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'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.
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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?
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:
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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.
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“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.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
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