Gio Aplon: Bok veterans the ultimate 'insurance policy' ahead of 2027 World Cup

Under Rassie Erasmus, the Springboks have enjoyed a golden era - lifting back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023, winning a British & Irish Lions series, and adding consecutive Rugby Championship titles in 2024 and 2025. That success has been built on a core group of battle-hardened leaders who continue to set the standard.

And according to Aplon, that core remains one of the Springboks' biggest strengths.

"You know what those guys are going to give you," the former Springbok flyer told the Behind the Ruck podcast. "You know what the Siya, Franco Mostert, Polly, Damian De Allende, those guys (who are) are close to 100 caps. You know what they're going to give you.

"So you kind of know (what) your insurance policy is.

"You keep them fit, you keep them ready, you keep them hungry. You still have another year to figure out who's the next guy. If anything happens, if this guy is not on form.

"But you also need to be willing to maybe drop a couple of Test matches if that will happen. You have the greatest rugby rivalry (against the All Blacks) coming to South Africa.

"Are you willing to drop a couple of Tests going into this year? But it's also important that you understand where the Springboks are going."

With multiple double World Cup winners still performing at the highest level, the Springboks have a proven spine that delivers when it matters most.

Rather than seeing that as a concern, Aplon reckons it gives Erasmus a stable platform while the next generation is gradually introduced.

And that transition is already underway, with several uncapped youngsters brought into Erasmus' latest Springbok alignment camp, integrating exciting new talent into the squad without disrupting the winning formula.

"Like Rassie explained it. Every single part needs to play their part for this thing to work.

"And Damian and all those guys, they play exactly the part they need to play in this movie.

"And there's a lot of guys that come in, but they play a part now. Obviously, they're still young. But not yet fully in this movie that Rassie has created."