Ruthless South Africa put down marker ahead of World Cup defence

South Africa completed their five-test programme in Europe hailed as a destructive rugby force, installing them as early favourites for the 2027 World Cup, where they will bid for a hat-trick of titles.

They won five November internationals, beating Japan at Wembley, France, Italy and Ireland before a devastating 73-0 mauling of Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.

Each match provided a demonstration of the team’s brutal power and efficiency. They beat both France and Italy despite being down to 14 men after early red cards and put on an awesome display of forward power to grind Ireland to a 24-13 defeat in a brutal match.

The win over Wales was always expected, but the relentless pursuit of points against a vastly inferior opponent seemed almost cruel at times.

"I thought it was one of (our) more clinical performances. We put our soul into the game," said coach Rassie Erasmus, the architect of two successive World Cup titles who has a third one as his single-minded focus.

The win over Ireland saw the Springboks hailed as the best side in the world, drawing widespread praise from even their most ardent detractors, and drawing comparisons with all-conquering teams of previous eras.

"The Springboks are not just the best team in the world, they are master bullies,” wrote Denis Walsh in the Irish Times. "Once they grabbed Ireland’s throat, they didn’t let them breathe."

Erasmus kept up a jocular diffidence through all the November success, although at times betrayed his inner feelings, no more so than mocking the Dublin crowd with a teasing hand gesture on the final whistle.

Winning in the Irish capital had previously eluded Erasmus as a coach, and squeezing the home scrum into submission in their own backyard would have been part of his planning for the World Cup defence.

It is no secret that all South Africa’s efforts are geared towards the tournament in Australia – the draw for which will be made on Wednesday.

Erasmus is rapidly blending a new generation of players into the group which won the 2019 title in Japan and 2023 crown in France after fears that many of those key components would be too old by the time the 2027 tournament came around.

NEW TALENT EXPOSED TO TEST RUGBY

A rapid expansion of the Springbok squad has seen an array of new talent given timely exposure on the test stage. In their 14 internationals this year, the Boks used 49 players to create a heightened level of competition for places in the test team.

"We’ve been rotating our players throughout the year, and this group has been together for close to five weeks, so many of these combinations are fully settled," said Erasmus.

A similar diet of matches next year, including a four-test series against New Zealand’s All Blacks, and the new-style Nations Cup offers the coach more opportunity to fine-tune his plans.

For all the meticulous engineering, however, the biggest boon for the Boks has been the swift evolution of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. The 23-year-old flyhalf, who scored two tries in Cardiff, has all the makings of a once-in-a-lifetime star.

It means that traditional South African forward power is now infused with flair-filled attack in a fearsome combination.