Erasmus has declined to repeat his November 2024 trick of publicly naming Borthwick's expected XV ahead of Saturday's Nations Championship opener at Ellis Park, joking he didn't realise how much noise it would make last time. The more substantive thread in this piece is his explanation of the Joe Lewis recruitment. Lewis spent nine years with England's analysis department — most recently as senior analyst through the 2026 Six Nations — and joins a Bok setup that Erasmus admits has been chronically under-resourced in that area. Where top-tier nations run five to eight analysts, the Boks had one until recently. Lewis slots into an attack-focused role alongside Paddy Sullivan (set-piece) and Lindsay Weyer (backline), giving Erasmus a structured analytical division for the first time. Erasmus is careful to frame the Lewis appointment as a capacity play rather than an intelligence raid, drawing parallels with Matthew Proudfoot's move to England in 2019 and Byron McGuigan's current involvement with Borthwick's staff — acknowledging, with characteristic deadpan, that IP flows both ways. The piece also touches on Erasmus's framing of the England rivalry as among the Boks' most consequential fixtures, with particular significance for uncapped or lightly capped players like Cameron Hanekom getting their first taste of it.
Erasmus tight-lipped on England team prediction — but delighted with analyst coup
Erasmus explains why he's staying quiet on England's team this time around, and goes deep on the Joe Lewis analyst recruitment — framing it as a long-overdue capacity fix rather than a spy coup, while acknowledging the intel flows both ways given England's current connections to former Bok staff.
- Rassie Erasmus
- Springboks
- England
- Nations Championship
Nché injury concern headlining Bok casualty list ahead of Scotland clash at Loftus
Rassie Erasmus is sweating over the fitness of Ox Nché, Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and André Esterhuizen ahead of Saturday's Nations Championship match against Scotland at Loftus, after all four picked up injuries during or before the 45-21 win over England at Ellis Park.
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
Nations Championship Round 1: Boks set the benchmark, Japan turn heads
Louw's Nations Championship round-one review crowns the Boks as the weekend's benchmark-setters and flags Japan's Italy upset as the competition's first real surprise — while taking aim at the scheduling call that denies Japan a home fixture against Ireland.
Willemse credits Jantjies, Bok mentors after reaching 50-Test milestone at Ellis Park
Damian Willemse marked his 50th Test cap with one of his finest Springbok performances as South Africa opened their Nations Championship campaign with a 45-21 win over England at Ellis Park, crediting mentors including Elton Jantjies, Handré Pollard and several Bok greats for shaping his game across multiple positions.
Erasmus admits Australia flashbacks at half-time as Boks' system absorbs Kolisi and Etzebeth withdrawals
Rassie Erasmus revealed that Australia flashbacks surfaced at half-time when England closed the gap to 17-14, before the Boks ran out 45-21 winners in their Nations Championship opener, with Kolisi and Etzebeth absences handled by a system Erasmus says is being deliberately stress-tested ahead of the World Cup.