My vote goes to Eben Etzebeth. Normally it’s hard to settle on one player, but honestly almost every other Bok can be seamlessly replaced. The only other Bok who is irreplaceable would be an in-form Willie based on how he adds a bit of guile to our moribund back play.
Marx could be another but as a practical matter he is a transformation martyr.
Does this mean we have generally very high quality at each position…or are we just uniformly ordinary?
All Wiese has to do to be a great, is avoid unnecessary penalties. He is the monster the Deysel Twins have never been.
If Eben can discover his best form, he'd by second on my list. As a captain, then yes, I'd say he'd be the most indispensable Bok. He is the only candidate for team captain, and I believe it would bring out the very best in him. He should have been Bok captain from Jean's 2015 injury onwards. Eben and Wiese are our muscle in the forwards. Kwagga is the player who can most disrupt the opposition. He was by far the best Bok last season. In fact, since 2022 he has been the most consistent and best Bok. His skills, strength, tenacity, and intelligence are key attributes that no other Bok can replicate. Marx is another player who is not playing to his potential. His poor form over the past few seasons made it easier for Mbonambi, who is actually a very good player. He needs to find consistency at the set pieces. He can be prone to handling errors, and some defensive lapses. In 2016, he was probably the best player in the world. He needs to rediscover that, but probably won't in a coaching setup that doesn't identify problems and work to correct them. Our core Boks are Kwagga, Eben, Wiese, Am, Pollard.
Card, yes, Eben should have been made captain in 2016...with Thor 2nd in charge ...obvious.
Kolisi seems to be playing more whole heartedly for the Sharks than the Boks…why is unclear. The obvious data point is Kolisi is regularly subbed in a position than often plays the full game….even, or especially in tests that are up for grabs. Which suggests to me he is not indispensable, either as a player or as a captain,
He's like the badge on a Mercedes...a symbol, more than an on field captain...the team has more than enough natural leaders to make the technical decisions on the field...we neaded a symbol to appease the ANC...he took the tough job.
Ja, I don't understand the constant objections to him.
My objection to Kolisi is he is so variable. Some games he plays you literally don’t see him doing anything. In other games he can be a very effective ball carrier….he is a poor fetcher and a low key defender.
Kolisi hasn't had one solid test in his entire career. He has, very infrequently, some good moments. His defence is poor, his presence in attack is poor, he offers nothing in the set pieces, he has no field presence, he offers nothing at the breakdown. There is literally nothing Kolisi does particularly well. He has had about a dozen runs into space. His last good moment on attack was the try he assisted with the offload for Damian in 2018. Kwagga is not only better than Kolisi in each and every way, and very consistently excellent, he is one of the best players in the world. Kolisi should have played his last test after his humiliating Samoa performance of 2013.