Rassie Erasmus heavily implies England winning streak was padded

Rassie Erasmus knows what to expect from England. Steve Borthwick’s men could arrive in South Africa in July, for the start of the Nations Championship, with just one win in 2026 to their credit.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus also put England on notice ahead of a crucial Six Nations trip to Rome and a Round Four face-off with Italy.

England, pre-tournament favourites along with France, have lost their way.

Despite starting the Six Nations with a comprehensive 48-7 drubbing of a winless Wales team, the wheels have come off at Twickenham.

Losses to Scotland (20-31) and Ireland (21-42) have seen England drop to fourth on the Six Nations table.

Fixture

Nations Championship

South Africa

08:40

4 Jul 26

England

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With away games against Italy and France in Paris there is no guarantee they will collect another W before July.

Erasmus, looking towards the start of a 13-match Test season for the Springboks, said he knows what to expect from England, despite their current slump in form.

“It is not going to be easy,” Erasmus told a media briefing in Cape Town, adding: “They will be a tough challenge.

The Springboks will kick off a novel 2026 season against the Barbarians in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, June 20, exactly two weeks before their inaugural Nations Championship match against England at Ellis Park.

The Barbarians game has some added ‘spice’ with the coaching quartet headed by former All Black head coach Scott Robertson and Los Pumas coach Felipe Contepomi, who will be supported by Racing 92 coach Patrice Collazo and Argentina assistant coach Kenny Lynn.

“We’ll have a look at how we head into that encounter with the Baabaas, and in what shape we get into that England Test.”

The wily Bok mentor added that the result will determine his selection policy.

If the results go their way and South Africa go on a winning streak, Erasmus might be tempted to rotate more than when things go pear-shaped.

Erasmus suggested he could use more than the 51 that featured in the Green and Gold last year, or perhaps as few as 37 if the result don’t go the Boks’ way.

Asked about England’s winning streak before the Six Nations slump, the Bok coach called for some perspective.

“It’s a bit like saying a guy is fast because he ran past someone, but you must ask who he ran past. Was it a prop or a laaitie [young player] who just started playing rugby?

“When teams build up good records you must look carefully at who they beat,” he said of England’s 12-match winning streak that ended in February.

“Maybe New Zealand’s loss to England [in November] puts our [43-10] win against New Zealand [in Wellington] into perspective.

“They [the All Blacks] weren’t at their best, we all know that.

“England beat New Zealand, but what other big teams did they beat?”

Erasmus also issued England with a warning ahead of Saturday’s Italian job in Rome.

Erasmus raised eyebrows in November when tipping perennial also-rans Italy to finish second or third in this championship.

Having beaten Scotland and given Ireland a mighty fright in Dublin, the Azzurri sit level on points with England and fancy their chances of a historic first ever win.

“We don’t know how much tighter that England team might have become after those two losses,” Erasmus told the media briefing.

“But Italy are in with a chance and that won’t frighten them.

“I’ve always found that fuels them. The moment they feel they really have a chance that actually makes them more dangerous.

“For me there’s a competitiveness about them, very in your face. They don’t apologise for having line speed. They believe in what they’re doing.

“Their coach is a great coach. The whole world has a lot of respect for him. And if every guy is fit they really have a quality group.”