Ahead of the Springboks’ Rugby Championship title defence, captain Siya Kolisi says that the team has shifted their mindset.

South Africa have won the tournament and its previous iterations on just five occasions previously, but they have never successfully defended the crown, with New Zealand dominating the competition.

While the Springboks have won back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023, they failed to win the Rugby Championship in the years in between, something the current squad want to change.

Kolisi states that the squad are no longer putting all their focus on the global showpiece but are focusing on being the best team in the world all the time.

Springboks’ mindset shift

Key to that is squad depth and making sure that those who do pull on the Green and Gold jersey are adequately prepared to do so with the Bok training sessions and camps hitting a different level, according to the captain.

“It’s important to us, that’s why there are so many players getting opportunities, because injuries happen, and we saw that with Jan-Hendrik [Wessels] this weekend,” Kolisi told reporters on Friday ahead of their clash against Australia at Ellis Park.

“When players get those chances, you want to make sure that when we are in training camps, that group gets to be the best they can be. You want to train against the best guys as well.

“The training sessions have been much tougher against each other, it’s been brutal at times, especially in set-pieces for us as forwards, and the mindset has changed.”

On the squad goals, he added: “We want to be the best all the time. We’ve never wanted that; it’s never been a goal to say we just want to focus on World Cups because anything can happen in a World Cup. So now it’s everything in between too.

“Being number one makes a difference when it comes to the World Cup draw and pools, so the mindset is definitely to try and win every single game, but also building squad depth because that helps a lot in the long run.”

In staying ahead of the curve, head coach Rassie Erasmus has been eager to innovate, illustrated by the open-field lineouts and trick plays since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

He also employed highly respected attack coach Tony Brown, who has changed the Springboks’ style of play, adding more width and running threats.

Additionally, much has been made of the Springboks’ fitness with several brutal training camps, which assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says is crucial to play in the new attacking systems.

“We have standards that we’ve set for ourselves and goals to go with them. For us, it’s being able to maintain those goals and be the best in the world, not only during the World Cup year but throughout.

“When the Springboks are playing, it is a different vibe for the people of South Africa, so we don’t take it for granted. We want to be the best in the world, and we want to stay there.

“With the way we want to develop our game, you can see that with the input of Tony Brown, we want to play that fast game. Most of our forwards now are passing a, which you wouldn’t have seen in the past.

Yes, we want to develop our game, and fitness is a big part of that goal. If you want to be the best in the world and compete against Australia, the All Blacks and Ireland, the players have to be fit enough to handle whatever challenges the opposition throws at you.”

On Australia, Stick added: “We are fully aware of the challenge ahead, and we know how dangerous Australia are in the set pieces and with ball in hand. They played well in their last two matches against the British & Irish Lions, losing the second Test in the last few minutes, while they won the last match, so it’s going to be a big battle.”