We are at peak 'Bok-flation' in this Rugby World Cup cycle

Bok Flation? You need to go back to being a financial analyst and auditor. Leave rugby alone. Please. Do us all that favour.

I am reading everywhere that the Boks have the world cup and every game between now and then in the bag. Their confidence is more than high, its decidedly stratospheric. They are a very good, well balanced side, but as we have seen before, it doesn’t take much to topple something finely balanced. It could be just two key leaders in their side who no longer have the edge they once did, or something psychological that spreads through the team. Perhaps a change in tactical approach in the never ending Bok pursuit of originality and novelty could yield less dominance at a critical time. Could a long ban for Eben create a sense of insecurity and confusion in the team which permeates the Boks through to the tournament?

I do not doubt that South Africa will be the favourites going into RWC 2027, but that itself can be a heavy cross to bear.

I like the look of England, France and New Zealand, despite the unrefined nature of all three at the moment. England are the second best side in the world in 2025 and it is clear to see where they are going. France have so much potential, but just seem to lose confidence especially if their famous 9 isn’t on the field. They can beat anyone on their day - they just need to make sure their day is more often than it has been this year. New Zealand have had a bad run, but they have the players to do so much damage. I think they do have a coaching issue currently, but should they get a handle on their game plan, only a fool would write them off as outsiders.

I would like to see referees being more consistent going forwards, particularly given the nature of SA’s win in 2023 where they got the rub of the green throughout the tournament. The psychological game they play when they don’t get their own way is appalling and hugely influences the referees in charge. Look at Matthew Carley and his capitulation one week after seemingly every South African on the planet moaned in harmony that World Rugby was conspiring against them. This undermines the credibility of the sport not to mention infuriating every other side in the tournament.

“Are we destined for a third consecutive Rugby World Cup for the Springboks? Should we hand the trophy out now?”

Hopefully, yes, as they carry on showing the rest of the rugby world how to play the game thanks to Genius Rassie. But if they don’t it’ll either because the other team(s) have worked out how to win by being better than them, or - as happened in the same country in 2011 - another Bryce Lawrence comes along.

Hey Eric, if you choose to make a connection between ‘you know who’s’ and “Irish people” then that’s on you. But as the saying goes, if the cap fits…

I love this. Two average teams won the 2019 and 2023 RWCs. We all know it. South Affas know it. They know their team can never match the 2010-2019 ABs.

LuckBoks

You used it three times on an Irish poster then got him banned.

Here is you and “Hammer Head” discussing the banning (Friday 27th Nov circa 6 p.m GMT) and taking down more “you know whos” (Irish people) whom you call “Rats”.

Stay away from me and other Irish posters. I will be passing on the below to moderators and all Irish posters here.

Hammer Head

Fair enough.

Spotted any “you know who’s” we can take down?

Ed The Duck

They’re not far away, as they say in New York you’re never more than six ft from a rat… 🐀

You’re sounding quite desperate now eric but just in case you haven’t figured it out yet, you can check out the posting back catalogue of everyone on here. Well apart from people like your special friend that may have been banned.

So feel free to cite ANY post where I’ve used the term ‘mick’. Except you can’t.

I could waste my time picking apart the many of his dim witted theory's here but he is worth the effort. All I can say is that this is a lot of words that needed to to say ”hey guys I'm coping hard!”

You called him “Mick” three times. Shortly afterwards all his posts disappeared.

That’s what happened. You’re a bigot and a sectarian. Don’t interact with me again and I would advise you not to abuse Irish people. You are a rat, you will try, but I would be careful If i was you.

A perfect demonstration not of the facts but the radically different approach between NZ in general and Erasmus's approach to test rugby, both tactically and in their selections.

NZ depends heavily on dynamism, but perversely has a habit of clinging to ageing players, either altogether, RWC 1991, or leaving the reform too late, 1995, 1999, 2019 and 2023. Robertson is renewing in the forwards, and is getting the new player selections right, but is clinging to the past in the backs, and getting the new player selections wrong.

I don't have any confidence he will fix that problem next year, and will instead cling to a core of backs well in their thirties in order to get himself through the South African tour. By which time it will be too late. His management of Ruben Love for example has been catastrophic, in stark contrast to his management of Holland and Sititi.

In contrast Erasmus does not depend on dynamism in the same way, can therefore tolerate more age, particularly in his forwards, but more that is more willing to rotate players to order to keep those older players physically and mentally fresh, and also to give them the sense that their position is not certain. In terms of talent the one problem he has is halfback, where Reinach is definitely getable. We’ll see next year if he is willing to bring Haashim Pead in fully.

And then, to bring it altogether, Erasmus is ruthless about cutting players altogether, including leading players he has a long association with, in a way no NZ coach in the professional era has ever been, or ever will be. A combination of player power, a much less confrontational approach to player management, an ingrained conservatism about selection, until of course it all turns to crap, and a much greater sensitivity about losses in between RWC's means AB coaches, including Robertson, are much less inclined to engage in constant improvement.

