Pieter-Steph on top of the world, but is he the best ever Springbok?

Should awards determine a player’s impact on a sport?

Probably not, as it depends on who the judges are, as they will bring their subjective opinion to the discussion – which may or may not be in a certain player’s favour.

Some sports even turn to the fans to vote on who’s the best, but that is also a flawed process as not everybody may have access to the various platforms or even know about such a ballot.

Since 2001, World Rugby has tried to finally answer who the best player is each year with their awards ceremony.

South Africans may bristle at the fact that there have been only four Springboks who have been chosen as the World Player of the Year, despite boasting four World Cup titles – the most in the sport.

Schalk Burger was the first SA recipient in 2004, followed by Bryan Habana in 2007. Then Bok fans had to wait 12 more years before they could celebrate Pieter-Steph du Toit’s gong in 2019.

Du Toit received his second recognition just last Sunday in Monaco, joining the prestigious club of multiple winners that includes All Black superstars Dan Carter and Richie McCaw (three apiece), and Beauden Barrett (two).

But South Africans won’t forget how scrumhalf Fourie du Preez was overlooked for McCaw in 2009, despite the Boks beating the All Blacks three times that year.

SA lock Eben Etzebeth – who has had an astonishing five nominations, including this year, which is the joint-second-most behind McCaw’s eight – was unlucky to miss out to Ardie Savea last year.

But while the World Rugby Awards are in a committee’s hands, Mzansi can decide among themselves who the best Springbok of all time should be.

With two world awards, Du Toit is immediately in the conversation – but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is automatically the greatest Bok ever.

It would be an easier exercise if we only looked at players since the Boks’ readmission to international rugby in 1992, considering the fact that there were so many talents across the non-racial SA Rugby Union and the establishment SA Rugby Board who didn’t square off on a level playing field.

So, in terms of Bok greats since 1992, take your pick of whom you would regard as the best of the best.

Everybody will have their own criteria, which could range from trophy success to impact on a particular period for the Boks.

Kitch Christie’s 1995 World Cup winners had a number of stand-outs that include Joost van der Westhuizen, André Joubert, Os du Randt, Mark Andrews, Ruben Kruger and James Small.

Then Nick Mallett’s record-equalling group across the 1997 and 1998 seasons was also special, where Percy Montgomery, André Snyman, Pieter Rossouw, Henry Honiball, captain Gary Teichmann, André Venter, Rassie Erasmus and later Bob Skinstad produced memorable performances.

Jake White’s 2007 world champions had a number of top-quality internationals too.

Probably top of that list were Bryan Habana and Victor Matfield, while Fourie du Preez and Juan Smith were also world-class – not to mention hard men such as Bakkies Botha and Schalk Burger.

The 2009 Tri-Nations champions under Peter de Villiers had big names such as Frans Steyn, Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie playing prominent roles, and that group missed out on the 2011 and 2015 World Cup titles.

Rassie Erasmus’ back-to-back champions in 2019 and 2023 unearthed new world stars, with Du Toit joined by Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe, Handré Pollard, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Ox Nche, Frans Malherbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Willie le Roux.

An all-time great 🇿🇦

Pieter-Steph Du Toit is the 2024 Men's 15s Player of the Year #WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/LdFdp0C8xX

— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 24, 2024

Phew... how do you pick just one player from all of these generational talents?

Let’s choose 10, then, in no particular order: Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Cheslin Kolbe, Handré Pollard, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Fourie du Preez, Juan Smith, Joost van der Westhuizen and Os du Randt.