Rugby Championship showcased a Bok attack at its peak

COLUMN: Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks shattered their own attacking and kicking records for the Rugby Championship across a monumental 2025 campaign.

The Boks edged Argentina 29-27 in London on Saturday to win the Rugby Championship.

Since then, some have bemoaned a largely unpolished performance as well as a frantic finish to the clash.

In the end, the Boks did enough to clinch the game and the trophy, and to add to their legacy by becoming the first South African team in history to win the Rugby Championship back-to-back.

For many, no further analysis will be necessary.

For those of us who are obsessed with the manner of recent results – and ultimately the Boks’ move towards an all-court game plan – this campaign deserves further unpacking.

Because when you dive into the stats, the Boks’ attacking progression is clear.

In fact, the team delivered its best Rugby Championship numbers since Erasmus took the coaching reins in 2018.

Erasmus will be pleased by the overall performance, as will attack coach Tony Brown.

The Boks topped the 2025 charts across attacking categories such as points, tries, linebreaks and offloads.

The Boks carried less than other teams – ranking third in this department – yet made the most metres overall.

Forwards like Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth were among the top players for offloads.

The speed between the phases has been amplified by the physicality at the gainline, and while breakdown accuracy remains a work-on, the Boks are troubling defences with their versatile approach.

The story continues below…

#OPINION: Check out the Springbok Player Ratings after their 29-27 win over Argentina in London on Saturday 👇#RugbyChampionship #SouthAfrica #Springboks https://t.co/vO2PhQoB3R

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) October 4, 2025

What’s more, the stats show that the Boks haven’t abandoned their traditional strengths.

The scrum continues to be a weapon of mass destruction – and earned the Boks five penalties against Argentina in London.

The Boks topped the kicks-from-hand stats (180), and capitalised on the recent law change that allows for greater access when chasing high kicks. Teams that regain possession from an aerial battle typically have the opportunity to run at a less structured defence.

In 2025, the Boks regained a total of 33 kicks – a whopping 20 more than last year’s competition.

That was but one area in which the Boks took their game to new heights (no pun intended).

The 43-10 win against the All Blacks was a record-breaker, beyond the parameter of the Rugby Championship.

Even now, a 33-point win against the All Blacks in New Zealand seems like the stuff of fantasy. If South African rugby’s standards were lower, that result alone would be cause to declare the campaign a resounding success.

But the Boks backed up that performance when they scored 67 points and nine tries against Argentina in Durban.

In doing so Erasmus’ Boks surpassed the standard they had set with the 48 points and seven tries scored against the Pumas in Nelspruit back in 2024.

Overall, the Boks scored 208 points as well as a whopping 27 tries in six matches – smashing their own Rugby Championship records of 188 points and 24 tries in 2024.

A year-on-year comparison across the categories continues to highlight the progression.

The Boks beat 160 defenders in the 2025 Rugby Championship – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu topped the individual charts with a tally of 20.

In 2024, they beat 139 defenders, and in 2022 (the previous six-round tournament), they beat 109.

The Boks made 26 offloads across the 2024 Rugby Championship.

This season, they almost doubled that number with 46.

Meanwhile, the kicking stats are the highest they’ve ever been in the Erasmus era.

Some will look back on the 2021 Rugby Championship and lament the Boks’ conservative approach, given that they kicked from hand on 177 occasions.

But in 2025, they’ve put boot to ball 180 times, and the rugby they’ve played has been anything but boring.

In fact, their most emphatic performances in terms of points and tries scored have featured the most kicks. The Boks put boot to ball on 32 occasions in Wellington and 40 times in Durban.

The defence came in for some criticism at certain stages, but in the end, the Boks as well as New Zealand conceded the fewest points over six rounds (151).

The Boks conceded nine more tries than last season (19) – and their overall tackle completion was 80%.

Six of those tries were conceded in the loss to Australia in Johannesburg. Thereafter, the defence performed to a higher standard.

Another area that Erasmus and company will look to improve ahead of the five-Test tour to Europe is the line-out.

While the Boks competed fiercely to make some timely steals, they finished third in the tournament for wins on their own ball (83%). This success rate is down from last year’s Rugby Championship (87%).

More recently, the Boks went to their maul several times against Argentina in London, forcing a penalty, and creating a try for Malcolm Marx early in the second half.

This performance may give them confidence ahead of the tour to the north, where there’s a greater emphasis on the set pieces.

The overall stats tell a story about the team’s intent and ambition.

While the Boks have the means to play the game at a lively tempo, they also have the skills to play pragmatically, when the situation demands it.

What the stats won’t show is how Erasmus has developed South Africa’s approach while ushering in the next generation and bolstering the squad depth.

Younger players and fresh combinations were used across the 2025 campaign, yet this didn’t hamper the team’s quest for points and results.

The Bok coaches will be as thrilled with that outcome as the title itself – as it suggests that the best is yet to come.

While some will criticise aspects of the performance in London, and a few perennial problem areas like the line-out, it must encourage Erasmus to know that this decorated team has room to improve and grow.