With four days remaining until the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, SARugbymag.co.za hails the best No 4s to lock down for South Africa in tournament history.
Kobus Wiese
Wiese, a second-row titan of untamed aggression, made his mark on Bok rugby in the mid-1990s, and epitomised South Africa’s reputation for brute force every time he pulled on the green and gold jersey.
The engine that powered a dominant Bok scrum, Wiese’s 1.99m, 125kg frame anchored a pack built to bludgeon opponents into submission.
Though his Bok career lasted only 18 appearances over three years, his dominance and strength was a cornerstone of the 1995 World Cup-winning campaign.
He took his fair share of flak from referees for his abrasive style, serving a 30-day ban in 1995 for punching Wales lock Derwyn Jones, but his heroics set the benchmark for future Bok locks.
Bakkies Botha
The other half of the ‘blood brothers’, Botha was the grunt to Victor Matfield’s guile. By the time Botha called time on his career, bloodied and grizzled, the two had amassed 57 Test starts as a lock pairing – a world record.
However, Botha’s contribution to the game stands on its own. By the time of his retirement in 2015, he had amassed an unprecedented haul of titles in Test, provincial and club rugby arena.
The heavy-handed lock made 85 Test appearances for South Africa, and capped off the second of his three visits to the World Cup by helping Jake White’s Boks lift the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007.
The pre-eminent enforcer of the professional era, the Boks benefited from Botha’s love for the physical stuff, and few dominated the breakdown like he did.
Eben Etzebeth
Etzebeth enjoyed a rapid rise to the heights of Test rugby, and the fact that, going into the 2023 World Cup, the 31-year-old has moved above John Smit to stand fourth among all-time Bok cap-holders is testimony to his seemingly indestructible body.
The lock became the youngest South African player to reach 100 Test caps in 2022; he was also the youngest to reach 50 caps for his country in 2016, at the age of 24.
In his debut Test series, Etzebeth cemented his reputation as a hard-hitting enforcer, and as the years have passed he has grown as a leader in the Springbok changing room, captaining the team on several occasions.
Renowned for his freakish strength and impressive physique, the formidable and physically-imposing Etzebeth has been recognised as one of the giants of world rugby, and the 2015 and 2019 World Cup campaigner will be eager to stay sharp and help the Boks defend their title in France.