The former Kings, Toulouse and Stormers prop’s team of the best he played alongside.

15 Gio Aplon
At the Stormers, I hated defending against him because I felt like a goalkeeper. I just had to choose a side and hope he would be there.

14 Hosea Gear
Hosea was one of those wings with a Jonah Lomu-threat – he could sidestep off both feet and also bump you off if you stood still.

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13 Ronnie Cooke
Ronnie was another very good defender. He also had a bit of speed and a fighting personality. Very underrated.

12 De Wet Barry
A back with a forward’s heart. He was humble and hardworking and enjoyed defending and putting himself into dark places. A guy who sacrificed for the team.

11 Sireli Naqelevuki
We played together at the Stormers. An 114kg wing who was also unbelievably fast. He had that Fijian skill where he could sidestep you in any direction.

10 Luke McAlister
Luke was a world-class All Black and had a double threat of taking the ball to the line and passing across the field. He was also a fearless defender.

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9 Ruan Pienaar
I played with Ruan at SA youth level and against him later. He never seems to be under any pressure and has all the time in the world.

8 Thierry Dusautoir (c)
A French legend and when he spoke everybody listened. A leader by example.

7 Schalk Burger
The most natural rugby player I have played with. He would be one of the strongest guys on the pitch, he was talented in so many ways.

6 Luke Watson
When I played with Luke at the Stormers, he was a force to be reckoned with. He could step you and was a menace at the breakdown. He would have a massive impact on the game.

5 Andries Bekker
I played with Andries at schoolboy level at Paul Roos and at Western Province. I rate him as one of the best five locks to have played and is unmatched at the lineouts.

4 Joe Tekori
Another who I played alongside at Toulouse. One of those massive humans, but he was also the funniest guy off the field. On the pitch, he was one of the most ferocious, with fingers as big as bananas.

3 Census Johnston
Census looks like the Disney character Maui and was a bit of a demigod when it came to scrumming. He was 140kg of ill-tempered Samoan muscle, an immensely strong human being and was so skilful too.

2 Bismarck du Plessis
I played with Bismarck at SA Schools and SA U21, and we grew up together. Bissie is very physical and it was great to scrum next to him. He carries so strongly and is just an all-round champion.

1 Gurthro Steenkamp
I played with Gurthro at Toulouse, he was the senior loosehead when I arrived. He pushed me to be a better loosehead. I have massive respect for him.

Photo: Twitter/@SouthernKingsSA