All Blacks legends go Springboks-heavy with Test team of the year as ‘absolute beast’ gets in ahead of Ardie Savea
The All Blacks' Will Jordan, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of the Springboks and Tadhg Beirne in action for the Lions.
A trio of former All Blacks have put together their Test team of the year which of course features a plethora of Springboks given their outstanding 12 months.
There are three in the backline and four up front with it headlined by World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year Malcolm Marx and fellow South African nominees Pieter-Steph du Toit and Ox Nche.
The other individual who was up for that award, France wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey, is also included, but he is one of just four from the northern hemisphere in the XV.
In a team dominated by the south and, more specifically, the Boks, Cheslin Kolbe, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Damian Willemse, who is at inside centre, take their place behind the scrum.
Three Kiwis in the team
They are joined by two New Zealanders in Will Jordan and Cam Roigard, a Wallaby in Len Ikitau and the aforementioned Bielle-Biarrey.
Up front, Jasper Wiese is the other Springbok alongside Du Toit, Marx and Nche, with Tadhg Beirne, Fabian Holland, Maro Itoje and Tadhg Furlong completing the pack.
That means there is no place for All Blacks superstar and 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea.
It was picked by Jeff Wilson, Mils Muliaina and Stephen Donald with the latter firstly discussing the selection of Feinberg-Mngomezulu over the likes of Finn Russell and Santiago Carreras.
“We had Browny (Springboks coach Tony Brown) on the show and he put him in the [Antoine] Dupont and [Dan] Carter class, and Browny’s not one to put out wild statements like that. He’s had an amazing year,” Donald said on The Breakdown.
“Finn Russell would have to have come very, very close. He plays for Scotland and he doesn’t have much of a set-up there, he’s their man every time anyone plays Scotland.”
Willemse was perhaps a surprise at 12 given that he played most of his Test rugby at full-back, but Muliaina felt they had to include him somewhere given his excellence.
“It was hard to know where to put him, whether at 12 or 15, he had to go in there somewhere,” the 100-times capped All Black said.
Donald then joked about the selection of Ikitau, who has played the entirety of his international rugby at inside centre rather than 13.
“The amazing thing for me is these are two guys (Wilson and Muliaina) that have been to World Cups when the All Blacks coaches at the last minute decided who their 13 was and they’ve gone ahead and put Ikitau in at 13,” the former fly-half quipped.
Donald added: “He had a great Brumbies year and for the Wallabies he was their one constant. I thought he played too narrow against the Lions and was a pick-and-go merchant, but once he got a bit wider, he’s got a skill set. He’s a whole lot more than just a carrier.”
Savea shock
However, it is the omission of Savea which is perhaps the biggest talking point, certainly from a New Zealand perspective, after he was overlooked for Du Toit.
“One of the other ones that was really tough was Ardie, we left Ardie out. I sort of wanted to bring him back in but we went for Pieter-Steph du Toit, he’s been fantastic this year,” Muliaina said.
“On the other side, we had Tadhg Beirne, who had a great Lions series but Pieter-Steph, come on.”
South Africa operate with left and right flankers which means Du Toit is really a blindside despite wearing seven.
They could have therefore opted for him and Savea together, but they instead put Beirne alongside the Springbok.
“He (Du Toit) plays like an openside flanker. He is a game-changer and difference-maker. For me, I think he does everything you would need consistently, minute after minute. He doesn’t take a minute off,” Wilson said.
“The physicality comes in every part of his game and the fact he’s been able to cover at lock for them when they’ve needed to, this guy is an absolute beast.”
The Breakdown’s team of the year
15 Will Jordan, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche