2025 Review: Ranking The Springboks’ Performances

The Boks further entrenched themselves as the No. 1 team in the world in 2025. They continued to make history as well, claiming back-to-back Rugby Championship titles for the first time and recording record-breaking wins over the All Blacks, Wales and the Barbarians.

In addition, they retained the Mandela Challenge Plate, Freedom Cup, Qatar Airways Cup and Prince William Cup and completed an unbeaten UK tour for the second year in succession to finish the season with 13 wins out of 15 games.

Here’s a rundown of the Boks’ performances, from the least to most impressive.

15: 38-22 loss to Australia in Johannesburg, 16 August

There was shock and awe at Ellis Park as so-called “Tony Ball” backfired in a major way for the Boks as they fell to a stunning 38-22 defeat to the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship opener.

The defending champions exploded out of the blocks and raced into a 22-0 lead after 18 minutes, playing a fast and furious brand of rugby. It was high-octane stuff from South Africa as they spread the ball from side to side in an initially impressive attacking onslaught that had Tony Brown’s fingerprints all over it.

It slowly became apparent that the Boks had blown their load, however, as the Australians – who were written off beforehand – scored 38 unanswered points in one of the greatest comebacks of all time to record only their second-ever win at Ellis Park (the first since 1963) and their first victory on South African soil in 14 years.

14: 24-17 loss to New Zealand in Auckland, 6 September

The Boks were made to rue several missed opportunities as they suffered a 24-17 defeat to the All Blacks in their epic encounter at Eden Park.

The men in Green and Gold looked to end their arch-rivals’ 50-match unbeaten run at their Auckland fortress, but a dreadful start and inability to cash in on 22-metre entries saw them fall short of their goal.

The Boks were on the back foot almost immediately as Emoni Narawa scored inside the first two minutes and found themselves in a world of trouble at 14-0 down after a Beauden Barrett 50:22 led to a try by Will Jordan in the 18th minute.

The visitors were able to stop the bleeding for the remainder of a testing first half, in which they couldn’t convert pressure into points due to simple errors, and their lineout was a total shambles. As a result, they only had a 23rd-minute penalty goal by Handre Pollard to show for their efforts in the wet conditions.

The Bok bench made a major difference in the second half, with the bolstered scrum providing the momentum for Malcolm Marx to go over for their first try and close the gap to 17-10 after an earlier Damian McKenzie penalty goal. Quinn Tupaea touched down while Kwagga Smith was in the sin bin, before replacement scrumhalf Cobus Reinach darted over to make it a seven-point game again in the 74th minute.

Given their high error rate, the Boks would’ve been satisfied with a draw and pushed hard for a game-levelling seven-pointer, but Ardie Savea – playing in his 100th Test – sealed the deal for the host with a clutch turnover as New Zealand kept their remarkable Eden Park record intact and snapped their four-match losing streak against the Boks.

13: 42-24 win over Italy in Pretoria, 5 July

Jasper Wiese returned from a three-month stint on the sidelines due to a neck injury with a vengeance as the Boks secured a 42-24 win over Italy in their opening Test of the season at Loftus Versfeld.

The back-to-back world champions were expected to lay waste to a young, understrength Azzurri outfit and while the result was never in doubt, the Boks never really found their rhythm. 

A stuttering start saw them lead just 7-0 after dominating the first quarter. Things trended in the right direction in the second 20 and swelled the lead to 28-3 at halftime. However, for once, the Bomb Squad were ineffective and it was the visitors who stepped up in the second half, ‘winning’ the stanza 21-14.

12: 55-10 win over Georgia in Nelspruit, 19 July

The relentless Ruan Nortje and fellow next-generation stars shone as the Boks secured a 55-10 win over Georgia in their one-off Test in Nelspruit.

The Lelos got off to the perfect start with a try in the second minute, which was a combination of their passion and the hosts’ sluggishness out of the shoot. The Boks took control of the game through their forwards and led 22-10 at the break, but would not have been happy with their first-half performance.

Their work rate, particularly at ruck time, and discipline weren’t up to scratch, but on the plus side, the rookie front row of Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche, all making their Test debuts, dominated at scrum time, with Venter scoring the Boks’ opening try and Van der Merwe bagging a brace.

The back-to-back world champions were better in the second stanza, which saw the Georgian resistance turn to rubble, with the Boks adding 33 points to their tally while shutting out the visitors.

