Why Springboks' world ranking is crucial as World Cup expands
Today at 11:02 AM
The Springboks’ planning for their World Cup title defence in 2027 is already well under way, and players will soon gather for the team’s first alignment camp of this year.
As it stands, the Springboks still remain firmly ensconced at the top of the world rugby rankings, but maintaining a position of strength will be more important than ever by the time this season comes to an end.
The draw for the expanded 24-team 2027 World Cup is set to take place in December, and so the rankings then will be used to determine the top seeds for the draw.
It’s already been confirmed that next Rugby World Cup will feature 24 teams in an expanded format, with all qualifiers taking place in 2025 as teams worldwide compete in a series of regional qualifiers, each striving to secure one of the 12 available places.
The Springboks currently have 92.78 ranking points, as many as 2.42 points ahead of second-placed New Zealand, but they are going to face a massive challenge to ensure they remain at the top in 2025.
Besides some really tough games such as playing New Zealand (twice), Ireland and France all away from home, there is a clear commitment to rotate players and expose newcomers to Test rugby, which could also come at the cost of results now and then.
"We are hoping to get the 15 matches, every single one is almost confirmed," Erasmus confirmed at a press conference just last week.
"This will be a tough season for us in terms of Tests, just looking at our draw. We had a tough 2022, but now having 15 matches, I think it is only the second time in history that we have it. I think 2007 had 17 matches. It will be the first one in a long time, but we need them.
In an interview with a Sunday newspaper, he also added the following: "The World Cup is a bit different than before. There are six groups of four teams each and a round of 16, which can be very difficult. It's important where you finish at the end of the year [in the world rankings]."
SPRINGBOKS' 2025 TEST SCHEDULE JUST TWO YEARS AWAY FROM THE NEXT WORLD CUP:
TBC: vs Barbarians, TBC, TBC
5 July: vs Italy, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
12 July: vs Italy, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
19 July: vs Georgia, Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
16 August: vs Australia, Ellis Park, Johannesburg
23 August: vs Australia, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
6 September: vs New Zealand, Auckland
13 September: vs New Zealand, Wellington
27 September: vs Argentina, Kings Park, Durban
4 October: vs Argentina, London
1 November: vs Wales, Cardiff
8 November: vs France, Paris
15 November: vs Italy, Turin
22 November: vs Ireland, Dublin
*SA Rugby are working on two additional end-of-year Tests for the Springboks.
CURRENT WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS
| RANK | COUNTRY | POINTS |
| 1 | South Africa | 92.78 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 90.36 |
| 3 | Ireland | 89.71 |
| 4 | France | 89.51 |
| 5 | Argentina | 84.97 |
| 6 | England | 84.37 |
| 7 | Scotland | 82.36 |
| 8 | Australia | 81.52 |
| 9 | Fiji | 80.07 |
| 10 | Italy | 77.89 |
| 11 | Georgia | 74.69 |
| 12 | Wales | 73.75 |
| 13 | Japan | 72.95 |
| 14 | Samoa | 72.68 |
| 15 | USA | 70.02 |
| 16 | Portugal | 68.30 |
| 17 | Spain | 67.34 |
| 18 | Uruguay | 67.06 |
| 19 | Tonga | 65.46 |
| 20 | Romania | 62.76 |
WHICH SA FIXTURES ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR?
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