Three hot takes from South Africa's Rugby Championship win

Seven weeks ago it all looked a shambles. The Springboks, having raced to a 22-0 lead against Australia at Ellis Park, had imploded. Their crushing 38-22 loss at the site of their 1995 World Cup triumph felt seismic. They’d been poor against Italy and Georgia in the months before and now got the hiding they deserved.

Maybe the cynics were right. Maybe this lot didn’t belong in the conversation about the greatest team of all time. Maybe they had no idea how to produce their best in games outside of World Cups. Maybe they didn’t have the minerals, the self belief or the raw talent to defend a Rugby Championship title.

Seven weeks is a long time in rugby. And 12,783 km away from that shambolic implosion in Johannesburg, the Springboks righted several wrongs, beating Argentina at Twickenham to claim yet another prize on this remarkable seven year journey.

That’s now three Rugby Championship crowns to go with two World Cups and a British & Irish Lions series win. Not a bad haul for a side that is constantly tinkering, one that continues to blood young talent and redefine the way they play. In the most competitive era in the history of international rugby, one team continues to lead the way.

We know that they’re elite. We know their pack is indomitable, that their scrum tilts the Richter scale and that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is, to use a contemporary phrase, that guy. But what else did we learn across two-and-a-half months?

South Africa’s attack cannot be half pregnant
That defeat to Australia has many explanations, most of them a collective brain fade. One key reason was an inexplicable switch to a more pragmatic approach.

Something changed after the initial flurry of points. Manie Libbok, the starting fly-half, began to kick more than he had done previously. It felt odd in the moment and by the time they tried to turn momentum back towards them, the Boks were chasing shadows and caught between two contrasting ideologies.

A week later they were stodgy but got the job done. A fortnight down the track they failed to get out of third gear as they were felled at Eden Park. Questions began to swirl. Had Tony Brown’s input taken them backwards? What exactly were they trying to achieve with ball in hand? Why did it look so disjointed?

In Wellington Erasmus unshackled them. Feinberg-Mngomezulu was given the keys at 10. Damian Willemse and Canan Moodie partnered in midfield. Ethan Hooker prowled the wing with Libbock and Grant Williams waiting for their chance to canter off the bench.

It was one of the most attack-minded South African teams ever assembled and they tore the All Blacks to shreds. Most of the gang were kept together for the clash with Argentina in Durban and once again they ran riot.

There’s no such thing as half pregnant and the South African coaches need to persist with an idea that has the potential to set stadiums ablaze. It might not thrum with perfect efficiency every time. Their Championship clincher against the Pumas in London was largely a scrappy, stop-start affair. But when it works, it is mesmerising.

We may yet see a return of the 6-2 and 7-1 bench splits. Handre Pollard will surely be included in the match-day 23 if the Springboks progress through the knockouts of the 2027 World Cup. But the times they have a changed. South Africa can still pulverise the opposition but Erasmus’ Springboks 3.0 has the potential to dazzle in ways the alpha and beta versions could not. It would be a shame if he didn’t lean into the chaos.

Jasper Wiese is the lynchpin
Anyone who knows anything about this game has at some point uttered the phrase, “You need to earn the right to go wide”. This boils down to laying a foundation for the hot-steppers and magicians in the backline. Without the grunt in the tight encounters, the whole machine breaks down.

Is it any wonder, then, that the Springboks’ best three performances across the tournament included Jasper Wiese’s presence at the base of the pack? In many ways the man is a limited player. His Plan A is to run hard and straight and knock over the poor fool tasked with tackling him. Plans B through to Z follow a similar idea.

More often than not it works. And when it works he provides the requisite go-forward that South Africa’s game craves. Wiese’s heft averaged 34 meters made across the three games he played. By contrast, Siya Kolisi and Kwagga Smith, who played at No. 8 in Wiese’s absence, averaged 23.3 metres with ball in hand. Correlation doesn’t always equal causation, but the stats are telling.

Damien Willemse has to play
He might not be the best South African fullback of all time. He might not even be the best South African fullback currently playing. But he is, without question, one of the most talented rugby players the country has ever produced. If fit, he simply has to play.

Where that is might change from game to game. Fullback seems his obvious home given his ability to spark from fractured play and cut defences open on the counter. He is also secure enough under the high ball with the requisite rugby nous needed to marshal a backline when he steps up or contributes from second receiver.

In games where Apehele Fassi’s dependability under the high ball is required, or when a second playmaker could be handy, Willemse is a more than capable centre. His most accomplished performance came in the rout at Wellington. And though he shifted to fullback, he started in the midfield. His try from a near standing start proved that he has enough punch to play the role.

Rugby can too easily become an overcomplicated mess. Some things, though, are pretty simple. When you have a generational talent at your disposal it is prudent to eke out as many minutes as you can from him. Willemse is a potential World Rugby Player of the Year award winner. Erasmus can slot him in the tight five or back row if he likes. He just needs to get him on the pitch.