11: 30-22 win over Australia in Cape Town, 23 August

Handre Pollard’s boot was the difference as the Boks rebounded from the previous week’s shock loss against the Wallabies at Ellis Park with a 30-22 win in the rematch in Cape Town.

The defending champions led 20-10 at halftime and held on against the never-say-die men from Down Under to get their Rugby Championship campaign back on track.

The change at flyhalf, with Pollard taking over from Manie Libbok, highlighted the change in philosophy, with the Boks reverting to their more tactical and direct DNA after their free-running self-destruction in Johannesburg.

And, while it wasn’t as convincing as it could’ve and probably should’ve been, it did the trick as the Boks bounced back to retain the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate.

10: 29-27 win over Argentina in London, 4 October

The Boks pipped the Pumas 29-27 at Twickenham to secure back-to-back Rugby Championship titles for the first time.

The All Blacks’ 28-14 win over the Wallabies in Perth earlier in the day meant a win of any kind in the tournament finale would see Siya Kolisi and company become the first South Africa team to retain the crown, which they did, despite not starting or finishing well.

A second-minute yellow card to Canan Moodie for a high tackle but the Boks on the back foot from the get go, and they remained sluggish in the first half. Inaccurate, too many kicks were too deep and passes didn’t stick at crucial tries for the South Africans.

Approaching halftime, the men in Green and Gold went to their get-out-of-jail-free card – their dominant scrum – which they used to break down the Pumas until Cobus Reinach picked up at the back and scored to make it 13-10 for the Argentinians at the interval.

The roles were reversed at the start of the second half, with Mayco Vivas yellow-carded for a high tackle, leading to Malcolm Marx scoring in the left-hand corner to put the Boks in the lead for the first time in the 44th minute.

It was one-way traffic from there, with Reinach and Marx both going over for a second time, until the Pumas received some hope when Bautista Delguy intercepted to score his second try and cut the Boks’ lead to 29-20.

Refusing to go away, Argentina scored again through Rodrigo Isgro in the final play of the game, but the Boks had done enough to hold on and make history.

9: 54-7 win over the Barbarians in Cape Town, 28 June

Cheslin Kolbe weaved his magic as the Boks kicked off their season with a record 54-7 rout of the Barbarians in a wet and cold Cape Town.

It was complete domination by the back-to-back world champions as they romped to their biggest-ever win over the famous invitational team in what was the first game between the sides on South African soil.

The hosts led 19-0 at halftime and ultimately outscored Robbie Deans’ men by eight tries to one. Known as one of rugby’s great innovators, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus sprung two surprises by bringing on all eight substitutes in the 45th minute and playing replacement centre Andre Esterhuizen at flank for the first time.

Overall, it was a classy display by the Boks, led by Jesse Kriel for the first time after Siya Kolisi was ruled out on the eve of the historic clash, and saw the men in Green and Gold clinch the Qatar Airlines Cup.

8: 45-0 win over Italy in Gqeberha, 12 July

Double try-scorer Edwill van der Merwe glittered in Gqeberha as the Boks swept the two-Test series against Italy with a 45-0 whitewash.

The mighty South Africans dazzled in the first half with multi-dimensional play to lead 24-0 at halftime and turned to their kicking game in the final 30 minutes in a match they controlled from start to finish.

That despite losing Jasper Wiese to a red card for a head-butt on Danilo Fischetti in the 21st minute and Wilco Louw to a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Sebastian Negri in the 44th minute.

The back-to-back world champions continued to innovate as two of their seven unanswered tries came from manufactured lineouts in the middle of the field. They also started the game with a deliberate short kick off to force a scrum.

Overall, it was a much-improved performance on the 18-point win at Loftus Versfeld the previous week as the Boks kept a major nation scoreless for the first time since a 28-0 victory over Scotland 12 years ago and celebrated Willie le Roux’s 100th Test in style.

7: 61-7 win over Japan in London, 1 November

The Boks kicked off their end-of-year tour on a high as they stormed to a 61-7 win over Japan at Wembley Stadium.

The South Africans dominated with their power and kicking game in the wet conditions, with their driving maul producing two tries – the first to captain Siya Kolisi in the fifth minute and the other a penalty try – that bookended a brace by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to build a 26-0 halftime lead.

