Four Boks on Campo's Christmas list
12/19/2024 11:45 PM
Wallabies legend David Campese has named four Springboks on his list of ’12 Players for Christmas’.
The 101-Test winger who won the 1991 Rugby World Cup with Australia singled out a dozen players for their contribution in 2024, including Ox Nche, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth and Cheslin Kolbe.
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"Ox Nche’s humour can be seen in his motto 'salads don't win scrums'!” Campese told Planet Rugby. “A real character of rugby with all the tools in his locker.
“His handling has improved remarkably in open play, he puts in a tremendous work ethic into his breakdown and defensive work, and, for a man of 5'8″, his stature and explosive power makes him almost impossible to contain, especially for the bigger tightheads who simply cannot match his control of scrummaging height.
“In a land where the scrum is everything, Ox has become a national hero, and rightly so!”
On Du Toit: "Now one of the greatest Boks of all time, he showed his versatility in the Rugby Championship and Autumn Nations Series by filling in at lock as well as his usual blindside flank. He's scoring more tries now than at any point in his career – partly down to the evolution of the Bok style, partly down to the evolution of his own skill-set.
"Alongside another of my picks, Eben Etzebeth, I can't think of a player that's contributed more to South African rugby than Du Toit and his sheer consistency and incredible abrasion sets the standards for other back-rows to imitate.
"If Antoine Dupont is the greatest back in the world, then Eben is the forward standing alongside him. Brutally uncompromising, he has an understanding of rugby that belies the perception of him as the Bok enforcer. His intelligence is what makes the difference when charging down off the side of rucks, when pushing every law at the breakdown and also controlling the incredible innovations we see from the Bok lineout," the Wallaby legend said.
"There's claims he's the greatest Bok of all time and I'd certainly agree I haven't seen many, if any, better.”
On Kolbe: “His athletic ability is remarkable; this is a player who wins contact against the world's best back-rowers, who claims high balls against opponents that are 10 cms taller and consistently makes defences look like clumsy fools.
“As a former winger myself, and one that by even the standards of my era that wasn't the biggest, it's great to see the likes of Cheslin succeeding within the modern power game and just like Etzebeth, he's always evolving. Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes and Kolbe is living proof that skill and talent will thrive in any era.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
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