Naas
Botha

Naas Botha is a former South African fly half who was one of the game’s greats.

Naas Botha Bio

Naas Botha is arguably rugby union’s greatest ever fly half. Throughout the 1980s, he was a formidable force and he was voted as the Rugby Player of the Year in 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1987. Naas Botha was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.

As a child, Naas Botha played several sports at a high level and he had dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. However, rugby was the sport where he truly excelled and he was selected to represent South Arica at U20 level. At the age of just 22, he also made his debut for the Springboks.

Domestically, Naas Botha spent his entire career representing Rugby Rovigo in Italy (1987-93) and Northern Transvaal in South Africa (1977-1995). He was a dominant force for both sides, capturing the Italian Championship twice with Rugby Rovigo and the Currie Cup nine times (including ties) with Northern Transvaal.

In addition to his highly decorated domestic career, Naas Botha represented the Springboks in 28 tests between 1980 and 1992. Although South Africa were banned from international competition for much of his career, Naas Botha made a distinct impression on the international stage and even earned the nickname ‘nasty booter’ from the British press because of his extremely accurate kicking against the British and Irish Lions in 1980.

Had it not been for South Africa’s exclusion from international rugby, Naas Botha could have set record after record. He was so good that former South African coach Danie Craven once said “Give me Naas, and I'll conquer the world!”

Since retiring from rugby, Naas Botha has stayed connected to the game. He currently works as the head coach of the Indian national teams and as a commentator on South African television.