Brenden Nel makes a compelling case that the Springbok succession story is one of the most underappreciated narratives in world rugby right now. Comparing the 2023 World Cup final squad to the current Rugby's Greatest Rivalry line-up, he counts 12 players no longer featuring in this series — through retirement (Kitshoff, Vermeulen), injury (Mbonambi, Malherbe, Snyman, Kwagga, Kleyn), or simply falling out of favour (Faf, le Roux) — with Mostert and Pollard not having featured in a single RGR test either. Yet the Boks remain ranked No. 1 and are winning north of 80% of their matches. The piece traces where each of those 12 is now, then argues that the quiet depth-building across the scrumhalf stocks, the lock pairing of Nortje alongside returning Snyman, and the settled backline means Erasmus heads into 2027 with genuine cover in every position. The squad rotation numbers tell their own story — 52 players used in 2024, 50 in 2025 — and the piece frames this as deliberate succession engineering rather than disruption. The contrast with the All Blacks, who have cycled through two coaches and considerable upheaval in the same period, sharpens the point.
12 gone from the 2023 final — and you barely noticed
Twelve players from the 2023 World Cup final are absent from the current RGR squad, yet the Boks haven't skipped a beat — Nel tracks where each has gone and argues the silent squad overhaul is one of Erasmus's most impressive feats of succession planning ahead of 2027.
All Blacks' loosehead crisis hands Springboks a ready-made weapon in Greatest Rivalry Series
Jeff Wilson has publicly identified loosehead prop as the All Blacks' most dangerous weakness ahead of four consecutive Tests against the Springboks — with Williams likely out, Tu'ungafasi's future uncertain, and the remaining options short on caps and experience. Set against the depth Erasmus has built across the prop positions, this piece maps out why scrum time could be where the Greatest Rivalry Series is decided.
Stephen Donald: Robertson copied the Boks — Rennie must go back to All Blacks DNA
Stephen Donald backs Hansen's anti-copycat argument, saying Robertson erred by chasing the Springbok blueprint rather than New Zealand's tempo-based strengths — and expects Rennie to correct that course ahead of a blockbuster four-Test series in South Africa.
Mulder's '95 Warning: Don't Sleep on the All Blacks
1995 World Cup winner Japie Mulder warns against writing off the All Blacks ahead of the four-Test series, drawing on South Africa's own underdog story to argue the gap in rankings doesn't guarantee a comfortable series win.
So how deep is the Springbok squad?
Lekker! Hola! Head to https://squarespace.com/squidgerugby to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code SQUIDGERUGBY
Erasmus: winning stays non-negotiable, whatever the World Cup build-up demands
Erasmus has made his 2025 season intent explicit: rotation and World Cup-building happen inside a framework where winning remains the non-negotiable baseline. The piece breaks down what that means for squad management, the veterans' standing, and why the All Blacks series carries extra weight.