The men in Green and Gold added five more tries after the break, with Kurt-Lee Arendse marking his return with a double, Wilco Louw scoring his first Test five-pointer, Andre Esterhuizen – on for Kolisi at flank – dotting down after having an earlier try disallowed for double banking, and Jesse Kriel crossing to complete the rout.

The sole highlight for the battered Brave Blossoms was Yoshitaka Yazaki’s converted try in the 52nd minute.

6: 67-30 win over Argentina in Durban, 27 September

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu personified a perfect storm as he spearheaded the Boks’ 67-30 destruction of the Pumas in Durban.

After a cagey start and early battle of the boot between Man of the Match Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Santiago Carreras gave Argentina a 9-6 lead, the Boks scored the opening try through Malcolm Marx.

The crowd was then stunned into silence. Cheslin Kolbe, having dotted down for an in-goal drop-out, merely wanted to get the ball to Damian Willemse but did so by drop-kicking it to him. The little chip skewed off his boot and was snapped up by Santiago Chocobares, who scored one of the most bizarre tries ever seen.

Some magic from flyhalf Feinberg-Mngomezulu won momentum back for the Boks immediately before another dramatic twist saw Marx concede a penalty try and a yellow card for illegally sacking the maul. However, Feinberg-Mngomezulu had the final say of the first half, dancing over for his second try to give the Boks a 25-23 halftime lead.

The back-to-back world champions completely blew the Argentinians away in the second stanza, running in six tries for a total of nine to become the first team to win consecutive games in this year’s Southern Hemisphere showpiece and shoot to the top of the table.

It was stunning stuff from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who wrote his name into the record books by racking up a mesmeric 37-point haul, the most by a Bok in a single Test, breaking Percy Montgomery’s previous record of 35 against Namibia in Cape Town in 2007.

5: 73-0 v Wales in Cardiff, 29 November

The merciless Boks massacred Wales to close out their dominant 2025 campaign with a record 73-0 win in Cardiff.

With the game falling outside of the international window, both teams were missing several frontline players. This highlighted both the Boks’ embarrassment of riches and the Dragons’ serious lack of depth as the vaunted visitors handed the hapless hosts their biggest-ever home defeat.

The Boks scored 11 tries in all, with the game over as a contest at halftime after converted tries by Gerhard Steenekamp, Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese and Morne van den Berg gave them a 28-0 lead.

Things went from bad to worse for the helpless Welsh in the second half as the South Africans ran in seven more tries, with Wilco Louw, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Canan Moodie crossing the whitewash in short order.

With his charges up 49-0, a ruthless Rassie Erasmus unleashed “The Nuke Squad” (the nickname for the Boks’ 7-1 split bench in favour of the forwards), sending all eight players – including lone backline replacement Cobus Reinach in his 50th Test – on in the 50th minute.

The insatiable back-to-back world champions continued to feast, scoring through Esterhuizen, Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ruan Nortje and Eben Etzebeth. Unfortunately, the game ended on a sour note with Etzebeth red-carded for eye-gouging Alex Mann.

4: 32-14 win over Italy in Turin, 15 November

The Boks’ unrivalled resilience and problem-solving ability saw them secure a heroic 32-14 win over Italy in Turin after being a man down for 69 minutes.

In a match in which referee James Doleman and his fellow officials insisted on being main characters, Franco Mostert received a straight red card for what was deemed a dangerous tackle on Paolo Garbisi in the 11th minute.

With the Azzurri having a numerical advantage and ascendency upfront, Rassie Erasmus made several brave and early substitutions. An unlucky Ben-Jason Dixon was the man sacrificed shortly after Mostert’s dismissal, with Ruan Nortje coming on to run the lineout.

Wilco Louw replaced 21-year-old Zachary Porthen in the 19th minute, Gerhard Steenekamp unseated Boan Venter in the 23rd minute, and hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen replaced Edwill van der Merwe in the 27th minute. 

Adversity seemed to be around every corner for the young Bok team, with decisions continuing to go against them, yet, it was the character-filled South Africans who led 10-7 at halftime and stayed in front even after try-scorer Marco van Staden spent 10 minutes in the bin in the second half.

The introductions of RG Snyman and Kwagga Smith further fuelled the visitors, and replacement halfbacks Grant Williams and Manie Libbok struck late, the former scoring and the latter setting up Ethan Hooker for his first Test try with a signature crosskick, to cap off a second incredibly courageous victory for the back-to-back world champions in as many weeks.

