Discarded by South Africa but adopted by Japan, Lappies Labuschagne proved his doubters wrong and paved his way to the top, but did he do it better than WP Nel?
In this poll series aimed at finding rugby’s greatest comeback story, Nel leads the charge after trumping Ashley Johnson in the opening round before shrugging off Raymond Rhule in round two.
With momentum on his side, can Nel make it three from three as he lines up his next challenger in Japan’s Labuschagne?
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Called up to the Springbok squad in 2013, Labuschagne never made it onto the field for South Africa, but continued to ply his trade for the Cheetahs and Bulls before heading off to Japan to join the Kubota Spears in 2016.
In addition to playing for Kubota, where he made 41 appearances and scored two tries, Labuschagne also had a short stint of seven games with the Sunwolves in 2018.
After fulfilling World Rugby’s three-year residency law, Labuschagne became eligible to play for Japan, captaining the side on debut against Fiji in 2019, and a few months later at the RWC, he wore the armband in the Brave Blossoms’ famous pool stage victory over Ireland.
Lappies Labuschagné scored one of four tries in Japan's 30-10 victory over Russia in the #RWC2019 opener.
Both of the try scorers for the host-nation were born in South Africa.#JPNvRUS pic.twitter.com/HzgOQN9MYk
— SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) September 20, 2019
Rejected by the Boks after anchoring the Cheetahs scrum for many years, Nel joined Edinburgh in 2012, collecting 185 caps complemented by 21 tries, before becoming eligible to play for Scotland in 2015.
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Nel quicky established himself as a regular starter for Scotland, proving a powerful addition to the front three, and has since bagged 54 caps and crashed over three times for the Thistles.
@WP_Nel continues to power scrums and rucks for @EdinburghRugby at the grand age of 35 ?#URC#URC pic.twitter.com/9B8Clwf3WV
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) October 19, 2021
Photo: Twitter/@URCOfficial, @JRFURugby