Goodbye to these four Springboks?
Four senior Springboks likely featured in their final Rugby World Cup when South Africa beat the New Zealand All Blacks.
The Springboks produced a heroic display to beat the All Blacks and claim their fourth Rugby World Cup crown. There are four stars we might never see at the tournament again, but what a ride it’s been.
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Deon Fourie (37), Duane Vermeulen (37), Trevor Nyakane (34) and Willie le Roux (34) were the only players in South Africa’s Rugby World Cup squad born in the 80s. Nobody will ever forget Vermeulen’s virtuoso display in Yokohama four years ago when he won Man of the Match against England in the final. Utility bomb squad member Fourie rolled back the years in Paris to win rugby’s greatest prize, proving to be an invaluable impact option. Similarly, it’s difficult to see Trevor Nyakane or Willie le Roux making a World Cup squad in four years.
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EXPERIENCE IS VITAL
This Springboks World Cup winning squad was packed with experience outside of the Golden Oldies. Notably, Bongi Mbinambi, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Faf de Klerk and Kwagga Smith are all the ‘wrong’ side of 30. However, there are no indications that any of them will be hanging up their boots just yet and the majority still have another World Cup in them at least.
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