This is not to say the SA approach is right and NZ's is wrong, the greater latitude shown to Springbok coaches in the past has resulted in a sequence of disasters, but Erasmus understands how to get the most possible out of what he is given. SA under Erasmus will not beat themselves in RWC 2027. They will not go into a playoff game with an older 23 than they should have for their game. They will have to beaten on the day by an extremely good or much luckier team. Kidding yourself that it’s going to be different is a recipe for disappointment.

Kant's back. I try so hard to find points of agreement with Smithie, because he's actually a talented analyst and a fair enough writer, but the kid is so pathologically parochial that I stop hearing what comes out of his flapping yap when he inevitably starts fitting flecks and bile. That being said, I believe staying grounded is not even on SA or its supporters’ radar anymore. And perhaps we’re beyond it with generationally endowed players on the team, or maybe physics still apply. I choose to trust that Rassie will keep sh!t on a level.

An interesting thesis, but one thing you haven’t gone into was how those teams - ABs after 2017, Ireland in 2023, were knocked off. For NZ it was the advent of rush D, to which they responded by doubling down on hyper mobility at the expense of size and grunt and were beaten up by England in the semifinal.

For Ireland, the ABs spent 2 years building a game plan specifically designed to nullify Irelands strengths. Add the fact that Sexton didn’t run anymore and you had the ingredients of defeat.

So, the question is: which team will come up with the left-field strategy to undo the Boks? What might that strategy be? Is there a coach of the Faz, Rassie or Schmidt level with a new idea, an innovation designed to exploit the Bok gameplan? I haven’t seen it this year, but it is possible.

Ah Ben, you can wind up your SA fans in your sleep. Magic.

And they never learn 🤣

Ok so there is no comparing the Springboks to the legendary All Black team. These Springboks are something els and as for peaking? Not when you play basically a new team every week. Sure 2019 world cup was a cake walk. Wait did England not utterly destroy the All Blacks in the semi in 2019? And then the Bokke destroyed England in the final. It is easy to forget that pre 2019 Sa were the whipping boys of world rugby laughed at by all so in reallity we are only now seeing what they are capable of after 2023. The scary part is that they are ever evolving regarding players and gameplans. The 2027 world cup is far away so unlike that other team that playes in green there is no call to hand over the cup right now. History teaches us that one moment of hubris during the world cup turns into a quarter exit and one moment of stupidity cops you a red in the final and you go home with silver. Looking forward to that England vs Aus 27 final😶

Poor old Benny Hill, reaching for straws to grasp?

Yes the age profile is high, but not many WC tournaments are win by youngish teams!

For the older players mentioned, there are already replacements gaining test match experience.

Kolisi can be replaced by Marco van Staden, there is also still JC Pretorius and Renzo du Plessis that can be trialled in 2026. Cobus Wiese can start coming in for Etzebeth, as well as Kleyn and Jenkins. Marx is already grooming all of JH Wessels, Grobbelaar and Marnus bd Merwe.

Fear not Benny Hill, Rassie has this !!

This is a hopium article.

Sorry Ben Smith . . . . But I think you are searching with this one.

SA have had an incredible year, lots of people wrote them off as ageing, past it, in decline at the start of The Rugby Championship and those comments haven’t aged well have they? 🤣🤣

SA have re-energised their squad, style of play and then with a new team still learning, have demolished everyone out there since Wellington. Rassie did in 6 months what ENG & NZ have taken 2 years.

Double RWC Champions, back-to back TRC Champions, the most impressive AWAY Grand Slam ever (I think that’s the most remarkable achievement up there with a RWC) . . . . And a team that will probably get stronger as the injured bench returns next season.

1st choice front row settled and Steenekamp/Wessels/Louw (with Synman) is potentially the strongest Bomb squad they have done.

LdJ, Nortje & Snyman will fill the void of Mostert & Etzebeth when the time comes, so the next generation is already there.

Hanekom will add further depth to the backrow alongside Kwagga & Esterheizen and the backline has too many players to fit into the starting line and bench already.

Let’s be honest, there are going to be a number of double RWC Champions that will not make this next squad. I suspect SA will be the strongest squad of 36 we have ever seen going into RWC 2027, which you appear to have missed from your story.

Your theory is based on them peaking too early. Let’s just ask, what happens if they haven’t peaked yet and the best is still yet to come? I think you are clutching at straws to give NZ hope but it may be time to face the music and say “what happens if nobody can catch them by 2027”? Then maybe you are asking the right questions, which leans into the theory of potentially being the best side ever.

Wow this is tired.

Cute Ben , but I think you should stick to banking…

Good lad, Ben. Stay salty!

Lovely multiple mentions of the ABs 57-0 drubbing.

