The Springboks have lost just one test since they were crowned Rugby World Cup winners and have made a perfect start to their quest to prise the Rugby Championship from the All Blacks’ grip for the first time since 2019.
Back-to-back wins over the Wallabies in Australia signalled to the rugby world that the World Cup champions have lost none of their edge and are fully deserving of their number one ranking, after also drawing a home series one win apiece with Ireland.
Two tests against New Zealand in South Africa give them the opportunity to improve on that start, the first of which is at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on September 1 (NZT) and the Boks have been praised as having gone up a level since securing their fourth World Cup and since Rassie Erasmus was reinstated as head coach.
Among those is former Springboks halfback Kevin Putt, who told Newstalk ZB he believes the 2024 iteration is better than the side that hoisted the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris.
“I’ve got absolutely no doubt about that. Mainly because there’s a strong degree of belief… they’ve got such a depth of players in there. Yet they can still consistently play exceptionally well and I mean obviously they’re ranked number one in the world at the moment.”