The 2025 rugby year delivered a number of standout moments which will live long in the memory. Here are SARugbymag.co.za‘s top 10 in chronological order:
Sharks beat Munster in URC penalty shootout
It was drama galore as the Sharks and Munster finished 24-24 in regulation time in their Vodacom URC quarter-final in Durban. A further 20 minutes of extra-time could not separate the teams and the match went to a place-kick competition, with three selected players from each side having two kicks at posts each. Jordan Hendrikse, Jaden Hendrikse and Bradley Davids were the heroes for the Sharks, who won 6-4 after a flawless kicking display.
Junior Boks win U20 World Rugby Championship
The Junior Boks finally delivered a long awaited world title as they overcame fierce rivals New Zealand 23-15 in the World Rugby U20 Championship final in Rovigo, Italy. It was South Africa’s first title in 13 years, following their 2012 triumph over the same opponents in Cape Town. The Junior Boks finished the tournament unbeaten.
Bok Women beat Italy to qualify for World Cup quarter-finals
It was a breakthrough World Cup for the Springbok Women, who made history by reaching the knockout stage for the first time. After hammering debutants Brazil, South Africa’s hopes rested on the outcome of the crunch pool clash against Italy. They won 29-24 to seal a place in the quarter-finals, where they held New Zealand’s Black Ferns to 10-10 at half-time before losing 46-17.
Springboks embarrass All Blacks in Wellington
The standout performance and result of 2025 and one for the ages. At half-time the Boks were behind 10-7 and had lost a host of frontline players due to injury. But the men in green and gold came out in the second half and dominated in a stunning display to run out 43-10 winners and hand the All Blacks their worst-ever defeat.
Whitehead’s Currie Cup-winning penalty
An 83rd-minute penalty by flyhalf George Whitehead sealed an extraordinary 27-25 Currie Cup final win for Griquas over the Lions at Ellis Park. It was a first Currie Cup triumph in 55 years for the Kimberley-based side. For the Lions, it was a nightmare repeat of a year previously when they lost out in similar fashion to the Sharks.
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Stormers blank defending URC champions Leinster
Leinster rolled into Cape Town Stadium in the opening round of the 2025-26 season and got carried out on a stretcher after a 35-0 pummelling at the hands of a young and inexperienced Stormers. The home side put the Irish giants to the sword in a four-try performance to send notice of things to come.
Sacha scores record 37 points for Boks
The game that truly announced Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to the world. The Springboks outclassed Argentina 67-30 in their Castle Rugby Championship clash in Durban, with SFM delivering a masterclass on the way to scoring 37 points. In the process he broke the long-standing point-scoring record held by Percy Montgomery. His tally included three tries, eight conversions and two penalties.
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Fourteen-man Boks beat France in Paris
Siya Kolisi’s 100th Test did not go according to plan as a controversial red card for Lood de Jager meant the Springbok captain had to be sacrificed at half-time. But it said everything about his leadership, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus’ rugby acumen, and the resilience and ethos of this Springbok team that they stood up to a fired-up Les Bleus and a hostile Stade de France crowd to power to a hugely impressive 32-17 victory.
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Boks obliterate Ireland scrum to break Dublin drought
The Springboks delivered an awesome display of power to send a much vaunted Ireland scrum scuttling backwards at a rate of knots. Commentators, analysts and former players all agreed they had never seen a tier-one nation get pulverised in the set-piece to such an extent. The sight of starting props Boan Venter and Thomas du Toit being replaced by Gerhard Steenekamp and Wilco Louw to continue the demolition job sent shivers through the rugby world. The Boks won 24-13 – their first victory at the Aviva Stadium since 2012.
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Boks hand Wales heaviest home defeat
The Springboks put an exclamation on an outstanding season with a record 73-0 defeat of a hopelessly outgunned Wales in Cardiff. The world champions were at their ruthless best in a dominant 11-try display, with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu adding 28 points to his burgeoning Test tally. The Boks finished the year in style as unquestionably the best side in world rugby, and this vintage among the greatest of all time in rugby history.
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– Compiled by Lindiz van Zilla
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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