JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Rassie Erasmus is inclined to prioritize South Africa's shot at an unprecedented third successive Rugby World Cup title than the new Nations Championship next year.
The world champion Springboks have just finished the year as the No. 1 test side for a third straight year.
Coach Erasmus was asked on Thursday how he planned to navigate a tough 2026 schedule so the Springboks don't lose their edge before the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
“My head is more towards not chasing the Nations Cup and risk not being ready for 2027," he said. “The World Cup is 18 months out. I think you must start focusing on the World Cup.”
The Nations Championship, World Rugby's new inter-hemisphere tournament, will fill the July and November test windows topped by a final.
In between, the Springboks will host a first full tour since 1996 by arch foe New Zealand, dubbed the Greatest Rivalry; three tests with the All Blacks in the republic and a fourth at a neutral venue to be decided.
“You want to try and win every single game (in 2026) but will it be the end of the world if you don't win the Nations Cup?” Erasmus posed.
He regards the Nations Championships, which pits the Six Nations teams against South Africa and its fellow Rugby Championship sides plus Fiji and Japan as “a tier one World Cup.”
Erasmus doesn't want the Springboks to be “punch drunk” in a year's time.
"We are trying to build our team and be a really competitive team who can win it in 2027. But you can lose that sort of favorite tag very quickly if you have a bad year the year before the World Cup. You don't want to be punch drunk next year (by) December. You want to make sure your players who you can pick for the next year (2027) can win (the World Cup).
"We won't take any game lightly (in 2026) but I think we will be willing to take a few shots and maybe an uppercut and say, okay guys, we’ve rolled the dice but world ranking isn’t important this year.
“Would you rather, in a year before the World Cup, lift the Nations Cup trophy or be ready for the World Cup? That’s a difficult thing to handle. And then the Greatest Rivalry starts next year. That’s massive for us as well.”
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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