Legendary Players & Captains
28 entries in the South Africa Springboks compendium.
Legendary Players & Captains — Era Chart
Naas BothaSpringbok fly-half known for deadly accurate kicking and tactical genius.John Smit50th Springbok captain and 2007 Rugby World Cup winnerSchalk BurgerSouth African flanker, 2007 World Cup winner, IRB Player of the Year 2004.Handre PollardSpringbok fly-half and two-time Rugby World Cup winner, currently with the Bulls.Percy MontgomerySpringbok legend and record-breaking fullbackCheslin KolbeThe lightning-fast winger who redefined speed and agility in global rugby.Francois LouwA flanker who won 76 caps for South Africa and helped the Springboks win the 2019 Rugby WoJoel StranskyThe fly-half who scored all 15 points, including the winning drop goal, in the 1995 Rugby Gary TeichmannA number eight who captained the Springboks to a record 17-test winning streak between 199Jannie du PlessisA prop who balanced medicine and rugby, earning 70 Springbok caps and a World Cup winners'Ruan PienaarSpringbok scrum-half and fly-half, World Cup winner, and Cheetahs academy coach.Bismarck du PlessisThe dominant hooker who anchored the Springboks' front row with power and precision.Bakkies BothaThe fastest lock in Springbok history turned the second row into a running threat.Gary SmithThe man whose left foot split the sky and stitched a nation's dream into gold.Joost van der WesthuizenThe man whose boot could turn a losing game into a Springbok masterclass before the final Francois PienaarThe quiet mind behind the loudest roar in rugby history.Nick MallettThe Professor who turned a fly-half's art into a science and a Springbok captaincy into a Pieter van der MerweThe fastest, fiercest No. 8 rugby ever produced, and the engine of two World Cup eras.Wayne ParnellThe Springbok fly-half who turned a drop goal into a statement of belief.John de JagerThe hooker who made the ball fly where no one expected, and led the Boks with quiet fire.Vincent BrownAn unverified name; the Springboks canon does not confirm this player.Deon MaraisThe relentless engine in the Springbok back row who carried the 2007 World Cup dream to glVictor MatfieldThe immovable wall behind two World Cup crowns — strength made flesh in the Springbok scruBryan HabanaBryan Habana is one of the most electrifying fullbacks and wingers in Springbok rugby histSiya KolisiFrom Langa's dusty pitches to Yokohama's floodlights, one man carried a nation's rugby dreEben EtzebethThe sky was his lineout, the pitch his battlefield, and the Springbok jersey his crown.Malcolm MarxThe iron wall at the base of the lineout who broke every line and never stopped running.Handré PollardThe tackle that broke tackles, the fly-half who redefined the number ten.
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