Bokflation - what does that mean? I think what is missing from this analysis is that what make teams great is how they play and whether they are taking the game to another level. As much as I am loathe to say it - this Bok team is doing that and thats why they are now close to the 2011-2015 ABs. And I say close and not overtaken not to rile our Bok friends, but because their opposition is just so poor at the moment. Ali without Fraser and Foreman would not be the great he became. This AB team has so much potential, but apart from Eden Park they have not fired this season against anyone. France was not ready and Ireland are clearly on their down hill run. My hope is that these teams or perhaps England or Argentina will step up and then we will see if this Bok team is the real deal.

Amy Smith doing her thing again…all you do is motivate Rassie and his boys even more….so,please keep it up,you are the fuel that will help the Boks on their merry way.😂😂

Ben Smith needs to change the batteries in his vibrator!!! Again like a jealous little boy that lost his girlfriend to the cool kid and like the little coward he is, talked behind the dudes back. One day when he is confronted he will do exactly what he did back then, run away and cry. Grow up Ben enjoy the game. No one slammed the all blacks when they were up. We enjoyed and learned from them.

Grumpy Ben is back to let us know that success can be deceiving …. however I think his Schadenfreude is a bit premature ….. yes, it would be defying nature in expecting all of the double-RWC-winners to fly high in 2027 - and most of us, including myself, would have thought, the Boks-squad in 2023 would be a bunch of unpolished rookies, perhaps being guided by two max. three veterans, soon to be retired …. however you don’t become a Bok nowadays, just because you’re young and talented and think the world is your’s to conquer, you have to blend into the team and become a mousquetaire (one for all, all for one), even a whippersnapper like SFM falls into line …. so I am confident the 2027 squad will have the same spirit as the 2023 winning team, even though most of the veterans will be bystanders by then,

The Springboks’ 2023 World Cup journey felt like something greater than sport. Winning three knockout games by a single point —11&1—France 29–28, England 16–15, New Zealand 12–11—produced a total of 111 points, a number many associate symbolically with our faith. Even beating Ireland now by 11, with that bogey off our backs, adds to that pattern. Whether coincidence or something deeper, it felt as if the story was written in the stars – and maybe it could represent the next cup as well … 111 (3peat)

Our rise hasn’t been easy. After rebuilding from 2018, enduring the COVID interruption, and still winning the British & Irish Lions series and a World Cup, the Boks have now matured after our back-to-back World Cup victories into a team capable of devastating, intelligent, power-driven rugby. As Schalk Burger hinted after our second World Cup win, maybe there was something like divine intervention at work. Millions of South Africans prayed, hoped, and believed—and many still do.

What makes the future even brighter is that our junior structures are beginning to dominate. With talent, organisation, humility, and faith working together, another era of Bok excellence feels not only possible but natural. If we continue to grow, stay grateful, and trust in the path we’re on, the Springboks may well be entering a third cycle of dominance … 11&1 😉

We will keep supporting, believing, and praying—because the Boks aren’t just a team; they’re a symbol of what South Africa can achieve when we unite in purpose, unity and humility. 🇿🇦

Has anyone noticed over the years how rarely favourites hoist the Webb Ellis Triphy?

😬 tough times as an All Black supporter Ben? Not easy being 2nd best? A distant second best at that.

Just a quick one - back in 2011 the Boks had Pieter de Villiers as coach. He was a muppet. This is Rassie Erasmus we’re talking about. Our best players are playing in Japan. Something the “smart” All Blacks once did.

BTW players who weren’t part of this tour just to make your jaw clinch bit more.

CAMERON HANEKOM 23

ELRIGH LOUW 26

EVAN ROOS 25

APELELE FASSIE 27

JAN HENDRIK WESSELS 24

QUAN HORN 24

Vincent Tshituka 27

Can never win with Bin Smuth😂 First we won 2019 by an easy draw then we won 2023 by fluke then we had an abysmal record between RWCs and now that we are on 85% win record since 2023 final we’re peaking to soon again.

I always appreciate the role Bin plays in continuously motivating the Bok team especially for some lovely content for Chasing The Sun 3🤞

Obviously the Boks are running on a high now but its definitely possible the team may be peaking too early and ofcourse age is a factor but several players you mentioned are already being phased out and backups have been developed. For example at 9 Reinach is backed up by Van Den Berg, Hendrickse, Papier and even Jantjies who all have international experience plus Williams is world class. Mostert has barely played this year, same with Kleyn. Kolisi barely plays 60 these days and Etzebeth comes off with 50 on the clock. De allende and Kriel both have replacements ready to go in the form of Hooker and Moodie with Willemse and Mgomezulu also able to play centre. Theres plenty of youngsters coming through to back up the old hands and succession planning is well under way. Experience will be lost but theres plenty of it in plenty of positions and no side has as much depth as South Africa right now so the side looks healthy.