Ken Borland

Following a hugely successful 2024 in which they conquered both hemispheres, former Springbok great Naas Botha believes South Africa have entered rugby Elysium and deserve to be ranked alongside the greatest ever teams to play the game.

The Springboks won the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship by a whopping eight points, losing just one of their six matches (by one point in Argentina), and then recently beat Scotland, England and Wales for an unbeaten tour for the Autumn InternationalSeries in the UK.

Their only other defeat in 2024 was against Ireland in July, losing 25-24 in Durban thanks to a last-minute drop goal by Ciaran Frawley. The 12 months since their 2023 World Cup triumph have been good for the Springboks, who remain the number one ranked team.

Flyhalf Botha was the key member of the South African team between 1980 and 1992, but due to the country’s banning from international competition, he only played 28 Tests. Nevertheless, he scored 312 points as one of the most accurate kickers the game has known.It was a record tally for the Springboks until Percy Montgomery surpassed it in 2004 in his 50^th match. The World Cup winning fullback still holds the record with 893 points in 102 Tests.

A brilliant rugby strategist, Botha, who was chosen for the World XV in 1986 and 1992, led his province, Northern Transvaal, to nine titles in the famous Currie Cup. He is that competition’s leading points-scorer with 1699, including a record 135 drop goals,many of them in high-pressure situations.

“It’s absolutely amazing what Rassie Erasmus and his squad have achieved and you have to give them that credit. One win does not make a great team, a magic moment does not make a great team. But magic season after season after season makes a great team. Youcan’t compare this Springbok team to any of their current rivals because we know the pool of players they have is frightening,” Botha told SportsBoom.com at Sun City, where he was playing in the Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational, a golf tournament that raises money for needy children at the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School on Player’s Johannesburg estate.

Botha is now 66 years old and his rugby memories go back a long way, making him highly qualified to weigh in on the debate as to whether the current Springboks are the greatest team ever.

“By repeating in 2023 what they did in 2019 and winning the World Cup again, they did something that nobody can ever take away from them. No matter how you analyse it, they are the first South African team to do that. So who do you compare them to?

“You can’t really compare different eras and the 1980s were totally different to 2024. I played in some really good Springbok teams like the 1981 one that went to New Zealand was fantastic and the 1986 side that played the New Zealand Cavaliers. Then we havethe Jake White (2007) and Francois Pienaar (1995) teams that won World Cups.

“Going back, people used to talk about the 1937 Springbok team that won a series in New Zealand. We thought we had become only the second team to do that in 1981, before referee Clive Norling intervened.

“The 1974 British Lions were a great team, but they started in 1971 in New Zealand where they had an absolutely brilliant tour and then finished the job in 1974, unfortunately against us in South Africa. So we had to rebuild after that and we beat the BritishLions in 1980, so you have to give that Springbok team some credit too.

“The Australia team in 1984 won the Grand Slam, beating all four Home Nations, and Australia also won the World Cup in 1991 and 1999 when they cleaned up France in the final. And then we have the 2003 England team winning the World Cup in Australia.

“And what about all the New Zealand teams since then? Forget about World Cups, which you win in six or seven weeks, for the last 20 years, who has really dominated rugby before South Africa and you’d have to say the All Blacks, so give them credit as well.

“But the pleasure of this current Springbok team is that they have taken over and are playing at a different level. For once the world is following South Africa. I’m not meaning to sound arrogant, but I don’t think the rest of the world wants us around. They’reeven trying to make laws to eliminate our dominance, instead of just letting rugby be rugby and allowing the game to succeed. There is enough nonsense outside of rugby, we don’t need to let it on to the field,” Botha said.

In the wake of a triumphant 2024 following on from their 2023 World Cup victory, Ken Borland spoke to some of the finest men to have ever pulled on the Springbok jersey and asked them one question: Is the current class of Springboks (2019-2024) the greatest Springbok team ever?

They were all at Sun City playing golf and giving back in support of the Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation and the fundraising effort for the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School, which was the late Vivienne’s passion since its establishment in 1990 for the children of farmworkers on their Lanseria estate.

All these former Springbok stars pointed to the achievement of winning back-to-back World Cups and the incredible strength in depth that coach Rassie Erasmus has cultivated for himself as being key factors in determining that this team is the greatest to represent South Africa.

Naas Botha

“By repeating in 2023 what they did in 2019 and winning the World Cup again, they did something that nobody can ever take away from them. No matter how you analyse it, they are the first South African team to do that. So who do you compare them to?

“You can’t really compare different eras and the 1980s were totally different to 2024. I played in some really good Springbok teams like the 1981 one that went to New Zealand was fantastic and the 1986 side that played the New Zealand Cavaliers. Then we have the Jake White and Francois Pienaar teams that won World Cups.

