By Diggercane, 7 May 2014
I am going to have a crack at the South African teams’ best ever Super Rugby XV. My picks for their team will come from the original franchises from 1996.
Firstly, let’s have a look at the final Australian XV selected from my article last week.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment on the thread, there was some good debate and conversation.
Australia’s best Super Rugby XV
Fullback –Chris Latham
Wings – Ben Tune and Joe Roff
Centres – Tim Horan and and Stirling Mortlock (Dan Herbert out)
First Five – Stephen Larkham
Halfback – George Gregan
Number 8 – Toutai Kefu
Flankers – George Smith and Owen Finnegan
Locks – John Eales and Dan Vickerman (James Horwill out)
Props – Andrew Blades and Richard Harry
Hooker – Jeremy Paul (Michael Foley out)
So, let’s cross over the Indian Ocean and have a look at my South African picks.
Fullback
Selected – Percy Montgomery, Andre Joubert, Johan Roets, Thinus Delport
For me this was a two way race between Percy Montgomery and Andre Joubert. I honestly couldn’t make up my mind here so after a flip of a coin Percy was selected.
Wings
Selected – Breyton Paulse, Pieter Rossouw, JP Pieterson, Stefan Terblanche, Bryan Habana, Akona Ndugane, Chester Williams, James Small
One wing is Bryan Habana but who to partner him? In the end I opted for James Small because I liked him the best.
Centres
Selected – Jean de Villiers, De Wet Barry, Francois Steyn, Adrian Jacobs, Etienne Botha, Andre Snyman, Hennie le Roux, Jacque Fourie
I found this to be a relatively simple choice. Jean de Villiers and Andre Snyman are my preferred pair, which probably means I have it completely wrong.
First Five
Selected – Joel Stransky, Henri Honiball, Morne Steyn, Andre Pretorius
Henri Honiball was one of my all-time favourite South African players and easily gets my pick.
Halfback
Selected – Neil de Kock, Ruan Pienaar, Joost van der Westhuizen, Johan Roux
I personally view Joost van der Westhuizen as the finest halfback I have seen in my time and so he gets the nod
Number 8
Selected – Bob Skinstad, Gary Teichmann, Dannie Roussow, Joe van Niekirk
Some fantastic players nominated here and none would let anyone down. My pick goes to Gary Teichmann as I admired his play and no nonsense attitude and I would also make him my Captain.
Flankers
Selected – Francois Louw, Schalk Burger, AJ Venter, Willem Alberts, Ruben Kruger, Piedre Wannenburg, Francois Pienaar, Rassie Erasmus
Once again some hard choices, but I think the Stormers pair of Francois Louw and Schalk Burger are my preferred options.
Locks
Selected – Eben Eztebeth, Andries Bekker, Mark Andrews, Johan Muller, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Hannes Strydom, Jannes Labuschagne
As much as I wanted to put Eben Eztebeth into one spot I simply could not go past the Bulls pair of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.
Props
Selected – Cobus Visagie, Robbie Kempson, Adrian Garvey, Tendai Mtawariri, Guthro Steenkamp, Werner Kruger, Os du Randt, Balie Swart
I really wasn’t sure where to lean here and after much internal conflict I have opted for Os du Randt and Adrian Garvey.
Hooker
Selected – Pieter Dixon, Bismarck du Plessis, Gary Botha, James Dalton
Personally, Bismarck du Plessis wins out here for me easily.
South Africa’s best Super Rugby XV
Fullback –Percy Montgomery
Wings – Bryan Habana and James Small
Centre – Jean de Villiers and Andre Snyman
First Five – Henri Honiball
Halfback – Joost van der Westhuizen
Number 8 – Gary Teichmann (c)
Flankers – Francois Louw and Schalk Burger
Locks – Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha
Props – Adrian Garvey and Os du Randt
Hooker – Bismarck du Plessis
The only rules this time is to pick from the players selected. It’s a straight out vote – the players with the most votes get picked.
