It feels like a lifetime ago but the rapid turnaround which Rassie Erasmus instigated back in 2018 before winning the World Cup the following year remains extraordinary, breathing new life into South Africa’s traditional strength of dominant set-piece play by creating a side who thrived out wide through nimble wingers and became masters of the breakdown too. As well as just boshing the life out of their opponents.
If they can now negate those senior players ageing into their mid-30s by bringing in a new wave of talent, as they have already started doing successfully this year by using 49 players so far, then this South Africa side may well go down as the greatest. But even after World Cup victories in Japan and France, they are absolutely in the conversation.
Ben Coles
All Blacks: 2010-2015
The current Springboks sandwiched a British and Irish Lions series with their successive World Cup victories, while this New Zealand side ‘only’ drew with Warren Gatland’s men 2017. And I might never have become a rugby union tragic without the Wales team of the 1970s, which enchanted my father and allowed me to inherit his enthusiasm. But the back-to-back All Blacks led by Richie McCaw get my vote.
They certainly had a steely edge, yet moved the ball beautifully, picking off defenders with textbook passing as well as offloading out of contact. Sonny Bill Williams was just one of the wildcards that arrived and added a different dimension. Nehe Milner-Skudder, who became the encyclopaedia definition of the term ‘bolter’, was another.
In McCaw and Dan Carter, they boasted two veritable icons of the game and were driven by many more all-time greats including Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Jerome Kaino, Aaron Smith and Ma’a Nonu. One could argue the toss for Ben Smith, Dane Coles and Conrad Smith. Other stars such as Beauden Barrett were just emerging. Julian Savea stormed onto the scene and plundered a truck-load of tries.
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