The 2009 Lions-tamers battle Rassie’s 2019 RWC winners in the third round of the mission to find the best Bok team of the pro era.
Regaining the form that saw South Africa win the 2007 World Cup, the 2009 Boks put a woeful 2008 behind them to deliver some of the best performances ever seen in green and gold.
The emergence of superstar flyhalf Morne Steyn brought youth to a settled backline, while Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira served as the perfect loosehead replacement for Os du Randt, while flanker Heinrich Brussow’s dynamic breakdown work added another dimension to the Boks’ rock-solid defence.
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The Boks could’ve called it a year after beating the British & Irish Lions on home turf, but they had even bigger plans for the backend of ’09, whitewashing the All Blacks 3-0 en route to claiming the Tri-Nations title and establishing themselves as the No 1 ranked team in the world.
A 2019 World Cup dark horse that Erasmus had been moulding for more than a year, few expected the Boks to stamp their authority on the tournament like they did.
The Boks utilised an almost faultless tactical kicking game to strangle opponents into errors before their immaculate set piece delivered knockout blows.
But most important and revolutionary of all was the arrival of the “Bomb Squad”, where a strong starting XV set the tone for the Boks, waiting for their opponents to tire, before sending in a host of replacement forwards to finish the job.
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A loss to the All Blacks in the opening game of the tournament was the only blip in an otherwise perfect campaign for the Boks, who went on their business all the way to the final, where they crushed England 32-12.