Ken Borland

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 themone 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, whichwas 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 himselfas 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 firstSouth 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 fantasticand 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 clearwhere 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 theBritish 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 leadingthe 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’sdisposal 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 UnitedKingdom, 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 winall 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 WorldCups 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 amazingteams in the last couple of decades, so I think we still have a long way to go.”

Jordan Hendrikse was able to channel his inner Naas Botha and kick the Sharks to a last-ditch victory in the Currie Cup final at Ellis Park on Saturday night, his astonishing 59m penalty in the freezing cold and wet giving the Natalians a thrilling 16-14 win.

Hendrikse’s massive kick came in the 83^rd minute and was the last act of the match. Having been booed heartily when he first touched the ball by the Ellis Park crowd he called his own a few months ago, the fullback certainly had the last say with the final touch.

But the 23-year-old would shun all suggestion of revenge or proving a point after the match.

“No-one expected the Lions to have the season they’ve had and they deserved to host this final. But my move to Durban was all about challenging myself,” Hendrikse said. “The coach prepared us well and we knew there would be no friends here tonight, this was a personal one and I knew they would come for me.

“But I just tried to be in my space, stay in my own mind. The crowd is always a factor in the pressure moments, but I just tried to stay in my own mind. I just tried to stay calm and think about my processes. Getting that sort of pressure kick over makes all those 5am early kicking sessions worth it,” Hendrikse said.

With a drizzle accompanying the icy temperature that peaked at 6°, both teams found the going tough as hell in the first half, which ended scoreless. If the conditions were not bad enough for the crowd, the attritional rugby with understandably many kicks made the final an even tougher sell. And yet it ended up being a thriller, one of the most memorable finals of recent times.

While the damp underfoot conditions did make kicking for poles difficult, it was not particularly blowy and it was surprising, especially considering Hendrikse’s epic effort that decided the match, that both teams spurned opportunities to shoot at goal in the first half.

The Sharks had two chances in kickable range but instead kicked to the corner to set up the rolling maul. But setting the maul properly and getting traction for momentum is also tough on a wet, slippery field, and the visitors were unable to convert any of their dominant territory (68%) or possession (63%) into points.

The Lions also turned down a shot at goal in the first half, and their best scoring chances came from a couple of searing breaks by flyhalf Sanele Nohamba, but they then blew the move on both occasions.

Under John Plumtree, the Sharks have favoured an attacking philosophy, but it was hard to play expansively in the prevailing conditions.

“We could have played a bit more, but the opportunities were really around what happened in the air. We had to put them under pressure and put the ball in space. Both teams really had the same plan,” coach Plumtree said.

The Sharks were also able to find space out wide with ball-in-hand and 13 minutes into the second half, their efforts bore fruit.

It’s been a tough time for Andre Esterhuizen since he returned to South Africa, what with suspensions and injuries, but the centre showed his class throughout the match and his slick hands and perfectly-timed pass to Ethan Hooker set the youngster up for a classic winger’s try, going inside-and-out to beat Nohamba.

The Lions levelled matters at 7-7 four minutes later as scrumhalf Nico Steyn opportunistically sniped over on a tap-penalty, but the Sharks tightened their grip going into the last 10 minutes with two penalties. While the Lions had the edge in the scrums, the Natalians were strong at the breakdowns, and a dominant ruck presented flyhalf Siya Masuku with a 65^th-minute penalty.

The second penalty came with a yellow card for the Lions as replacement prop Juan Schoeman made contact with the chin in a tackle on Hendrikse, who then got up and, in a portent of what would happen at the end of the match, slotted a superb angled, long-range kick to put the visitors 13-7 up.

But the seven-man Lions scrum then forced a penalty at the set-piece – double World Cup winner Trevor Nyakane may need his ego to be massaged a little after the battering he took in the scrums – and it gave the home side a lineout in the Sharks’ 22. The ball was spread and hooker Morne Brandon made the break with a storming run, before replacement lock Sibabalo Qoma crashed over for the try.

Nohamba’s conversion put the Lions 14-13 ahead with less than five minutes remaining.

Why the Lions then decided to maul at a lineout after the final hooter had gone will only be known in the intimate leadership circles of the team. All they needed to do was win the lineout and kick the ball out, but a pointless maul resulted in the ball somehow popping out on the Sharks’ side. Hendrikse made sure his former team were fully punished.

