It’s about getting caps into players, says Rassie Erasmus on Springboks’ 2026 season

Rassie Erasmus has welcomed the prospect of the Springboks playing 13 matches in 2026, viewing the 12 Tests and a warm-up match in June as a crucial runway to next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.

With another season of tough clashes on the cards, especially the opening Test against England and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series of four matches against the All Blacks, Erasmus and his management see this as a perfect opportunity to grow depth and future-proof the squad.

Much like 2025, the plan will be to push more caps into younger players whom they have earmarked for the tournament in Australia. However, the goal will be to claim the very first victory in the Greatest Rivalry tour.

Asked whether he would’ve liked more matches this season, Erasmus said 2025 was a gruelling year on the team – where they only lost two Tests – and that they are happy with the 13 matches to continue building their squad to defend their World Cup title.

“It was a long and taxing season, so I think 13 matches is good for the team,” Erasmus said.

“Looking towards the World Cup, it is a case of getting caps into certain players rather than a set number of Tests we want to play before the tournament. I can’t remember the exact amount we are playing, but if we get to November this year and we see we are thin at lock, hopefully then in 2027 we can get into a certain guy four or five more matches before the tournament.

“I don’t think the team needs a certain number of games to be ready. It is more about individual players for us.”

By spreading caps across the group now, the Springboks aim to get to the biggest matches with confidence, continuity and healthy competition for places.

Erasmus added that they won’t cherry-pick which matches they will look to rotate the squad. In the same voice, though, he added that it won’t be healthy for the players if he selects the same squad for the four clashes against the All Blacks in the Rivalry tour.

So, there will be some fine balancing happening in the Bok squad this season, but their first target is the Nations Championship opener against the English. Selecting their strongest side will be important to start well. In the next two clashes, the world champions will reassess where they stand when they face Scotland and Wales.

Another opportunity for rotations will likely come in September when the Boks are set to face Australia and Argentina.

However, Erasmus warned against chopping and changing too much against their Southern Hemisphere rivals.

“You don’t want to lose against Argentina, and then everyone says you are in trouble. We haven’t made that decision about when we want to rotate. Beating England will be awesome, and then having three games on the trot will be great.

“Then it is the rivalry, and maybe after three games you win it, and you can take a chance with squad rotations in the last game. Emotions and momentum play a big role, and the belief of our supporters.

“As I sit here, I can’t tell you when we will rotate. But if you start well, your plans keep going and you can then stick to your word of getting caps into players. It will be more difficult to change certain things in the squad compared to last year because we do not play Tier 2 opposition.”

What excites Erasmus is that the team showed in 2025 that they can roll with the changes and keep the winning momentum going. That bodes well for what awaits in 2026 as the Springboks continue to build towards the Rugby World Cup.