'Is this the greatest All Blacks v Springboks XV of all time?'

Last Friday night’s All Blacks versus Springboks clash at Twickenham was one of the most atmospheric occasions at English rugby HQ in many a year, the stadium concourse wedged house before kick-off as excited fans congregated early in great anticipation of a southern hemisphere blockbuster just a fortnight out from the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The novelty of this northern hemisphere venue for this fixture was reflected in programme sales, the issue for this first staging of the Qatar Airways Cup quickly becoming a sell-out.

For those fortunate enough to get a copy, the 64-page issue contained a fantastic debating point article – Is this the greatest All Blacks v Springboks XV of all time?

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In it, an unnamed writer decided to ignite the debate of what a composite XV of two of the world’s most successful sides would be like.

“Which country boasts the best player in each position is an argument that most Springbok and All Blacks fans will happily bicker over forever,” began the feature.

“But what would that side look like if we put together a hypothetical, magical first XV composite team from the two most successful sides in rugby history? Let the good-natured arguments commence.”

In the end, the Springboks narrowly shaded the selection, getting eight players included compared to seven All Blacks. Here are the position-by-position picks along with honourable mentions given for the next-best from 15 to nine and one to eight:

Composite All Blacks/Springboks XV:
15. Christian Cullen (New Zealand) – Honourable mention: Ben Smith, Willie le Roux;
14. Bryan Habana (South Africa) – HM: John Kirwan, Joe Rokocoko;
13. Jean de Villiers (South Africa) – HM: Jaque Fourie, Conrad Smith ;
12. Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand) – HM: Sonny-Bill Williams, Frans Steyn;
11. Jonah Lomu (New Zealand) – HM: Doug Howlett, James Small;
10. Dan Carter (New Zealand) – HM: Handre Pollard, Andrew Mehrtens;
9. Joost van der Westhuizen (South Africa) – HM: Aaron Smith, Fourie du Preez;
1. Os du Randt (South Africa) – HM: Tony Woodcock, Craig Dowd;
2. John Smit (South Africa) – HM: Sean Fitzpatrick, Bismarck du Plessis;
3. Carl Hayman (New Zealand) – HM: Tendai Mtawarira, Owen Franks;
4. Sam Whitelock (New Zealand) – HM: Victor Matfield, Ian Jones;
5. Bakkies Botha (South Africa) – HM: Brodie Retallick, Eben Etzebeth;
6. Schalk Burger (South Africa) – HM: Jerry Collins, Juan Smith;
7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand) – HM: Michael Jones, Siya Kolisi;
8. Duane Vermeulen (South Africa) – HM: Kieran Read, Zinzan Broke.

Each selection came with a short description of why that particular player was picked. For example, here is what was written about second row Botha: “Most engine rooms need an enforcer and few are bigger and more terrifying than Botha, whose ‘dark arts’ have been etched into rugby folklore.

“A winner of the Rugby World Cup in 2007, Botha also tasted success with Toulon on the Cote d’Azur where his 19st frame, booming laugh and raw power was appreciated by every coach he came into contact with and feared by opponents.”

As for McCaw, the description read: “He wasn’t the biggest back row, he wasn’t the strongest back row and he wasn’t the fastest back row, but McCaw had a top-of-the-range diesel engine that could run and run which, allied to genuine rugby intellect and the smarts to play on the very edge of the rule book, saw him revered globally.

“McCaw was also an inspirational leader who would never expect a fellow teammate to do anything he wasn’t prepared to do. A bona fide legend.”