The public has spoken and voted for the Springboks Dream Team of the professional era after months of voting.
To celebrate 30 years since South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, South African broadcaster SuperSport started a campaign for viewers to pick their Bok Dream Team, doing so one position at a time.
And the results are quite intriguing…
The entire XV is made up of Rugby World Cup winners, seven of whom come from the 2019 and 2023 back-to-back champions, while the remaining eight featured in the 2007 success in France.
Captains’ snubbed
Interestingly, not a single Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks captain makes the team, with Francois Pienaar, John Smit and Siya Kolisi all missing out in their respective positions.
Percy Montgomery was the 15th and final addition to the team, winning the vote for the full-back position, beating the likes of Andre Joubert, Zane Kirchner, Willie Le Roux, Gio Aplon, and Damian Willemse to the role.
Montgomery is joined by four of his 2007 teammates in the backline, with the iconic centre pairing of Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie preferred in the midfield, while the Boks’ all-time leading try-scorer Bryan Habana won the vote on the left wing.
Cheslin Kolbe beat the late James Small and 2007 World Cup winner JP Pietersen to the number 14 jersey, while Handre Pollard grabbed the number ten. The backline is completed by the peerless Fourie du Preez, a selection that will surely not end the debate of the greatest Bok, with Joost van der Westhuizen missing out.
The pack
Into the pack and Duane Vermeulen is perhaps an unsurprising selection despite the stiff competition he had. He is joined by two-time World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit and Schalk Burger – the latter beating Kolisi, Pienaar and current Bok boss Rassie Erasmus to the team.
Eben Etzebeth and Victor Matfield are the two locks in the squad, while the front-row features the Boks’ first double World Cup winner in Os du Randt, who is joined by hooker Malcolm Marx and tighthead prop Frans Malherbe.
Du Randt and Marx came out on top in hotly contested positions, with the former securing more votes than Steven Kitshoff, Tendai Mtawarira, Ox Nche, and Gurthro Steenkamp, while the latter beat former captain Smit as well as James Dalton, Bongi Mbonambi and Bismarck du Plessis.
Ultimately, Du Randt is the only member of the 1995 World Cup-winning squad to make the team. He is also one of the eight players from Jake White’s 2007 winning squad with Erasmus’ and Jacques Nienaber’s 2019 and 2023 vintage making up the remaining seven positions.
SuperSport’s experts selected the bench following the voting, selecting the following: Du Plessis, Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, Bakkies Botha, Kwagga Smith, Kolisi, Van der Westerhuizen, and Damian Willemse.
Nominees per position
Loosehead props: Os du Randnt, Steven Kitshoff, Tendai Mtawarira, Ox Nche, Gurthro Steenkamp
Hookers: Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit, James Dalton
Tighthead props: Frans Malherbe, BJ Botha, Jannie du Plessis, CJ van der Linde, Cobus Visagie
Number four lock: Eben Etzebeth, Bakkies Botha, Krynauw Otto, RG Snyman, Kobus Wiese
Number five lock: Victor Matfield, Mark Andrews, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, Albert van den Berg
Openside flanker: Schalk Burger, Rassie Erasmus, Siya Kolisi, Francois Louw, Francois Pienaar
Blindside flanker: Pieter-Steph du Toit, Ruben Kruger, Danie Rossouw, Juan Smith, Andre Venter
Number eights: Duane Vermeulen, Bob Skinstad, Pierre Spies, Gary Teichmann, Joe van Niekerk
Scrum-half: Fourie du Preez, Faf de Klerk, Ricky Januarie, Ruan Pienaar, Joost van der Westerhuizen
Fly-half: Handre Pollard, Butch James, Henry Honibal, Manie Libbok, Morne Steyn, Joel Stranksy
Left wing: Bryan Habana, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Makazole Mapimpi, Pieter Rossouw, Chester Williams
Inside centre: Jean de Villiers, De Wet Barry, Damian de Allende, Wayne Julies, Pieter Muller, Frans Steyn
Outside centre: Jaque Fourie, Lukhanyo Am, Adrian Jacobs, Jesse Kriel, Japie Mulder, Andre Snyman
Right wing: Cheslin Kolbe, JP Pietersen, Breyton Paulse, James Small, Stefan Terblance
Full-back: Percy Montgomery, Andre Joubert, Zane Kirchner, Willie Le Roux, Gio Aplon, Damian Willemse
Final XV
Springboks Dream: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Os du Randt
Bench: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Siya Kolisi, 22 Joost van der Westerhuizen, 23 Damian Willemse.
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