By Rusty -
December 19th 2009 @ 2:29am
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Loading ...Selecting the best Boks team of the decade
British Lions' Mike Phillips, right, clears the ball as South Africa's Bakkies Botha, left, looks on during their international rugby union match at King's Park, Durban, South Africa, Saturday, June 20, 2009. AP Images
After Hoy’s and Stash’s team lineups, I thought it appropriate to chuck a Tri-Nations together with the addition of a Boks team. The Boks in this period were on the decline after ‘98 and ran through a very dark period before finding the light around ‘04.
I have also, for interest, added the playing era and some bio stats
15 Percy Montgomery ‘97-’08 : 6′1 93kg
Often described as more flash than substance, South Africa’s record point scorer left for Wales and returned a matured player. Gone were the mistakes that punctuated his play and in place we got faultless positional play and a prolific boot. Despite not being known for it, he could also score tries, picking up 25 along the way
14 Breyton Paulse ‘99-’07: 5′10, 80kg
The Shane Williams of another age. Breyton was born with both rocket fuel and a twinkle in his boots. I used to love the way he would in-and-out people on a regular basis.
13 Jaque Fourie ‘03- : 6′2, 93kg
Maybe a contentious choice but Fourie time and time again appears in the right place at the right time to score or break the line. Excellent on defence, too.
12 Robbie Fleck ‘99-’02 : 6′0, 95kg
Some might say JdV, and no doubt he is very talented, and I am big fan but for a creative center, I don’t think you could beat Fleckie.
11 Bryan Habana ‘04- : 5′1, 94kg
There isn’t much more to say about Bryan, he probably deserves more credit as the current game-plan of the Boks doesn’t provide him much opportunity to shine. I look forward to him getting more ball with the Stormers this year.
10 Henry Honiball ‘93-’99 : 6′2, 84kg
Lem, as he was known, was probably the best flyhalf I recall remember us having. Devastating on defence, the 10 channel became tighter than a warthogs backside. But it was the way he took the ball to the line that earned him the nickname, meaning knife, for the way he cut through defenses. Not a bad kicker, either.
9 Joost van der Westhuizen ‘93-’03 : 6′1, 88kg
Really tough call between Joost and Fourie, as both are fantastic players, but in the end I plumbed for the nostalgic choice.
8 Gary Teichman ‘93-’99 : 6′4, 100kg
Captain of Mallet’s 17 consecutive wins streak team, arguably the greatest Bok team of all time for the way they didn’t just beat teams but dismantled them. More a toiler than the flashier Bob Skinstad, but he was the solid anchor to a very fine backrow.
7 Schalk Burger ‘03- : 6′4, 110kg
Despite a short career in optometry, you don’t get to be the IRB player of the year for nothing. Has been a bit out of form since ‘07 but has been invaluable to the Boks cause. I haven’t opted for Brussouw, as he has really only just arrived on the scene, although on current form he would be here.
6 Rassie Erasmus ‘97-’01 : 6′3, 100kg
A great player who complimented a high work rate in the loose with soft hands and the eye for a gap.
5 Victor Matfield ‘01-: 6′7, 110kg
One half of probably the strongest second row combination this decade. Line out extroadinaire, who is fairly handy around the park, too.
4 Bakkies Botha ‘02- : 6′8, 118kg
The Enforcer, just pure ugly physical aggression. When he leaves the field, the Boks go backwards.
3 Cobus Visagie ‘99-’03 : 6′0, 118kg
It’s odd that as far as scrummagers go, Cobus has been oft overlooked. He along with Pagel, Garvie and perhaps Kempson is on of the finest props we have produced. The difference with Cobus is that he doesn’t just try to overpower people, he is a technician who breaks them down and ties them into a pretzel.
2 John Smit (c) ‘00- : 6′2, 117kg
A brilliant captain, and before his stint at prop, probably one of the world’s best hookers. I restore him to his strongest position and give him the captaincy in my team.
