OPINION: Rugby Champs clean sweep would be massive statement by Boks
The Boks are without question the world's top team at the moment.
Cheslin Kolbe runs with the ball, with Ruan Nortje in support, during the Boks’ Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
A dominant Rugby Championship showing so far is proving without a shadow of a doubt that the Springboks are the best rugby team in the world at the moment, and if they can close out the competition with an unbeaten clean sweep it would be a massive statement.
What has been most impressive from the Boks this season is that they have evolved their game, under new attack coach Tony Brown and defence coach Jerry Flannery, while at the same time embraced their goal of building towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
This has seen them rotate their squad significantly over their eight matches so far, while also backing a number of youngsters to step up into the main squad.
Challenges
After the 2019 World Cup in Japan, Covid hit the world and the Boks lost an entire year in 2020, leaving them to start their next World Cup cycle in 2021.
They also had to start it with the British and Irish Lions series, which had to be played behind closed doors, and all of this set them back in their planning for the showpiece event in France in 2023.
Despite that, thanks mainly to the Boks having the same coaching team and players, they stunningly pulled off the double in 2023, winning the World Cup tournament in France.
The Boks did however lose head coach Jacques Nienaber and a few assistants heading into this latest cycle, ahead of the 2027 World Cup in Australia, but they have kept the core of the group together with the brilliant Rassie Erasmus at the helm, and this has proved critical.
Because, despite some personnel changes, a change in game style and new players coming into the mix, the Boks have still won seven out of eight games so far this season, their only defeat to a last-second drop-goal, against Ireland.
They have beaten their greatest rivals, the All Blacks, twice in the Rugby Championship and played heavily rotated teams against Portugal and Australia and still won.
The Boks will again rotate for their last two games against Argentina over the next few weeks.
If they can win away next weekend in Santiago and finish off at home with another big win in Mbombela, they will truly be on top of the rugby world.
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