Japan head coach Eddie Jones has repeated his claim that the Springboks may have peaked too soon ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup and explained why he said so.<\/p>\n
The Springboks have been the dominant force in international rugby for several years now and under the guidance of their head coach Rassie Erasmus they won back-to-back Rugby World Cups in Japan (2019) and France (2023) as well as a 2-1 series victory over the British & Irish Lions in South Africa in 2021.<\/p>\n
Since their 2023 World Cup triumph, they have gone from strength-to-strength as they were also crowned Rugby Championship winners in 2024 and 2025 and completed unbeaten end-of-year tours to Europe in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n
Jones<\/a> ruffled some feathers amongst Springboks<\/a> supporters last month when he declared that all the success the Boks have attained in recent years could come to an abrupt halt at the global showpiece which will be hosted in Australia in just under 18 months.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a theory on South Africa that maybe they\u2019re hitting their peak right now,\u201d he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd is the timing right? Because two years to retain a peak is a long time. So, they\u2019ve been playing some sensational rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n While appearing on the Behind the Ruck<\/a> podcast, former Springboks scrum-half Rudy Paige asked Jones how he came to the conclusion that the 2027 Rugby World Cup might be a bridge too far for the Boks and he replied: \u201cSomeone said to me, \u2018What do you think about South Africa?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I thought, \u2018Oh, well, the one thing that\u2019s hard to do in rugby, particularly, is hold your absolute top for long periods\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018I think it is a challenge for them to keep their peak\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I wasn\u2019t suggesting at all that South Africa\u2019s not going to do well at the World Cup, but I think it is a challenge for them to keep their peak, to keep that amount of intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Jones feels that Erasmus\u2019 ability to keep his players hungry and motivated is something which gives them an edge over their opponents.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the one thing we\u2019ve got going for them, and this is where Rassie\u2019s done better than anyone else, he\u2019s created such a competitive environment in that team,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you can see, like, you can go from first choice half-back, like Faf de Klerk, you think about four years ago, he was a half-back. Every team in the world wanted a Faf de Klerk.<\/p>\n Springboks coach reveals why \u2018hard worker\u2019 and \u2018dominant\u2019 Salmaan Moerat is regularly in world champions\u2019 squad<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019d run, he\u2019d kick, he\u2019d close down defences, he was a bundle of energy. And even at his best now, he may be, what, sixth or seventh rank?<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you\u2019ve got these guys competing nearly in every position that it keeps them hungry. And the thing that stops you coming off a peak is hunger.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can keep people hungry and keep at it, but the big challenge is to keep those older guys, whether they can keep going and be at their best.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause one of the things that does happen, and I think, you know, probably the 2015 World Cup may have been an example of that for South Africa. You know, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n \u2018That\u2019s the slight risk for South Africa\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThat some guys just want to go to another World Cup and they\u2019re not, of course they want to win, but they haven\u2019t done everything they can to win. And that\u2019s the slight risk for South Africa. And you\u2019ve got to find some hope for people.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause at the moment, you\u2019re building everyone. So, we\u2019ve got to create some hope.\u201d<\/p>\n