BOK DREAM TEAM: Who is our best openside flank since '95?
The number six jersey. The icon. The one the whole world thinks about when they think about Springbok rugby.
Not only has the jersey produced some of the best players ever to don a rugby field, it has produced some fabulous Bok leaders as well.
And while the most famous number six isn’t listed in this Dream XV choice - talking of former State President Nelson Mandela of course - it just underlines how important the six jersey has been to Springbok rugby.
So here are your candidates, heroes all, but only one can be chosen.
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Schalk Burger (Springboks 2003-2015)
With the most recognisable blond hair, there wasn’t a team that didn’t fear Schalk Burger in the 2000s. The wild flanker was everywhere and made opposition game plans a nightmare with his uncompromising play and engine that never died.
He was named IRB World Player of the year in 2004 at the age of 23 and twice won the SA Rugby Player of the year award. A crucial member of the 2007 Rugby World Cup winning squad, Burger played 86 tests for the Boks and was a key player every time he was on the field.
At club level he represented WP, the Stormers and Saracens as well as a season at Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath.
Burger overcame a neck injury in the test against Scotland in 2006 that could have ended his time on the field and went on to have a sensational career. These days he finds himself as a SuperSport commentator and multiple podcast host.
Rassie Erasmus (Springboks 1997-2001)
Widely regarded as one of the best coaches of all time, Rassie Erasmus earned his stripes as a wily flanker that roamed the rugby fields in the late 90s and captained the Free State Cheetahs, Cats and Stormers as a player.
Erasmus emerged as a key player in Nick Mallett’s side that had an 17 game unbeaten run late in the 1990s and was well known for trying to think up new plays and always being on his laptop as a player, very different to many of his team-mates. Erasmus played in 15 of the 17 unbeaten games during that run and was a bronze medal winner at the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
Erasmus played 36 test matches for the Boks and while he turned down the opportunity to captain them the first time, he eventually did captain them once - in 1999 against Australia away.
Erasmus’ exploits as coach far outstrip his playing days, but Bok fans won’t deny that in his era he was one of the better flankers in World Rugby.
Siya Kolisi (Springboks 2012-current)
What can be said about Siya Kolisi that hasn’t already been said. The inspirational Bok captain - the first black Springbok captain and the first black captain to lift the Webb Ellis trophy. Kolisi is known worldwide for leading the Boks to back-to-back World Cups, and has become an icon not only for South African rugby but for the sport worldwide.
He made his debut in Mbombela against Scotland back in 2013 and is heading towards his 100th test match for the Boks, which he should achieve either later this year or next year, joining an iconic group of individuals.
While he has had his critics, Kolisi’s leadership, and the way he represents the team off field has been a masterstroke for Springbok rugby, and on the field he has proven himself again and again when people want to write him off.
There simply is nobody in World Rugby like Siya Kolisi, and the Springboks are lucky to have him.
Francois Louw (Springboks 2010-2019)
As this list goes, Louw is probably the most low key individual to vie for the Dream XV honour, but that shouldn’t underestimate his worth to the Springbok teams that he played in. A real battler, Louw often did a lot of the unseen work on the field and had a huge engine, making him a coach’s favourite for selection as he played 76 test matches for the Boks in the decade he was part of the Green and Gold.
Louw played in three World Cups, finally getting across the line after disappointment in 2011 and 2015, when the Boks won in Japan in 2019.
Starting his career off at Western Province and the Stormers, Louw later moved to Bath where he became a club legend, representing the English club a massive 141 times before he retired after the 2019 World Cup.
Francois Pienaar (Springboks 1993-1996)
The original Rainbow Warrior, Francois Pienaar will always be remembered for delivering the iconic moment at Ellis Park back in 1995 when South Africa won its first Rugby World Cup.
That moment, of State President Nelson Mandela in a number six jersey, cheering on Pienaar lifting the trophy as South Africa went wild has become iconic, going down in history and inspired movies and will always be a part of one of the best days that South Africa has ever seen.
As a flanker Pienaar was perhaps not the top number six at the time, with Ruben Kruger moving to seven to accommodate him in the Bok squad, but his leadership of the team - from the iconic Transvaal side that dominated local rugby to the Bok team under Kitch Christie - was superb and made him a household name in world rugby circles.
Pienaar was unceremoniously dispatched in 1996 by new coach Andre Markgraaff in what many fans saw as a betrayal and went off to finish his career at Saracens, having played only 29 times for the Springboks.
But the World Cup moment can never be taken away from him.
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