Springbok rugby has never been as healthy as it was in 2023.
And what a year it was for former head coach Jacques Nienaber, the players and the rest of the management.
They became the first international men’s side to win the Rugby World Cup for a record fourth time and only the second team to win back-to-back titles – after the All Blacks clinched the Webb Ellis Cup in 2011 and 2015.
What made this win more special is that the Boks did it in France, the same country that pipped them, under mysterious circumstances, to host rugby’s 2023 global showpiece.
But what will probably set this World Cup win apart from the previous three is that on their way to the title, the world champions did not have any easy matches.
They did things the hard way, from a tough grouping with Scotland and Ireland in the so-called ‘Pool of Death’ to the playoffs littered with France (winning 29-28 in the quarter-final), England (winning 16-15 in the semi-final), and New Zealand (winning 12-11 in the final).
It's the toughest route to date that a South African side have followed to retain their trophy.
The World Cup win in Paris on October 28 comes down to the meticulous planning by Nienaber, director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and the rest of the Bok management.
That planning started right after the 2019 World Cup win in Japan. It was almost derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. They took a knock when key players like captain Siya Kolisi, Handré Pollard, Lood de Jager and Lukhanyo Am were injured before the tournament.
Kolisi, by some miracle, recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee – which normally results in a layoff of between six and nine months – to lead his side at the World Cup.
It didn’t look good for him after getting several opinions from medical professionals, but the No 6 flank had faith and his coaches had faith in his recovery.
Pollard also returned midway through the tournament to lead the squad to victory with his boot, but the Boks also lost hooker Malcolm Marx.
So, the build-up to 2023 was littered with potholes and speed bumps that most likely would’ve derailed teams looking to win a record fourth title... derail a team looking to go back-to-back with world titles.
But not the Boks of Nienaber and Erasmus.
They adapted to every situation asked of them, even without those key players. And in the World Cup year, thanks to how Nienaber and his coaches planned for every little eventuality, they were able to produce some stunning wins on their way to another Webb Ellis Cup.
Some of those wins included doing a double over New Zealand after losing to them at the start of the season in the Rugby Championship.
How the Boks fought back after that early 35-20 loss in Auckland, when they faced their fiercest rivals at Twickenham (winning 35-7) and in the World Cup final was commendable.
They did not let an early upset halt them.
Despite the Auckland loss, Nienaber and company continued to experiment while winning, and that gave them all the confidence in the world. And as the world came to find out, a Bok team with no fear of losing are a dangerous side.
The only other loss the team suffered was at the World Cup to Ireland. But the 13-8 defeat was a minor setback in their quest to become champions.
They held their nerve against hosts France, the English and the Kiwis to win all three matches by a point. But it didn’t matter how by how many points, as long as they returned from the pitch with the victory.
The product of Nienaber’s experiments with selection also saw the rise of new talents. A 20-year-old utility back, Canan Moodie, is a World Cup gold medallist, and he can only get better.
Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse also made the step up and scored some scintillating tries this past year.
Amongst the forwards, there will almost be no void to fill with Duane Vermeulen retiring as there are plenty of back-ups to take that spot, with Jasper Wiese ahead in the queue.
Prop Ox Nche also showed that he could have his cake and eat it whenever the Springboks decided to call on him. And didn’t he just feast on every tighthead prop who opposed him!
The Boks had innovative plans, things we haven’t seen from any other rugby side. Before this year, a 7-1 bench split was an unheard of, but the Springboks made it work.
Fullback Damian Willemse calling for a mark after a clean catch in his 22m area and then asking for a scrum to force a penalty against the French in that quarter-final was another first from the South Africans.
Innovative, yet simple planning was the order of the day for the Springboks in 2023, and it produced the desired results.
What must also not be missed is how Nienaber and Erasmus established a family environment in the Bok set-up from the onset.
And how the immediate families of the World Cup-winning squad played an integral role in keeping their campaign on track.
Dads like Deon Fourie, Franco Mostert, Duane Vermeulen, Kolisi and Cheslin Kolbe could spend time with their families.
When a day got too tough, they had the privilege of returning to their kids. Spending time with the families of their teammates, and their brothers created a unique bond in the camp.
For other sides, it was not like that, especially in France, when the pressure was on.
Put all these different ingredients into a pot, and you have the perfect blend for a winning recipe. And the Springboks cooked and brought home the World Cup in 2023.
A testing year as the Bok Women finally got international exposure
They finally have an international competition where, every year, the Springbok Women side can compete with the top women’s outfits in World Rugby’s WXV 2 tournament.
In its inaugural year, the Women Boks had the privilege of hosting the competition that included Scotland, Italy, Japan and Samoa.
Although they had a tough start, they’ve managed to beat Samoa in the three games that they’ve played.
But overall, Louis Koen, the interim Bok Women head coach, will be happy with the 12 international matches his side featured in this past year.
It was a 2023 season of mixed results for the South Africans, but they are well on track to qualify for the 2025 Women’s World Cup hosted by England.
This year they won the Rugby Africa Women’s Championship, which confirmed their participation in WXV 2 ahead of Kenya. Should they produce the same results next year at the Championship, they will qualify for the 2025 tournament.
After they participated in New Zealand in 2021, where they failed to win a pool match, the South Africans will be out to sharpen their skills in 2024 after searching far and wide for players with various camps.
Springbok Women Sevens make 2023 inroads, Blitzboks fall by the wayside
It was a dark 2023 for the Blitzboks, where they failed to qualify automatically for next year's Olympic Games in France. They also failed to qualify via the continental tournament route, losing out to Kenya.
And after a livewire start to the revamped SVNS Series in Dubai in December, the Springbok Sevens hit a snag as they looked to conquer the Cape Town tournament.
And the shades of that dark 2023 season came flashing back.
But there is a long year ahead, and with the players at their disposal, the Blitzboks should be well-equipped to make up for the troubling 2023 series.
If they can’t, another daunting year awaits them where they need to win the repêchage tournament to grab the final spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In contrast to the tribulations of the men, the Bok Women Sevens started their year with qualification as a core side for the SVNS Series of 2023/24 by winning the qualifier in Stellenbosch in April.
They followed that up by winning the Rugby Africa Olympic qualifier in October in Tunisia. These are all signs of a team that are finally on the up after some tough challenges, especially post Covid-19.
And in their first tournament in Dubai, they nearly caused upsets against New Zealand and Fiji.
Little errors kept them from sealing those games, but those are all growing pains for a promising system.
Yes, they took a step back when they couldn’t win a game at the Cape Town tournament, but there is optimism that they’ll keep producing good performances as they build for the Olympic Games.
IOL Sport