World Rugby named its Team of the Decade on Monday night, with three South Africans cracking the nod for their performances between 2010 and 2020.
South Africa’s leading try scorer of all time, Bryan Habana with 67 tries in 124 Tests, is the country’s only backline player in the team, with front-rowers Bismarck du Plessis and Beast Mtawarira completing the driemanskap.
Habana, 37, played the last of his Tests against Italy in 2016, while the most-capped Springbok front-rower of all time, Mtawarira, 35, signed off after 117 caps in last year's World Cup final triumph.
Du Plessis, 36, meanwhile, played the last of his 79 Tests for South Africa in the 2015 World Cup third-place playoff win over Argentina.
But while these three South Africans were honoured, the night belonged to former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, who led New Zealand to back-to-back World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015.
McCaw beat the likes of Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Brodie Retallick, Beauden Barrett (all New Zealand), Thierry Dusautoir (France), Johnny Sexton (Ireland) and South Africa’s own Pieter-Steph du Toit to the title of Player of the Decade.
Team of the Decade: 15 Ben Smith (NZ), 14 George North (Wal), 13 Brian O’Driscoll (Ire), 12 Ma’a Nonu (NZ), 11 Bryan Habana (SA), 10 Dan Carter (NZ), 9 Conor Murray (Ire), 8 Sergio Parisse (It), 7 Richie McCaw (NZ), 6 David Pocock (Aus), 5 Sam Whitelock (NZ), 4 Brodie Retallick (NZ), 3 Owen Franks (NZ), Bismarck du Plessis (SA), Tendai Mtawarira (SA).
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za