“But it’s absolutely amazing what Rassie Erasmus and his squad have achieved and you have to give them that credit. We now know who has progressed after the 2023 World Cup, it’s clear where New Zealand, England, Ireland and France are. You can’t compare this Springbok team to any of their rivals because we know the pool of players they have is frightening.

“One win does not make a great team, a magic moment does not make a great team. But magic season after season after season makes a great team.”

Pat Lambie

“I would argue that Springbok rugby is in the best shape it has ever been. It’s not just their achievements – winning back-to-back World Cups and the Rugby Championship and beating the British and Irish Lions – but the depth they have created in so many positions. That’s going to stand us in good stead going into the next World Cup.

“There is healthy competition for all 23 places and it’s a mix of experience, youth and x-factor that can have a massive impact off the bench. Rassie has done an excellent job leading the young players into international rugby and everywhere you turn, there’s a player who looks like a matchwinner.”

Robbie Kempson

“It’s the most successful Springbok team ever, but for me it’s the depth that is the greatest factor in rating them as the best. The quality of individuals in key positions at Rassie’s disposal is amazing and he’s brought a lot of them through. He’s a wily old man who has managed big players for 8-12 years, it’s the same group and yet he’s getting a much higher level out of them.

“They are way better than the All Blacks teams we played against 25 years ago. They were a phenomenal side, but these Springboks now have consistency, they’re definitely a better outfit, winning two back-to-back World Cups and everything else they’ve played for. And now they’ve evolved to really stretching teams with a running game. For me, they are definitely the number one side to have played this game.”

Butch James

“I believe it’s the greatest Springbok team we’ve ever had, definitely in terms of squad depth, which is unbelievable. We didn’t even pick our best team for the matches in the United Kingdom, but they were still great teams, which shows our depth.

“I think they’ve proved it already that they are the best Springbok team ever, they don’t have to do more. It was a tough tour of the UK because of that expectation that they would win all the games, which they did, even though England had us worried.

“I’ve liked the All Blacks over the last couple of decades, but the consistency of this Springbok team stands out, especially since Rassie keeps chopping and changing the selections.”

Steven Kitshoff

“I’ve read a lot about whether this is our best team ever and there’s no doubt that Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus have really been getting things right. To win back-to-back World Cups is special, we’re performing year in, year out and the depth is feeding into the machine nicely.

“I think there’s still a long road ahead before we can call ourselves the best team ever, but we’ve definitely put our hands up as one of the best. Although there have been some amazing teams in the last couple of decades, so I think we still have a long way to go.”

KATHU, Northern Cape (22 September 2024) – Yurav Premlall was never certain he would win on the Sunshine Tour, but said he was “over the moon” following his maiden triumph at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen event on Sunday.

Premlall has been in tremendous form this season, finishing second twice, racking up two third-place finishes and three other top-15 placings, but the Glendower golfer said he did not feel like a breakthrough win was definitely just around the corner.

When Premlall stood on the first tee in the final round on Sunday, he was four strokes behind leader Deon Germishuys. And that rapidly became five behind as he bogeyed the par-four first hole.

But then his precision golf kicked in and Premlall did not drop another shot, while collecting birdies on the second, fifth, eighth, ninth, 11^th, 14^th and 15^th holes. His six-under-par 66 saw him finish on 11-under-par, good enough for a one-stroke victory over Martin Vorster (70 for 10-under-par).

“I’m over the moon,” Premlall said afterwards. “The win felt like a long time coming, but you can never be certain that you are going to win in this game. So to get over the line for the first time is very special. It’s taken lots of hard work to get this far. My frame of mind today was no different to how it’s been before this season. But sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t.

“The start wasn’t ideal, but I just stayed very patient. I hit a couple of shots close to the hole, I holed a few good putts but I missed a few as well; I guess 26 putts and the result speak differently though. But my iron play was phenomenal, every time I was in-position, even when I had to get up-and-down, the ball was in the right spots. I was very tidy around the green,” Premlall said.

Premlall has now overtaken Danie van Tonder at the top of the Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy, and he says staying at the top of the local circuit will be his main focus for the rest of the year.

“At the start of the year I set myself the goal of really contending in the order of merit and trying to get into the top three by the end of the lucrative Tour Championship. I don’t want to have too many eggs in different baskets and you’ll see me a lot more on our tour for the remainder of the year, that’s my focus,” Premlall said.

Vorster started well, with birdies at the second and third holes putting him in the lead. But one could sense bogeys at the par-four seventh and especially the par-five 11^th holes would prove costly. Even though Vorster birdied the 14^th and 15^th holes, so did Premlall and two bogeys to the winner’s one would prove the difference.