1 Os du Rant ‘94-’07 : 6′3, 125kg
The big legend himself. Os revolutionised the way props played, from not just being there for the tight phases, but to actually forming part of a running defense system and in his case actually chasing people down! Left the game in 2000 due to serious injuries and blew out to a reportedly 150kg+ on his farm until coming back to provincial rugby in ‘03. Made the Bok sqaud in ‘04 and the rest, they say, is history as he joined a select few with 2 RWC medals
Reserves:
Fourie du Preez, Jean de villiers, Corne Krige, Bob skinstad, Mark Andrews, Robbie Kempson, Naka Drotske
The coaching job goes to Nick Mallet
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If you ever find yourself watching and supporting (since their often the underdog and throw...
katzilla said | December 19th 2009 @ 8:01am | Report comment
Great team Rusty,
Percy deserves to be there on the accomplishment of having perfect hair from the start to the end of every game he played, that feat alone was astounding.
Personally i’d give Paulse’s Wing spot to Terblanche. Maybe didn’t play his best in that decade but neither did Erasmus.
Wavell Wakefield said | December 19th 2009 @ 8:42am | Report comment
Fleck, Erasmus and Visagie are great calls. As a child/youth I was a huge fan of Kruger and Venter. Pure hostility. I’m not a huge fan of Dallaglio but it must have taken so much to to have faced these players as such a young man in 1997. For pure comedic value you can’t ignore Richard Bands. Recall his storming run down the touchline versus NZ (?).
katzilla said | December 19th 2009 @ 9:57am | Report comment
Was that the guy that gave Spencer the biggest fend ever? Hillarious, or was it Cobus?
Rin said | December 19th 2009 @ 11:01am | Report comment
ha ha no one ever forgets that one but that was Richard Bands, who career was tragically cut short by never ending injuries..
Jerry said | December 19th 2009 @ 8:22pm | Report comment
Wasn’t it also Bands who knocked out McCaw in a S12 match? (nothing dirty about it, it was a head clash)
Rin said | December 19th 2009 @ 11:03am | Report comment
Hoy said | December 19th 2009 @ 9:07am | Report comment
I would say that Teichman, whilst awesome, doesn’t qualify for the team of this decade if he didn’t play in 2000. The 10 years begins in 2000. Good team though.
I used to love Honiball. I read an article that said he had a step like a rhino, and hands like buckets. He was almost a second 12 the way he hit it up.
I was never a fan of Paulse, but I will give it to him, he used to score tries.
Rusty said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:06am | Report comment
good point – when I was thinking of the lineup for some reason I counted 2009 back to 1999
Rin said | December 19th 2009 @ 11:06am | Report comment
There must be place on the bench at least for who i regard as the most underrated player in the world Juan Smith, his workrate especially around the ruck is amazing, its a pity he has never played for the likes of the Sharks or Bulls at Super 14 level
USARugbyFan said | December 19th 2009 @ 1:39pm | Report comment
Surely there’s a place on the bench for AJ Venter? I’d sub him in for Krige.
adam said | December 19th 2009 @ 3:33pm | Report comment
i would have oillie le roux there and james small and dont for butch james and stransky
Rusty said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:07am | Report comment
I think Small stopped playing in ‘96 and le Roux dosnt make the team as the other props are better with Kempson able to cover both sides
ohtani's jacket said | December 20th 2009 @ 11:55am | Report comment
How can you pick guys who didn’t play this decade? Are there not accepted rules for this sort of thing?
Rusty said | December 21st 2009 @ 7:59am | Report comment
Admittedly – the ‘99 are a bit of a stretch, although Honiball was still the best in his positions while playing overseas. So I will take Teichman and Honiball out for Butch James and Andre Venter with Burger to the Bench and Skinstad going to the back of the scrum
Rusty said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:01am | Report comment
For those who dont know or remember Andre Venter – Josh Kronfeld named him as the hardest player he had ever faced
Eavell Wakefield said | December 21st 2009 @ 9:04pm | Report comment
I believe that Dallaglio afforded Venter the same praise.
I always thought that Skinstad was underrated. Prior to his car crash he was the new dynamo, but after his crash he seemed to undertake the tighter roles. I recall after he had been made captain and during a test versus NZ he sought out Lomu time and time again to bring him down.