Despite Etzebeth's record-breaking Test career, Victor Matfield still places Bakkies Botha ahead of him in any conversation about the world's greatest ever locks. The piece captures Matfield's reasoning — worth a watch for anyone who wants to hear the greatest Bok lock of his era weigh in on where his old partner sits relative to the man who has since rewritten the Springbok caps record.
AnalysisSpringboksSA Rugby Mag
Matfield rates Bakkies above Eben in all-time lock rankings
Matfield puts Bakkies ahead of the record-breaking Etzebeth in his all-time lock rankings — the video captures his reasoning.
Related stories
Erasmus: winning stays non-negotiable, whatever the World Cup build-up demands
Erasmus has made his 2025 season intent explicit: rotation and World Cup-building happen inside a framework where winning remains the non-negotiable baseline. The piece breaks down what that means for squad management, the veterans' standing, and why the All Blacks series carries extra weight.
Eben's hip injury forces the Boks to rethink their lock depth
With Etzebeth out for two months, the Boks Unpacked panel argued that JJ van der Walt is now in line for a first cap and that du Toit and Nortje give Rassie a hybrid route around the lock crisis.
Hansen's Right to Back Himself — But the Boks' Five-Match Streak Tells a Different Story
Jean de Villiers acknowledges Hansen's logic but argues last year's results and performances make it hard to see the All Blacks closing the gap on the Boks — and the panel get genuinely animated over what a 2-2 series tiebreaker would even look like.
Springbok Recall! Relive Phepsi Buthelezi's 2025/26 Season
#SharksRugby #PhepsiButhelezi #Springboks
The Barbarians hit-out is a key cog in Rassie's World Cup machine
Nel makes the case that the Barbarians fixture is less about the result and more about Erasmus stress-testing depth, blooding uncapped talent, and keeping the World Cup-winning core fresh — all with 2027 firmly in mind.