Inside the Springboks' first session of the year

Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth/ Picture: X(formerly Twitter)

Not to cause any panic, but the Springboks officially came together for their first gym session of the 2025 season, which means Springbok rugby is about to make a return to our screens in the near future.

Rassie Erasmus and his staff have worked immensely hard over the last decade and more to put South African rugby where it is today, which is arguably at the best any rugby team has ever been. This reign has been characterised by back-to-back Rugby World Cups and overall dominance against any opponent that dare stand before them.

Their courageous and passionate run in the last world cup was enough for all patriotic South Africans to fully unite behind the Boks, despite the many issues that separate he masses. The Springboks, with the help of various other sporting codes, have revived mzansi’s love and support for sports, which is evident in the improvement in attendance, including for women’s sports.

After a four-month hiatus, coach Rassie and what seems to be the indestructible squad recently reunited for the first official gym session of the year and season, causing much excitement and anticipation from fans.

@supersportofficial POV: you walk into the first Springbok gym session of 2025 ???? #springboks #tiktoksa #tiktoksouthafrica #sportsontiktok #sarugby #rugby #rugbytok #springboksrugby ♬ original sound – shah

This session marks the beginning of the Boks’ journey to defending and asserting their dominance even further. The session consisted of some familiar faces such as Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi, Siya Kolisi, Mannie Libbok, who have been anchors that have kept this team grounded over the past few years. Some youngsters and newbies, who are excited and desperate for an opportunity to prove themselves, were also present, such as Jurenzo Julius, Paul de Wet and Celimpilo Gumede.

Fans could not help but notice the absence of some of their favourite superstars such as Makazole Mampimpi, Eben Etzebeth, Aphelele Fassie, new phenomenon Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu and Canan Moodie.

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Talking to the media, coach Rassie revealed that the session was a successful and productive one where they essentially aimed to pick up from where they left off and give the guys a refresher on how things are done and the expectations that are placed on them.