Former Springbok and Vodacom Bulls No 8 Pierre Spies picks a team of the best he played with and against during his 12-year career.

15 Frans Steyn
Frans can kick the ball a mile and is a brilliant ball-carrier with an exceptional pass and a no-nonsense mindset.

14 Ben Smith
Ben wasn’t the biggest or quickest, but he’s an amazing all-round player who scored many tries while also creating a bunch.

13 Conrad Smith
A very tough competitor. He was skilled in every aspect, had a low error-rate and made everyone around him better.

12 Matt Giteau
An experienced campaigner, he’s very influential and has a brilliant all-round skill set.

11 Bryan Habana
Bryan’s try-scoring record speaks for itself. He won so many games through X-factor moments and had an amazing attitude.

10 Jonny Wilkinson
My childhood hero. While I only played against him once, to me he was the greatest!

9 Fourie du Preez
Fourie has an unbelievable rugby brain. His excellent decision-making won many games for the Bulls and Boks.

8 Kieran Read
Skilled in every aspect, he was consistently the best No 8 in the world. A great man off the pitch, too.

7 Richie McCaw
He was hugely influential and a workhorse, with a Test record that speaks for itself.

6 David Pocock
The best fetcher I played against; strong and influential.

5 Victor Matfield (c)
He was a brilliant leader, a lineout specialist, extremely fit and mentally strong.

4 Bakkies Botha
The enforcer in full force is unmatched. Opponents could feel that they had played against Bakkies.

3 Carl Hayman
A mountain of a man at tighthead and an amazing scrummager.

2 Bismarck du Plessis
Bissie was like a fourth loose forward – fit, strong, a great stealer, brilliant at lineout throws and a solid scrummager.

1 Os du Randt
Os was hard as rock, a strong scrummager, a good defender and a good ball-carrier.