AnalysisSpringboksPlanet Rugby21 May

Du Toit wants to earn his World Cup place — not inherit it

Du Toit opens up about feeling unworthy of his 2019 winner's medal and why 2027 is the World Cup he wants to earn outright — with Bath's Premiership run and his Sharks move both framed as steps toward that goal.

Thomas du Toit is refreshingly candid about the baggage he carries from 2019 and 2023 — a non-selection and an injury-replacement call-up that left him feeling he hadn't truly earned his spot. Now firmly established as first-choice tighthead, he wants 2027 to be different: selected on merit, no asterisks. His immediate priority is Bath's Premiership push before his move to the Sharks, which he frames as a family decision rather than a rugby one. The broader picture, though, is clear — he sees the Sharks as his platform to stay in Erasmus's frame and make Australia 2027 the World Cup he can genuinely call his own.

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Springboks Through Irish Eyes: Gráinne Seoige on Loftus, Rassie, and Why SA Rugby Is Unlike Anything Else

Irish TV personality Gráinne Seoige tells the Lekker Rugby Pod that walking into Loftus for the 2024 Ireland test was the most intimidating rugby atmosphere she has ever experienced, and argues that Rassie Erasmus's cultural transformation of Springbok rugby is a bigger achievement than the World Cup wins.

AnalysisSpringboks

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.

AnalysisGeneral

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.

AnalysisGeneral

Hansen: Stop Trying to Be Rassie

Steve Hansen warns that the rugby world's obsession with copying Rassie Erasmus' Springbok blueprint is stifling tactical innovation across the game.

AnalysisSpringboks

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.