Despite blowing hot and cold in 2022, the Springboks will charge into 2023 with momentum and self-belief on their side when they defend the World Cup in France.
There were narrow losses to France and Ireland on their European tour, but Bok coach Jacques Nienaber says SA are not far from being strong World Cup contenders.
The Boks landed a significant psychological blow when they beat old foes England at their Twickenham fortress in their final game of 2022.
In recent months, Nienaber has been developing a squad he hopes has the skill and power needed to retain the World Cup.
The Boks will have to hit the ground running because they have been drawn alongside Ireland, Scotland, Romania and Tonga in Pool B.
Nienaber says being grouped in the same pool as Ireland and Scotland will pose a huge challenge.
He will have a final opportunity to run the rule of his squad when they play warm-up matches against Argentina in Buenos Aires on August 5, Wales in Cardiff on August 19 and New Zealand in London on August 25.
The head coach says it is vital the Boks test themselves against quality opposition ahead of the group stages.
SA kick off their title defence with a tough opener against Scotland in Marseille on September 10.
Their other games are Romania (Bordeaux, September 17), Ireland (Paris, September 23) and Tonga (Marseille, October 1).
Like Nienaber, SA’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, is confident the Boks are on the right track ahead of the global showpiece.
He says the 2022 international season is the first time the Springboks have been able to successfully strengthen their Test squad depth since the 2019 World Cup.
Erasmus says having this kind of depth is super exciting and all the players have been given road maps to work on.
He says the World Cup squad will be selected on the technical and fundamental strength of the players in terms of those maps.
The secret to winning the World Cup is to peak at the right time and to have all your key players performing in unison.
After masterminding the Boks’ 2019 triumph, Erasmus knows what is required to lift rugby’s biggest prize.
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