to play against England, Scotland and Wales next month.

While it may not have been obvious in late 2022, Erasmus always had a plan for those fringe players, as well as a plan for bolstering South Africa’s depth.

With that in mind, one wonders how we might reflect on the current squad and the 2026 Test season in four or five years’ time.

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BIGGER PICTURE

The Boks will have the chance to add two new titles to their tally – the Nations Championship and Greatest Rivalry series – in the coming months.

Furthermore, Erasmus’ charges could become the first team in history to win three World Cups in a row when they travel to Australia in 2027.

There’s still a lot of rugby to be played, but they certainly have the players to push for those titles and to succeed in the World Cup cycle that follows.

Let’s consider who Erasmus and company have identified since the start of the 2024 season.

52 players are currently in camp, and a dozen more may join the group after the Bulls fulfil their United Rugby Championship obligations in Dublin this Friday.

A few others who attended previous alignment camps have been omitted, but may return down the line.

Several Europe-based stars could join the squad later this month once they have been released from their respective clubs.

As many as 17 players are unavailable due to serious injuries.

All told, it’s a group in excess of 100 players.

Erasmus should have a good idea about who will feature in the 33-man group at the World Cup next year.

And given his attempts to blood new players in 2024 (12) and 2025 (8), the Boks are well placed to field a team that boasts the necessary balance between youth and experience.

Perhaps a few more youngsters will shoot the lights out and earn a place in the 2027 World Cup squad.

Frans Steyn was a relatively late inclusion ahead of the 2007 tournament, as was Herschel Jantjies in the lead-up to the 2019 showpiece.

That said, Erasmus has to ensure that the youngsters who have already been exposed in past seasons receive sufficient opportunities to develop and grow over the next few months.

It may be easy to forget, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Cameron Hanekom, as well as a few others, are 25 or younger and at the start of their Test careers.

When one considers who has been used and what’s available across the respective age profiles, one cannot help but believe that the Boks are in a great position to push for more silverware in the years to come.

What’s more, the decision to include a clutch of Junior Boks in the current squad could have short-and long-term benefits.

MORE OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Coach Kevin Foote has done an excellent job in preparing his charges for the upcoming World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia.

The Junior Boks won the trophy in Italy last year and claimed the Under-20 Rugby Championship title this past May.

Some of those players will head to the global U20 tournament after working with Erasmus, Mzwandile Stick, Tony Brown and the rest of the senior coaching team.

There’s no doubt they will have learned something new – and after representing SA ‘A’ against Zimbabwe this weekend, they will have reason to believe that they can follow in the footsteps of Feinberg-Mngomezulu and others further down the line.

Over the past week, Erasmus has spoken about “capturing” these younger players by selecting them for SA ‘A’.

With more young stars remaining in South Africa instead of travelling abroad to qualify for another nation, the Boks, as well as the franchises, will benefit, and the country’s strength in depth should be bolstered.

Everyone’s talking about the Nations Championship, the Greatest Rivalry series and the 2027 World Cup – and those campaigns will receive due attention.

At the same time, Erasmus will know that with good planning, South African rugby will have the opportunity to excel beyond 2028 – and here it’s worth reiterating that the decorated coach has been contracted by SA Rugby until the conclusion of the 2031 World Cup.

Consider what might be said once the squad for that global tournament in the USA is announced.

Most of the legends who contributed to World Cup title successes in 2019 and 2023 – and possibly in 2027 – will have moved on.

A new group of seniors including Mngomezulu, Damian Willemse and Nortjé may be in power.

We may have cause to reflect on how Paul de Villiers, Batho Hlekani, Haashim Pead and Cheswill Jooste were integrated into the Bok set-up from 2026 onwards.

We may celebrate Erasmus’ decision to back Riley Norton, Markus Muller and Zekhethelo Siyaya sooner rather than later, in spite of their age.

And by 2031, there could be a few more youngsters making the step up.

Schoolboy rugby in South Africa has never been stronger and the alignment between the junior and senior teams has never been better.

The school system and SA Rugby’s elite player development programme will continue to churn out quality players over the next five years.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a few of those youngsters pushing for higher honours – just as Norton, Muller, Siyaya and several others are doing at present.

Erasmus and Stick – who has been tasked with coaching the SA ‘A’ side this Saturday – will announce their respective teams on Tuesday.

The group will use the matches against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe to build momentum for the coming Nations Championship and the marquee series against the All Blacks.

What’s truly exciting, of course, is how Erasmus is preparing younger players to succeed and ultimately what he is building with the short-, middle- and long-term in mind.

Nothing like the love of an older brother – just ask Grant Williams. The latest episode in our series, ‘A Local Laaitie’, just dropped – check it out ❤️#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/8wywWDVNgj

— Springboks (@Springboks) June 15, 2026