The Springboks stuck to a policy of player rotation, and some experimentation, throughout the Rugby Championship, and still managed to walk away as champions.
It’s an incredible achievement once again, with Rassie Erasmus opting to blood some new players, while building Test caps among a wider squad of more than 30 players.
Springboks’ best of the best
There were some ups and downs along the way, but a number of special performances also stood out. With all this in mind, we have attempted to pick a Springbok XV that could be regarded as the ‘team of the tournament’.
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
The selections here are not as easy as it may seem, with Damian Willemse ultimately cracking the nod at fullback after an injury disrupted Aphelele Fassi’s season.
It was also a tough call in the midfield, where Canan Moodie just edges out Jesse Kriel despite the former producing a shaky performance in the final Rugby Championship game last Saturday. However, his youthful exuberance proved that he is undoubtedly best suited to specialising at 13.
Damian de Allende also hardly put a foot wrong, but we have rewarded Andre Esterhuizen by picking him as our 12 after producing a series of impactful performances off the bench, where he offered incredible ‘hybrid’ value by covering centre and flank.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Cobus Reinach ultimately proved to be a dream team at halfback, while winger Ethan Hooker is rewarded for a breakthrough season.
In the pack, No 8 Jasper Wiese made a stunning impact after returning from suspension, while Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi are the obvious other selections in the back row.
Among the tight five, we feel RG Snyman enjoyed one of his best seasons to date, and so he grabs the No 4 jersey ahead of Eben Etzebeth.
Meanwhile, Wilco Louw was simply unstoppable this season, and deservedly claims the No 3 jersey in this team selection.
A team of winners
The Springboks, who departed London on Sunday night following their 29-27 victory against the Pumas in the tournament decider over the weekend, will face Japan, France, Italy, Ireland, and Wales on their five-match tour to Europe and the UK in November.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is expected to announce his squad for the November tour in the next two weeks before the squad reassembles later in October.
