{"id":335157,"date":"2025-12-25T16:14:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T16:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/335157\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T16:14:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T16:14:13","slug":"5-things-on-south-africas-christmas-wishlist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/335157\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things on South Africa’s Christmas wishlist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Santa has already given South African rugby so much this year. Sustained dominance at the top of the men\u2019s rankings, a World Rugby Player of the Year award for Malcolm Marx<\/a>, a best-ever show in the Women\u2019s World Cup. It would be greedy to ask for more.<\/p>\n

And yet, as we all know, enough is never enough. We want more. More awards, more wins, more tears from New Zealand<\/a> columnists and English commentators. Rassie Erasmus<\/a> has extended his contract until 2031. If he can go back for seconds (well, thirds, really), then surely we can put in a last-minute request to ol\u2019 Saint Nick and ask the big man in red to stuff our stockings with the following:<\/p>\n

A statement in the Greatest Rivalry<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a wish for a Springboks clean sweep. It\u2019s not even a wish for some shock wins for the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls<\/a> or Lions<\/a> against the All Blacks<\/a> (although those would be nice). It\u2019s a yearning for this series to be something that resets rugby\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n

With the Nations Championship launching next year, the chance for extended series that hark back to the sport\u2019s amateur age has diminished. But extended series between two teams create opportunity for narratives to unfold, for heroes and villains to meander through Shakespearean arcs. They create room for fans to travel from across the world and for journalists to sink their teeth into stories that would not otherwise have an audience. This is why the British & Irish Lions remain an enduring force in the sport and it\u2019s why all of us, even those of us not from South Africa<\/a> or New Zealand, should be hoping for a cracking series when the All Blacks and Springboks lock horns.<\/p>\n

Though the name is uncreative, it is accurate. This is the greatest rivalry in the sport. These are the two best teams and the two most significant rugby brands. If they can\u2019t make a head-to-head series work, no one else will. But if they shoot the lights out, we might see more of these epics in the future.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

South Africa <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

New Zealand <\/p>\n

Recognition that Australia<\/a> and Argentina<\/a> still matter<\/p>\n

Having said all that, I hope that the Wallabies and Pumas<\/a> are not forgotten. Even if the Greatest Rivalry is a commercial and sporting success, it would be a shame if that came at the expense of the Rugby Championship.<\/p>\n

Australia and Argentina are not merely opponents on the calendar; they are essential allies in maintaining the global balance of power. Without them, southern hemisphere rugby becomes an echo chamber, shrinking rather than strengthening.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s struggles have been well documented and rugby in Argentina continues to punch above its weight without a fully functioning professional league. The code in both nations is not on life support, but a few fallow years could push rugby closer to extinction. And as much as they need South Africa and New Zealand, the big boys need their less fancied dancing partners just as much.<\/p>\n

The Springboks\u2019 wish here is for wisdom. Use rivalries to enhance the calendar, not cannibalise it. Protect the Rugby Championship<\/a> as a meaningful competition rather than allow it to wither into irrelevance. South Africa\u2019s strength has been forged in tough neighbourhoods, not empty ones.<\/p>\n

Evan Roos and Cameron Hanekom<\/a> trusted at No.8<\/p>\n

There is depth everywhere you look in the Springboks camp. Well, almost everywhere. Jasper Wiese<\/a> is one of the most destructive battering rams in the game and, from the back of the pack, is an integral cog in the Boks machine. But if he goes down injured, or if he cops another ban for ill discipline, things could unravel.<\/p>\n

This is why 2026 must be the year that one \u2013 or both \u2013 of Cameron Hanekom or Evan Roos<\/a> come to the fore. Both are different players than Wiese and lack the same gainline punch, but both are more all-round athletes with a wider repertoire of skills. They can both scythe through gaps from midfield, offer options in the line-out and have a more dynamic off-loading game. They\u2019re both quicker off the mark as well.<\/p>\n

There is no question that Wiese is the incumbent. He was my personal pick for best Springbok of the year. But he needs a deputy. The home games against Wales<\/a> and Scotland, as well as the away trip to Italy, could be the perfect opportunity to get some miles in young legs.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Boks need more Tier 1 exposure \u2013 and a new plan of attack<\/p>\n

Halfway through their quarterfinal with New Zealand\u2019s Black Ferns, South Africa\u2019s players went into the break all square at 10-10. A team that hadn\u2019t reached the knockouts of a World Cup was level with the most successful outfit in the women\u2019s game. Not only were they level, South Africa had dominated the opening 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

Though the final 46-17 score reflected a second half blowout, the entire campaign exceeded expectations as star players became household names. The rampaging Aseza Hele. The metronomic Libbie Janse van Rensberg. The pocket-rocket Byrhandre Dolf. The towering Danelle Lochner. All elite. All worthy of a place at the top table of the game. All desperately needing more competition.<\/p>\n

A single Test against the Black Ferns will serve as a curtain raiser ahead of the third Test on the Greatest Rivalry series in Johannesburg, but this is not enough. On SA Rugby\u2019s website, there are currently no fixtures listed for the women\u2019s side, proving that the team remains an afterthought despite their massive gains. Something has to change or nothing really will.<\/p>\n

Something new out of Rassie\u2019s bag of tricks<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had midfield line-out-style mauls, we\u2019ve wings feeding scrums, centres packing down at flank and a range of tweaks to bench splits. What comes next is anyone\u2019s guess but I hope that Erasmus has something locked away, ready to get tongues wagging and keyboards clicking.<\/p>\n

No one in rugby\u2019s history has created more headlines than South Africa\u2019s head coach. Often it\u2019s for the things he says, for the things he tweets and for the dominance of his team. That can often overshadow what a sensational innovator he is. No doubt he\u2019s cooking something up over the festive period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Santa has already given South African rugby so much this year. Sustained dominance at the top of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-335157","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}