Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks treated the match against Argentina at Twickenham as their final opportunity to lift the Rugby Championship trophy.
The 29-27 victory secured back-to-back Sanzaar titles for the first time in Bok history, but with the tournament set for a break in 2026, Erasmus admitted that uncertainty over its future added emotional weight to the occasion.
“We certainly spoke about it a lot this week,” Erasmus said. “We’re not sure when we’ll play in the Rugby Championship again. I played in the old Tri-Nations and won it once as a player, and we knew today that maybe this was the last chance, maybe this is the last Rugby Championship, I’m not 100% sure how it will work in the future.”
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Erasmus said the possibility of history slipping away motivated the squad through a challenging build-up.
“It was a nervy week with only two training sessions, flying over to England, some injuries, so that definitely was a motivational thing for us.”
Reflecting on what the achievement meant to his squad, Erasmus emphasised its rarity in Springbok history.
“These guys have achieved something not a lot of people have. New Zealand have done it many times, they’re a great team, but we’ve never done it,” he said.
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With next year’s schedule already set for a three-Test series against the All Blacks, dubbed “The Greatest Rivalry”, and no Championship planned, Erasmus acknowledged uncertainty around what comes next.
“Next year we’ll have that series, then 2027 is the World Cup. After that, who knows what the format will be?”
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Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
