The Springboks’ stellar 2025 season

The Springboks have had a scintillating 2025 season, winning the Rugby Championship as well as all four matches in the Quilter Nations Series.

The season kicked off against a touring Barbarians side on a stormy Saturday in Cape Town, which proved an easy opener for the hosts, who won the match 54-7.

This also saw them secure their first piece of silverware of the season, the Qatar Airways Cup.

Next up, the Boks took on Italy in Gqeberha and Pretoria, as the first two of three warm-up matches for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

The first contest saw Italy put up a fight; however, the hosts managed to secure a comfortable 42-24 victory.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the Boks were in top form when they played at Loftus the following week and refused to allow the Azzurri to score, ending 45-0.

The final game of the incoming Test series saw Georgia travel to Mbombela. Despite an early try from the Lelos, the Boks kicked into gear and came out victorious 55-10.

For the next month, South Africans anxiously waited for their next fix of rugby, while the Springboks prepared to welcome Australia in the opening leg of the Rugby Championship in August.

Despite a convincing few warm-up matches, it was the Wallabies who came out on top, beating the South Africans 38-22 at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

Hungry for revenge, the Boks managed to grab their first win of the tournament in Cape Town the following weekend, after another fierce brawl against the Australians.

After claiming an unconvincing 30-22 victory, it was time for the world champions to pack their bags and head to New Zealand for what would be their most challenging contest of the tournament.

The Boks played their first match at Eden Park, a ground that the hosts had not lost at since 1994. All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson revealed that he specifically chose the stadium for the occasion due to its record.

This bet paid off, and New Zealand won the fixture 24-17. This put immense pressure on the Boks to secure a win at Sky Stadium in Wellington the following weekend.

Not only did they win, but the South Africans handed the All Blacks their biggest-ever Test defeat, thrashing the hosts 43-10.

Australia’s loss against Argentina that same weekend also meant that the Springboks were still in contention for the Rugby Championship title, despite only winning two out of four games.

Up next was Argentina, with the first fixture being played at Kings Park in Durban. A scintillating performance from rising star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who scored 37 points, led the hosts to a 67-30 victory.

While the second fixture was a home game for the Pumas, the Argentine Rugby Union decided to play the game at Twickenham in London.

With New Zealand just behind them on points, the Boks had to win to secure the silverware, which is precisely what they did.

Despite a tough match against the Argentines, the Springboks managed to beat them 29-27.

Having won it in 2024, the victory meant that the South Africans retained the Rugby Championship title, making it their fifth in total.

Off to Europe

Despite an action-packed season, the Boks headed back to Europe in November for the Autumn Nations Series, which sees Northern Hemisphere teams take on their southern counterparts.

South Africa’s first match was against Japan at Wembley Stadium in London, with South Africa winning the fixture 61-7.

Next was France, which proved a tough contest in the first half, only for the Boks to be given a red card in the second. However, not only did they manage to prevent the French from scoring, but they also went on to win the match 32-17.

The following weekend seemed like a repeat of the previous one, with the South Africans being handed another red card against Italy, this time in the opening 10 minutes.

Rassie Erasmus made a few changes to his side, and the team operated as usual, managing a convincing win against the Azzurri. The match ended 32-14.

The match against Ireland in Dublin was by far the most anticipated of the series.

Despite playing at the Aviva Stadium, a ground the visitors hadn’t won at for over a decade, the Boks prevailed, beating the Irish 24-13.

The final match of the season against Wales was the most significant victory of the season, with the South Africans winning by 73 points to nil at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

This is currently the seventh-greatest points margin in Springbok history.