Ex-Wallaby on whether modern-day Springboks are greatest team ever

Following South Africa’s stunningly dominant 33-7 win over Australia last weekend, former Wallaby Morgan Turinui has questioned whether any other side “throughout history could beat this team.”

When Richie McCaw lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time in as many Rugby World Cups in 2015, that class of champion All Blacks etched their names into the history books for all the right reasons.

That New Zealand side had long been spoken about as potentially the greatest rugby team to ever played the game, but that World Cup triumph proved the squad worthy of an unrivalled level of praise and admiration.

What a small rugby-mad nation at the bottom of the world managed to achieve on the world stage was the envy of every other team in the sport. Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Kieran Read are among those who will forever go down in history as all-time greats.

But a new team has entered the ‘GOAT’ conversation. South Africa won back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2019 and 2023, and it doesn’t seem they’ve gone backwards at all as they begin their four-year journey for what they hope is more glory.

“It’s really difficult to compare generations,” Stephen Hoiles explained on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts. “That All Blacks side of ’11 and ’15 that had Conrad Smith in the midfield, (Dan) Carter.”

“They won a lot in between,” Morgan Turinui interjected. “This Boks team look like they’re going to win a lot in between. I’m just trying to think of which teams throughout history could beat this team?”

In their first Test since the Rugby World Cup Final last October, South Africa beat Ireland on home soil. While they stumbled a week later with a late drop goal seeing the Irish emerge victorious, this is a team still very much deserving of the world No. 1 ranking.

The Springboks started The Rugby Championship with a masterful performance against the Wallabies at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium. They hadn’t won at the venue since 2013 but it soon became clear that that streak would end.

With thousands of Springboks fans watching on in the stands, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse all scored first-half tries. South Africa ended up scoring 33 unanswered points before Hunter Paisami had the last laugh with a try for Australia.

It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was a brilliant start, nonetheless. Whether this team is rugby’s ‘GOAT’ is up for debate, but it would be brave to suggest the Springboks’ dynasty from 2019 through to now is not the greatest rugby era for the Rainbow Nation.

“We’re seeing South Africa, a team that is at the peak of their powers, two World Cups, amazing, all the same guys back. Tony Brown on board, connecting some nice things,” former Australia captain Michael Hooper said.

“(Sacha) Feinberg-Mngomezulu is a great player, seemingly, coming out. It’s pretty good stuff.”

Then, Morgan Turinui added: “Well, that’s the chat we had before coming on air. Is this the best Springboks team of all time?”

“Something we observed on the sideline is Duane Vermeulen, who wasn’t playing on the weekend, he’s got the water bib on, and he’s doing a lot of talking in that group,” Hooper discussed later on.

“Their circle is just getting replenished by these guys who have been around them for so long. He wasn’t even in the team but he had real specific orders to have a presence within that team.

“You’re coming on, you’re doing your job, you’re so focused and narrow-focused on what you need to deliver and credit to them, it’s just a credit to watch.”