Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus admits that they must \u201cembrace\u201d being favourites having established themselves as clearly the number one side in the world.<\/p>\n
South Africa only lost just two games in 2025 and are clear at the summit of the World Rugby rankings.<\/p>\n
The All Blacks<\/a> are currently in second place but they are almost four points behind the Boks<\/a> heading into 2026.<\/p>\n Erasmus<\/a> is always looking ahead to the next Rugby World Cup, with the head honcho planning around those four-year cycles.<\/p>\n Superb form in 2024 and 2025<\/p>\n What happens in between the global tournaments is less important but they have impressed since the 2023 World Cup success.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we win a World Cup, people say: \u2018Yeah, but you don\u2019t do things in between the World Cups\u2019. Now that we\u2019re doing things in between the World Cups, people say: \u2018But you\u2019re not going to peak in the World Cup\u2019,\u201d Erasmus said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult thing to please different point of views, but internally we just want to get better every game, and every player must get better.<\/p>\n \u201cBut guys are getting older and you have to manage that. When the young guys keep coming, I don\u2019t think their games are just getting better, but also their calmness and understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus reveals risky 2026 strategy despite \u2018disagreeing\u2019 over ageing Springboks<\/a><\/p>\n South Africa, therefore, have the burden of carrying the favourites tag, something they are not necessarily used to.<\/p>\n Even when the Springboks have won World Cups, other teams have generally headed the rankings going into the tournaments.<\/p>\n