England and British & Irish Lions legend Jeremy Guscott says the Springboks are beatable and not as overpowering as some past world champions.
While the Boks ended 2025 ranked No 1 for a third straight year – defending their Castle Rugby Championship title and completing an unbeaten end-of-year tour – Guscott believes Rassie Erasmus’ team do not stack up against the most dominant sides of the professional era.
Writing in The Rugby Paper, Guscott acknowledged that the Boks are the strongest team in the world at present, but suggested their grip on the global game is overstated.
“They’re playing very well,” he wrote, “but I don’t think they would dominate a current World XV – and the only people likely to say they would are South African fans.”
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Guscott was responding to comparisons between England’s current side and their 2003 World Cup winners, pointing out that that team – like the All Blacks of 2015 – featured six or seven players who would walk into a World XV. He believes that standard has not been matched by the modern Springboks.
“My sense is that South Africa in 2023 were not as dominant as world champions as they were in 2019, or as dominant as New Zealand in 2015, or England in 2003,” he wrote.
“Since 2019, the top teams have beaten each other. Although the Springboks are the strongest side right now, they are beatable and have suffered a number of defeats.”
The Springboks and England are set to meet in the opening match of next year’s Nations Championship at Ellis Park – a fixture that will offer an early test of Guscott’s claim.
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Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