“I’m really proud of the boys because they never give up. With time up on the clock, you wonder how you are going to get possession, and then the next minute they give us a sniff. When the Lions won their last penalty, I thought it was game over, but they gave us one more chance,” Plumtree, who won the Currie Cup for the sixth time – twice as a player and now four times as coach – said. He is still a little way behind Botha, who kicked Northern Transvaal to nine Currie Cup crowns.

“The URC may be our main goal, but this win was really important for this group, it’s a big-time boost before we get on the plane on Monday. The Currie Cup is still something unique and special, I’ve had ex-players sending me messages all day, and a lot of people in Natal are very happy. It’s a beautiful trophy that I didn’t think I would hold again … ”

Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee is loving the build-up week to the Currie Cup final against the Sharks and especially the chance to join such Loftus Versfeld legends as Naas Botha, Thys Lourens, Anton Leonard, Piet Uys and Victor Matfield in lifting the famous old trophy.

Coetzee, whose previous South African playing experience was with the Sharks, had not yet arrived in Pretoria back in January when the inspirational Duane Vermeulen led the Bulls to their first Currie Cup crown since 2009, winning an extra time thriller against the self-same Sharks.

“To be mentioned alongside those names, you just feel humbled and honoured. It’s obviously a big dream to win the Currie Cup, but it also comes with great responsibility. We are just trying to be calm and enjoying it. My Dad is a huge Bulls fan and my sister as well, while my brother and mother support the Sharks. So there could be a bit of civil war in the house!

“I don’t want to take anything away from what the Sharks did for me, but this is a special Bulls team and there is a great atmosphere here. Just to see legends of the game here like Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield and Fourie du Preez is amazing. And you can feel the excitement in Pretoria as well, we feel they are behind us even though it is very heartsore that Loftus won’t be packed,” Coetzee said on Tuesday.

The man with the bole-like arms and legs said mental composure is going to be as important to beat the Sharks as any physical characteristics the Bulls might bring on Saturday.

“The last final here was touch-and-go and the Sharks were well on their way to winning it, but then luckily fitness came into it. We’re expecting another neck-and-neck contest, there’s no way it’s going to be an easy game and we definitely can’t be nonchalant about anything. We’ve taken some learnings from that match, but we also have some new personnel and some older, wiser heads.

“It’s going to come down to composure and who executes better. When the pressure comes, you have to stick to your guns and that’s when experience comes into play. You never know how finals are going to play out, but it will come down to composure, execution and discipline on the day. Discipline especially will play a big role, we can’t leak soft penalties,” Coetzee said.

Loftus Versfeld used to be the home of 10-man rugby when Naas Botha was bossing the game in the 1970s/80s, but the intervening years have seen that approach all but die out and Jake White’s arrival in Pretoria has seen the Bulls use their backline with greater effectiveness than has been seen for many years. But against the Lions in the opening round of the Rainbow Cup on Saturday, there is a possibility that the home side will be playing a more conservative brand of rugby.

Not only have the Bulls been training for European conditions up until two weeks ago, but the Lions are also known to favour a more expansive, high-tempo game-plan. So it makes sense for the Bulls to force the Lions into a tight, physical contest that requires them to put their bodies on the line, and to force them back into their own territory with a strong kicking game.

“It’s definitely going to be a physical battle up front, we all know the Lions like to play with a lot of width. We have a great game-plan and if we stick to that then it will all work out, even though the Lions know exactly what we will bring. We kicked a lot on the Lions when we played them before and that’s something we can target because we have big wings that can contest,” scrumhalf Embrose Papier said this week with resonant tones of intimidation.

Having burst on the scene in 2018 as a potentially world-class scrumhalf, Papier’s fortunes took a dip in 2019 as he was left out of the Springbok squad. But the 24-year-old says the presence of Fourie du Preez, a towering presence in both Bulls and Springbok rugby, at Loftus Versfeld has been helping him a lot.

In 2019 he seemed to be at the rear of the Bulls’ No.9 pecking order behind Ivan van Zyl and Andre Warner, but now, especially with Van Zyl heading to Saracens at the end of June, Papier could well be celebrating a return to the Springbok squad given his resurgence in the last year.

“It’s been a dream to work with Fourie and my game-management, passing and kicking have all improved a lot. I’m working very hard and I learn something new every day, and I still dream of playing for the Bokke, that’s definitely a goal. But if I play good rugby through the year then that will be rewarded, so I’m just taking it step by step,” Papier said.