3: 24-13 win over Ireland in Dublin, 22 November

The Boks imposed their will on a gutsy but overpowered Ireland to triumph 24-13 and break a 13-year drought in Dublin.

Going into the colossal clash, the one achievement that eluded the current golden generation of Boks was beating Ireland in their backyard.

Their desire was apparent as they physically dominated the hosts at the Aviva Stadium to get the monkey off their back and become the first Bok team to get one over Ireland in Dublin since 2012. 

With the Boks in beast mode, the Irish simply couldn’t live with the back-to-back world champions, conceding no less than four yellow cards in the first half, one of which was upgraded to a 20-minute red card, and a fifth yellow in the second stanza.

The Boks’ key area of dominance was the scrum. They utterly destroyed Ireland in the set piece from start to finish. To call it a scrummaging masterclass would be too poetic: it was a massacre.

Given the lack of success they’ve had against the Irish in recent years, the Boks revelled in their demolition job. They were ruthless, either burying or blasting away the hosts’ hopeless front rows, owning the starters, and back-ups.

If it had been a mixed martial arts fight, the referee would’ve stepped in and attempted to drag the Bok pack off their Irish victims as they wailed on them to stop the beatdown.

Thomas du Toit spearheaded the mauling, setting the tone from the very first scrum, and Wilco Louw continued the destruction when he replaced him just before halftime. The two tightheads, along with the other Bok front-rankers, feasted like they were at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The former systematically broke the Irish down and the latter delivered the hammer blows, first helping power the Boks to a penalty try and then forcing Paddy McCarthy to concede a yellow card.

A try by Damian Willemse in the fourth minute gave the Boks the perfect start, with a sniping score by Cobus Reinach in the 35th minute and a penalty try just before halftime handing the Boks a 19-7 lead at the break.

When Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu ran in a superb solo try to make it 24-10 in the 46th minute, it looked as if South Africa were going to put 40 or 50 points past the Irish, and they probably should have.

However, Andy Farrell’s men deserve credit for the fight they showed in the final 30 minutes, keeping the Boks out on a number of occasions where it looked certain they would score.

Nevertheless, it was a sweet victory for Rassie Erasmus and his charges, who hammered home the fact that they’re the No. 1 team in the world.

2: 32-17 win over France in Paris, 8 November

It was repeat rather than revenge as a 14-man Bok side claimed a character-filled 32-17 win over Les Bleus in Paris.

France were fixated on exacting revenge for the heart-breaking 29-28 World Cup quarter-final loss to South Africa at the same venue two years ago, but instead, the back-to-back world champions showed their superiority in the much-anticipated rematch despite losing Lood de Jager to a permanent red card in the 39th minute.

It was guts to glory stuff as the Boks celebrated captain Siya Kolisi’s landmark 100th Test appearance and Rassie Erasmus’ 50th Test as head coach in style. The courageous victory also saw Erasmus become the winningest coach in Bok history with 37 wins, eclipsing fellow World Cup-winning mentor Jake White (36).

Les Bleus had the upper hand in the first half as Damian Penaud breached the Boks’ tryline twice. However, two penalty goals by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and a superb solo try by Cobus Reinach made it 14-13.

South Africa were awarded a late kickable penalty to go into the break with the lead, but in a major turn of events, it was reversed and De Jager saw red for a high tackle on Thomas Ramos.

This is where the character of this special Bok team came to the fore as they restricted France to just three more points whilst banking three tries through Andre Esterhuizen, Grant Williams and Feinberg-Mngomezulu to seal their biggest win over Les Bleus in Paris since 1997.

1: 43-10 win over New Zealand in Wellington, 13 September

In a performance for the ages, the Boks romped to a record 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington to retain the Freedom Cup and keep their Rugby Championship title defence alive.

Rassie Erasmus rolled the dice by fielding a new-look backline full of youthful exuberance and hit the jackpot as his charges condemned New Zealand to their biggest-ever defeat.

Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the men in Green and Gold glittered as they whipped up an unprecedented storm that left the All Blacks utterly shell-shocked.

The action was fast and furious throughout, and after failing to capitalise on a couple of try-scoring opportunities in the first half, the Boks found their groove after the break.

Physical and fearless, they scored five tries to add to Cheslin Kolbe’s first-half touchdown and kept the Kiwis scoreless to create another bit of history.