Springboks’ tour of the UK: Four things we learned this November

The Springboks won all three of their end-of-year matches in the UK this month, beating Scotland, England and Wales to end their year with 11 wins from 13 matches.

On Sunday, Pieter-Steph du Toit was crowned World Rugby Player of the Year, while seven Bok players were named in the Dream Team of 2024.

Here are the four things we learned about the Boks following their unbeaten UK tour.

Room for improvement

Even tough the Boks beat Scotland 32-15, England 29-20 and Wales 45-12, in none of the three matches did they deliver a perfect performance.

While they were good in parts, with their scrum the standout feature, and a number of players performing brilliantly individually, as a unit they were far from their best.

The lineout was a problem in the first two Tests of the tour, they never fully bossed the breakdowns, while they made numerous handling errors and poor calls. Their discipline was also lacking at times and they failed to convert a number of good chances they created.

So while the Boks won three out of three and played some decent rugby, there is still room for improvement, which is hugely encouraging.

Front row depth

For a number of years now the Boks have relied heavily on Frans Malherbe, Vincent Koch, Steven Kitshoff and Ox Nche to handle the scrumming duties, but all of a sudden there are quality back-up men who are set to take the Boks into the future.

Nche was outstanding in his two Tests on tour, but the performances of Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw were a highlight of the tour and the two of them have now shown they can be part of the Bok set-up in the build-up towards the 2027 World Cup.

Gerhard Steenekamp has also proved himself to be a quality operator, while the versatile Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Ntuthuko Mchunu are also options going forward, along with a number of other rising props.

Johan Grobbelaar also enjoyed a strong outing against Wales and should now be backed as the team’s full-time third choice hooker.

Locks back on top

For so long throughout the season Bok boss Rassie Erasmus had to think long and hard about who he’d back to play in the second row and off the bench because there were so many injuries in the lock department.

But with Franco Mostert and RG Snyman returning from injury during the UK tour, the Boks again had options in the second row which eased the pressure on the team. Unfortunately, Jean Kleyn got injured late on and was unable to play against Wales, while Ruan Nortje, so good in the Rugby Championship, was also ruled out of the tour.

Salmaan Moerat also didn’t feature in the UK this month, but when everyone is fit again, including possibly Lood de Jager next year, the Boks will again have proper lock depth to consider. And Eben Etzebeth still looks good enough to go for a few more years.

Flyhalf depth

All one can say right now is, good luck Dr Erasmus.

Can anyone say with certainty who the Boks’ first choice No 10 is right now, at the end of a season where Handre Pollard, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok and Jordan Hendrikse have all worn the Bok No 10 jersey?

And then there are two more talented players who’ll be pushing hard for greater recognition during the URC in the months ahead, namely Sanele Nohamba, who can also play scrumhalf, and Siya Masuku.

Pollard, Libbok and Hendrikse all started one game each on this UK tour and all delivered strong performances.

Each brings their own unique style and strengths to the game and the Boks’ set-up, but it’s hard to pick just one and say he is the best of the bunch.

But, Erasmus must be pinching himself about the position he finds himself in … he has options at No 10 few other coaches have, and will know every one of the Boks’ 10s is good enough to deliver on the biggest stages.