Top 100: The highest-ranked Bok so far

SPOTLIGHT: Five South Africans, including Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, appear in the next batch of RugbyPass’ Top 100 for 2024 (40-21) revealed on Monday morning.

Springbok centre Damian de Allende (22) is the highest-ranked South African to date on the Top 100 list, followed by Handre Pollard (27), Malcolm Marx (36), Kolisi (39) and Kwagga Smith (40).

The hard-running De Allende can shift easily into Beast mode, smashing through multiple tackle attempts to set up a game-changing score. Most recently he bulldozed his way through Ben Earl and Henry Slade – two of England’s best defenders to set up Cheslin Kolbe for the finish.

He is the complete package. He also won the most jackal turnovers of any centre from a Tier One nation in 2024 (4) and has beaten the most defenders of any such centre since the start of the decade (96).

The best description of the behemoth centre comes from his attack coach at the Springboks, Tony Brown, who stated of De Allende: ‘Damian is extremely physical in contact and give you a lot of momentum, but one thing you don’t know about him is that he is the best passer in the Bok team.”

De Allende tops two other world-class centres in Huw Jones (29) and Bundee Aki (28).

Damian de Allende x Cheslin Kolbe 🇿🇦

That epic try just hits different in super slow motion, some incredible strength and skill on display 🤩#AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/SV9KhFoTXG

ADVERTISEMENT

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) November 18, 2024

Next up is Springbok flyhalf Pollard (27), the man who steered the Springboks to three narrow victories in the World Cup last year. The 30-year-old, used as a replacement in six of his 11 Tests this year, his role was to close out some big matches for his country.

He featured prominently in the comeback win against New Zealand at Ellis Park, and in the more recent clash with England at Twickenham.

His killer aim at the poles resulted in him not missing a single kick at goal during the RWC 2023 (13/13) and he was the only player not to miss a shot at goal during the knockout stages.

Coming in at 36 is the Hulk himself, SA hooker Marx. He has become a replacement superstar and to some, it is still a mystery why the 30-year-old remains part of the Bomb squad as he has often been the catalyst and saviour for the Springboks once introduced to the game.

Close to the line, the powerful Marx is virtually impossible to stop as his try-scorings stats suggest (four in 2024).

His Opta stats are insane – in 2023 he disrupted 31% of the defensive rucks he hit, the best rate of any men’s player in all competitions while his lineout throw stat is 97% successful, the best of any player in Test rugby last year.

Up next Springbok captain Kolisi (39) is often seen more in terms of his ambassadorial report he has in the sport and promoting South Africa, but you can’t overlook his abilities to clear rucks, carry into heavy traffic, and provide extra heft in the trams.

This man always takes things to the next level when he dons the Green and Gold compared to domestic competition.

And his stats agree – he made the most dominant tackles per 80 minutes of any player in Test rugby in 2023 (2.3) as he captained South Africa to a second straight World Cup.

Kolisi is edged out on the list by Josh van der Flier (35) who had his best season ever in 2022 when he walked away with four huge accolades – World Rugby, Champions Cup, Rugby Players Ireland, and Rugby Writers Ireland Player of the Year.

He may not always make the highlight reels but he remains one of the best flankers in the world.

Loose forward Smith (40) sneaks into the second-last batch of the Top 100, probably because he is mainly a replacement for the Boks. Often described as a Swiss Army knife for his versatility.

He could quite comfortably operate in the midfield or on the wing, although officially is a loose forward. His Sevens background (158 games, 62 tries) over four years makes him a player that can help out everywhere on the pitch.

He often causes chaos at the breakdown once introduced to the game and is famed for his excellent ‘battle stats’. He had the most breakdown steals at last year’s RWC (8).

* You can now view the list, as Rugbypass gradually releases more players: Top 100 Men’s Rugby Players 2024.

Who would be your top ten selection?