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Blitzboks to defend Cape Town title on 5-6 December as 2027 SVNS season confirmed
The Blitzboks will defend their HSBC SVNS Cape Town crown at DHL Stadium on 5-6 December, with the 2027 world series confirmed to follow the same format as 2026 and Olympic qualification adding extra weight to the campaign.
Erasmus to release Springboks for franchise matches during RGR series — with caveats
Rassie Erasmus will release Springbok players to their franchises for All Blacks tour matches during the RGR series where squad depth allows, with his official RGR squad to be finalised after the Argentina trip. Ox Nche and Franco Mostert miss the Buenos Aires fixture, with Ntuthuko Mchunu recalled as cover.
Kitshoff's key prediction: tight-five work rate will decide the Greatest Rivalry series
Kitshoff predicts the tight-five work rate stat — a Felix Jones favourite — will be the defining factor in the Greatest Rivalry series, and breaks down why the Bok front row depth is built for exactly that battle.
Keira Snyman earns Junior Springbok Women cap as proud father André watches on
Keira Snyman, 18, made her Junior Springbok Women debut on the left wing against USA U20 in Stellenbosch, with her father André — 38-Test Springbok — watching from the stands after travelling from Denver. She has since also been called into the Springbok Women's Sevens squad.
Keira Snyman follows father André into green and gold at Markötter Stadium
Keira Snyman, daughter of former Springbok André Snyman, made her Junior Springbok Women's debut on the left wing against USA U20 in Stellenbosch on Friday, with her father watching from the stands. The 18-year-old left Denver, Colorado to pursue the green and gold after SA Rugby's High-Performance Department moved to recruit her ahead of England, and she has since been called into the Springbok Women's Sevens squad.
Erasmus flags Savea absence and scrumhalf depth ahead of All Blacks series
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has highlighted New Zealand's decision to rest captain Ardie Savea for the opening fixtures of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour as one of the notable selection calls by All Blacks coach Dave Rennie. Erasmus also questioned the depth at scrumhalf, with only three nines selected to cover four Tests and four franchise matches across the tour.
Erasmus flags Rennie's scrumhalf call and Savea absence as early talking points
Erasmus has flagged Rennie's three-scrumhalf selection and Savea's managed absence as immediate curiosities, while revealing his own squad juggling act — where franchise fixtures against the touring All Blacks double as final Bok trials.
Erasmus to Use Argentina Clash as All Blacks Preparation
Rassie Erasmus has confirmed the Springboks will treat next weekend's once-off Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires as preparation for the four-match Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand. With Eben Etzebeth and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu cleared to play, only Ox Nche and Franco Mostert remain unavailable through injury. The head coach will announce his travelling squad on Saturday, with non-selected players returning to Johannesburg to begin All Blacks preparations.
Erasmus eyes Argentina match as injury-return audition ahead of All Blacks series
Erasmus will name his Argentina touring squad on Saturday, with the Buenos Aires Test doubling as a fitness audition for the RGR series against New Zealand. Only Nche and Mostert are unavailable, while ten players return from injury in time to be considered.
Sam Cane ranks Kolbe among the greatest to play the game
Former All Blacks captain Sam Cane says Cheslin Kolbe belongs in the conversation among rugby's all-time greats.
Erasmus maps out a four-test marathon, not a sprint
Erasmus's approach to the four-test series is deliberate and phased — build across the series, peak late, and make final selection calls only after seeing how the All Blacks play the franchises. Injury news is largely positive, and the Boks' depth means they're better placed than most to execute that kind of series-long strategy.
Rennie's Savea gamble raises more questions than it answers
Rennie's call to rest Savea for the tour's opening weeks is defensible on welfare grounds, but this piece argues it creates squad dynamic questions and match-sharpness risk — and that the Boks will be watching closely for any edge it hands them.
Jantjies caught between Bayonne exit and a South African return with no landing spot
Bayonne are prepared to offload Jantjies before the new Top 14 season, but Erasmus's desire to get him playing URC rugby is running into a wall — no South African franchise is currently interested in signing him.
SARU's smart mouthguard programme leads world rugby's concussion fight
SARU's instrumented mouthguard project, running since 2020 under Ross Tucker and Clint Readhead, is now integrated into World Rugby's formal HIA protocol and is operating at elite and school level in South Africa, with 99.8 percent measurement accuracy and a technical edge over NFL helmet-sensor methodology.
Matfield: Faf is knocking on the door — but the Currie Cup that shaped him barely exists anymore
Matfield tips Faf de Klerk for a Springbok recall after his Cheetahs form, while delivering a frank verdict that the Currie Cup has effectively become a development competition — meaningful for smaller unions, but a shadow of what it was when the big franchises fielded full-strength sides.
From winger to enforcer: Etzebeth on his transformation, his suspensions, and the Bok physicality culture
Etzebeth opens up on his teenage body transformation, the Alaalatoa brawl, his Wales suspension, and how Erasmus has made physicality a squad-wide non-negotiable rather than one man's burden.
Sam Cane: Kolbe is one of the greatest players of all time
Sam Cane, speaking from years of daily training alongside Kolbe at Suntory, rates him among the greatest players of all time — not for what he does on match day, but for what he does every week in training.
Etzebeth's favourite All Blacks memory isn't Paris — it's the night the nuke squad was born
Etzebeth picks the 35-7 Twickenham win over the All Blacks as his favourite memory, explains his reaction when Erasmus first proposed the 7/1 bench split, and half-seriously floats an 8/0 option ahead of the Greatest Rivalry series.
Bulls' pre-season puzzle: ready for the All Blacks without wrecking the URC campaign
Ackermann explains how the Bulls are splitting their rest block around the August 15 All Blacks match, the conditioning compromises involved, and why he still expects the Springboks to be too strong for a Rennie-coached New Zealand side.
Etzebeth and Feinberg-Mngomezulu cleared for Argentina as Erasmus eyes All Blacks preparation
Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Eben Etzebeth and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are fit and available for next weekend's clash against Argentina in Buenos Aires. The match serves as crucial preparation for the forthcoming Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand, with only Franco Mostert and Ox Nche ruled out through injury. Etzebeth returns after missing all three Nations Championship fixtures due to concussion-related headaches.