Rookie Simon du Plooy enjoyed his best ever Sunshine Tour performance as he shot a 68 to finish third on nine-under-par. The Krugersdorp golfer put himself right in contention with an eagle on the par-five 15^th, but he then double-bogeyed the par-four 16^th to slip back. He was joined in third place by Lyle Rowe, whose 68 was bogey-free.

Germishuys struggled to a 73 on Sunday that left him on eight-under-par, alongside Matthew Spacey and Heinrich Bruiners, who both posted 69s. Malcolm Mitchell stayed on seven-under-par to finish eighth, while rookie Kyle de Beer shot a 71 to finish tied for ninth on six-under-par with the seasoned trio of Van Tonder (67), MJ Viljoen (68) and Neil Schietekat (71).

Tristan Stubbs, the 23-year-old Proteas batting prospect, has now been earmarked for the crucial number three position in the Test team, a crown prince following in the footsteps of South African greats like Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis.

Amla scored 7993 runs at an average of 49.95 batting at number three for South Africa, the record, while Kallis, who scored the most runs overall for the Proteas, made the number four slot his own but established his career at first wicket down from 1997 to 2009, playing 49 Tests there and averaging 49.

Given that Stubbs has only played a single Test and just 18 first-class matches, it was a surprise when Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad was emphatic that the Eastern Cape product would be the number three batsman going forward, starting with the two-Test series in the West Indies next month.

“It shows how highly I rate Tristan,” Conrad said after announcing the Test squad. “Technically, he is one of our best batsmen and I believe he is unfairly seen as just being a white-ball player. The way he came in under pressure in the T20 World Cup and commanded his space, he imprinted himself on games.

“He’s a helluva player, the type I want at the top of the order. He has all the makings of a top-class number three. We have eight Tests in this cycle, so he will get a really good run with one eye on the future. Some may say it’s a big call, but I don’t believe I’m throwing him in the deep end, I’m not giving him a task I don’t think he can handle,” a typically forthright Conrad said.

Players coming from the Eastern Cape are often of rural stock and typically have no airs and graces, it being a strong farming community. Stubbs fits the stereotype: humble but in no way doubting his ability to fulfil the responsibility Conrad has given him.

“Batting number three for the Test side is a huge opportunity and challenge and I’m very thankful to the coach for backing me,” Stubbs told sportsboom.com in an exclusive interview. “Any time someone praises you like that, you don’t ever want to let them down. But I’ve dealt with a lot of expectation in my career before.

“It’s going to be a completely new role for me, but I’m going to go out and enjoy it and I’m really optimistic that I’ll be ready for it when I get on the plane to the Caribbean next week,” Stubbs said from the Proteas training camp in Durban.

Stubbs’s performances in the T20 World Cup suggest he is certainly up for the challenge. While 165 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 101.22 are mediocre figures at face value, he played most of his innings on extremely testing pitches and was batting up the order. He had the highest batting average (33.00) for South Africa in the tournament and played a key role in their progress to the final.

“It was a different role for me because I’ve never come in before when the team has lost two quick wickets, batting in the powerplay, trying to see off the new ball. But I really enjoyed it, coming in in some really tough positions. I enjoy batting when it is tough,” Stubbs said.

A natural strokeplayer and a powerful hitter of the ball, it is not surprising that Stubbs has made his mark initially in white-ball cricket. But he has a top-class record in the four-day game, averaging 50.20.

The fact that his last red-ball innings was a landmark innings of 302 not out for Eastern Province against KwaZulu-Natal Inland in February in South Africa’s premier red-ball competition, and that he has a phenomenal conversion rate of going to his hundred five of the six times he has passed fifty, suggest he has the makings of a quality number three. And a great desire for big runs.

“I took a lot of confidence from that triple-century. Our coach, Robin Peterson, is always harping on about we mustn’t just score hundreds – that’s not good enough, we must score big centuries,” Stubbs said.

“I got to go in early [at 20 for two] and I was able to bat all day. In the last year or so, I’ve really tried to value my wicket more. I’m always looking to score, but I also want to be more consistent. So I’ve put a big emphasis on not getting out, and that’s in all formats, particularly T20. Before I would get in and then play a stupid shot to get out. Now I’m trying to bat until the last over.

“I probably take more confidence, though, from how I batted in New York during the T20 World Cup, because of how I reacted when I was under high pressure. I really enjoy batting, I joke with my mates that the only time I’ve been dismissed between 50 and a hundred in first-class cricket is when my team-mate ran me out! So I would probably love a five-day draw with both teams making 600 in the West Indies,” Stubbs said with a laugh.

While he admitted healing would be slow from their T20 World Cup final disappointment – “it hurts so much more because we had done so well before” – Stubbs has exciting new opportunities lying ahead of him that will help ease the pain.