REVEALED: Rassie's master plan for 2026 and beyond
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus played ‘open mic’ with the media this week and allowed them an hour of questions about anything and everything.
In his usual transparent way, he gave an update on his planning ahead of defending South Africa’s World Cup crown in Australia next year.
It includes facts about travel plans to the United States and which tournaments he is prioritising.
Erasmus revealed that he learnt from the build-up to the last two World Cups, in Japan in 2019 and France 2023.
Having only taken over in 2018, the preparation and development phases of the team were severely curtailed.
However, the ‘underdog tag’ meant there were no expectations.
A similar scenario occurred when COVID eliminated an entire year from the rugby calendar, and the Boks had to play a British and Irish Lions series behind closed doors.
“We had proper planning for 2023 and time to get it right, but then came COVID,” Erasmus said at Springbok headquarters in the Plattekloof suburb of Cape Town.
Now, as the world’s top-ranked team and back-to-back World Cup winners, the pressure of expectation and the challenge of consistency are real.
“This year, with the Greatest Rivalry [four-Test series against New Zealand], is massive for us,” the Bok coach said.
“The Nations Championship is an interesting competition for me,” he added.
Erasmus said that 18 months out from a World Cup, he has a good idea of who will be available, who has enough caps and who needs to get some additional international experience.
The 2027 World Cup is scheduled to take place in Australia from October 1.
* (LISTEN as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus gives an update on his planning ahead of defending South Africa’s World Cup crown in Australia next year….)
“We, as a coaching team, have done our planning and will reveal that to the players at the first alignment camp.
“We have been in touch with individual players about their level of performance.”
He used the Hendrikse brothers, Jaden and Jordan, as an example of players who improved from last year.
“Our things [plans] start to [take] shape in the last 18 months,” the coach said, adding that winning every much remains on the agenda.
“I don’t want to derogate the Nations Championship, but it is difficult to say let’s go all-out to win all the tournaments.
“That might leave you with some unanswered questions next year.
“We will keep doing things the way we do them.
“One loss or a bad performance might evoke emotional responses.
“We will try and win all the games, but we won’t sacrifice being ready for [the World Cup in] 2027.”
Erasmus gave some insights into his 2026 plans by revealing that after three Tests on South African soil in the much-anticipated Greatest Rivalry series, the Springboks and All Blacks will fly together on a charter plane to America for the fourth match.
The game’s most iconic rivalry is going to the United States for the first time, with the home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens welcoming the two teams on Saturday, September 12.
“It is challenging,” Erasmus said of the juggling act of managing the players’ workloads in such a demanding series.
The Bok coaches added that the squad size this year will be between 36 and 40 for the various competitions.
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