Any season that includes a British & Irish Lions tour is a special one and, with the added milestone of the 100th Test between the Springboks and All Blacks, there’s plenty for SA Rugby magazine’s writers to savour in the first of a six-part series to select the 2021 Team of the Year.
Every player who earned a Test cap in 2021 was eligible for selection and the goal was not to reward a magical cameo or maximum playing minutes, but to recognise consistent, world-class performances that established the chosen players as the best in their positions over the past 12 months.
Mariette Adams
The Springboks’ front row had every opponent on toast this season, irrespective of which combination was on the field at any given time.
It’s hard to believe Ox Nche is not a seasoned Test veteran who has seen it all. But, with fewer than 10 caps, he is still a rookie in terms of game time and experience at the highest level. And yet, he was a mainstay in the Boks’ 2021 lineup anchoring their front row. Having made just one Test appearance – in 2018 – before this season, Nche featured prominently in eight of South Africa’s 13 matches in 2021. Excellent at his primary job of powering the Bok scrum, Nche also brings an attacking edge in open play, while also boasting a good tackle rate, including but not limited to some uncompromising hits.
It’s difficult to separate Malcolm Marx from compatriot Bongi Mbonambi, especially since the latter started in most of South Africa’s Tests this year with the former serving as backup. But Marx just about edges Mbonambi as the best hooker in the world. His contributions off the bench – whether in the scrum, at the back of a maul or contesting at the breakdown – have been invaluable to the Bok cause this season.
Again, this selection could have easily gone the way of Trevor Nyakane, who had an impressive Test campaign. But Frans Malherbe remains one of the most effective scrummagers in the game. Oftentimes ridiculed over a perceived drop in conditioning since the 2019 World Cup, Malherbe has shrugged off the criticism with a string of impressive performances to prove he is still an influential cog in the Bok machine.
Dylan Jack
This will probably be the simplest call to make, out of all the positions in the Team of the Year. There was one front row that dominated all others consistently in 2021 – that of the Springboks.
Ox Nche had his breakthrough year at loosehead prop, having waited two years to add to his debut appearance in 2018. Somewhat surprisingly, Nche leapfrogged Steven Kitshoff to form part of the starting front row. The 26-year-old has not only brought plenty of power to the scrums, but he has also been a livewire in open play.
It’s hard to look past Bongi Mbonambi at hooker, but for sheer impact every time he stepped on to the field, Malcolm Marx deserves the No 2 jersey. Marx spent the year as part of the Bomb Squad, but his presence on the field in the second half was always felt, whether at the scrum, breakdown or on defence.
As for tighthead, it simply has to go to Trevor Nyakane, who made the herculean effort of switching between tighthead and loosehead look like child’s play.
AP Cronje
Steven Kitshoff has continued to be a mainstay of the Springbok front row. His destructive scrummaging ability won the Boks countless penalties this year and made the Bomb Squad the envy and ire of the rugby world. Whether starting or finishing the match, Kitshoff has been domineering in all his international outings.
South Africa’s ‘Top Dog’, Bongi Mbonambi, proved in 2021 why he is the leader of the pack. After solidifying a starting berth in a formidable Springbok scrum, Mbonambi turned his attention to dismantling opposition packs – a role he fulfilled with aplomb. His performance against New Zealand in the second Test sticks in the mind as the most complete performance by a hooker in 2021.
Ireland and Lions prop Tadhg Furlong has long been considered the premier tighthead in Europe, this year he has gone one step further and can make good claim to being the best in the world. A powerful scrummager, Furlong has been an anchor in the front row but has also shown some deft footwork and delicate handling skills – unexpected for a man of his stature.
Ollie Keohane
Steven Kitshoff missed only one Springbok Test this year, and the image of him trotting on to the field inspired confidence in South African supporters. Though he started in only three of 12 appearances, his contributions were close to or over 40 minutes in each of them and, in the context of the modern game, whether a player starts or comes off the bench is not a measure of their quality.
Kitshoff was all class in closing out games for the Springboks, keeping up the momentum and intensity of the starting loosehead, and laying down a marker of physicality. Nearing 60 Tests, Kitshoff was the most impactful loosehead at Test level in 2021.
Malcolm Marx created havoc from the bench and was simply superb in all his showings – including his one start against Argentina. Marx was a feature and a force in all 13 of the Springbok Tests this year, feeding the lineout with accuracy, scoring maul tries and making a mess of opponents at scrum time while also playing the role of a fourth loose forward. In 2021, Marx answered criticism of lacking consistency in the basics of hooker play and underlined his credentials at the lineout and scrum.
Tadhg Furlong embodies the modern-day tighthead in that he ticks every box required but is equally impactful and effective in his tackle contributions and ball-carrying abilities. Ireland’s starting prop owned the No 3 jersey for all three Tests between the British & Irish Lions and Springboks, and was a standout player in a losing Lions side. Furlong featured in 11 Tests in 2021, starting nine of them, and put in a 66-minute shift in Ireland’s stunning 29-20 victory over the All Blacks in November, his third against New Zealand in the green jersey.
Furlong was the best front-row forward in an Ireland side that put England away, beat Scotland and the All Blacks and whacked Argentina by 50 points to end off the year.
Zelím Nel
South Africa’s success in 2021 was built on the pillars of the pack and those were set on the foundation of an indomitable scrum that was fronted by some of the best front-row forwards on the planet.
Steven Kitshoff unexpectedly did not succeed the retired Beast Mtawarira to claim the Bok No 1 jersey, losing out to Ox Nche who looked like a grizzled veteran in his first full season of Test rugby. Though it was much closer than would have been predicted at the beginning of the season, Kitshoff remains SA’s best loosehead and there is none better in the world.
Malcolm Marx is arguably the best hooker in the game but it was Bongi Mbonambi who led the hit in 2021 against the British & Irish Lions scrum, the only constant in a front row that rotated a junior loosehead in Nche and versatile swing prop Trevor Nyakane on his right. Mbonambi was a monster at scrum time and played with the swagger of a world champion.
While Nyakane sparked a riot at the Props Guild by switching from tighthead to loosehead and back again like it was nothing, the best tighthead prop in 2021 was Frans Malherbe. He may only have featured in seven Tests before being ruled out with a neck injury, but Malherbe proved he is the concrete bollard that best anchors the Bok scrum.
