Who is the Springboks’ drop goal king?

The Springboks’ dominant pack of forwards over the decades has often laid the platform for the flyhalf on the day to drop back into the pocket and land a match-winning drop goal.

Or five …

One may immediately associate Naas Botha as being the country’s king of the drop goal – and you wouldn’t be wrong.

Botha’s peak years coincided with South Africa’s sporting isolation and it reduced his international career to just 28 Tests between 1980 and 1992.

But Botha, now 66 years of age, achieved plenty during that time, including win seven Currie Cup titles with Northern Transvaal.

He scored 312 points in those 28 Tests, including a whopping 18 drop goals at an average of one every 1.56 Tests.

That drop goal tally places Botha in fifth place in the all-time list of drop goals landed in Test rugby.

England’s Jonny Wilkinson leads the way with 36 in his 97 Tests at an average of one every 2.69 Tests.

In terms of the Springbok record for drop goals landed in a single Test, no one can match Jannie de Beer who memorably slotted FIVE in the 1999 Rugby World Cup quarter-final against England at the Stade de France in Paris.

SPRINGBOKS WITH 2 OR MORE DROP GOALS IN A TEST

FATHERS AND SONS

Meanwhile, in other fascinating Springbok stats and facts, there have been 15 instances of fathers and their sons representing the Springboks.

Scrumhalf Robert du Preez holds the record of having three sons to have played for the reigning world champions, Robert jnr, Jean-Luc and Dan.

OLDEST LIVING SPRINGBOK

Meanwhile, Des van Jaarsveldt boasts the honour of being the oldest living Springbok according to the history books.

Van Jaarsveldt was born in Bulawayo in then Rhodesia and on Easter Sunday this year celebrated his 95th birthday having been born on 31 March 1929.

He was educated at Milton Junior and Plumtree Schools in Bulawayo.

Van Jaarsveldt captained the Springboks in his only Test – against Scotland at the Boet Erasmus Stadium in Port Elizabeth on 30 April 1960.

He scored a try that day (worth three points at the time) in a 18-10 victory for the Springboks.

Van Jaarsveldt played both on the wing and at flank.

He was affectionately nicknamed the “Bald Eagle” in his playing days due to his pace and bald head.

He became the first Rhodesian to captain South Africa.

Upon retiring from playing, he acted as a coach and administrator for Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country into Zimbabwe.

In addition to his rugby career, he also represented Southern Rhodesia as a heavyweight boxer in the 1950 South African Championships.

He was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1963 New Year Honours for “services to sport in Southern Rhodesia”.

Van Jaarsveldt briefly entered politics in 1983, unsuccessfully standing for former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith’s Republican Front for a seat in the Senate of Zimbabwe where he lost the election after a drawing of lots on a 10-10 tied vote.

Des van Jaarsveldt is Springbok number 354.

YOUNGEST SPRINGBOK

Meanwhile, many will be forgiven for thinking that Frans Steyn is the youngest ever Springbok – or perhaps Canan Moodie for that matter.

While both do feature among the 15 youngest players to ever make their debuts in the famed green and gold jerseys, neither are the youngest to have done so.

As many as 14 teenagers feature in the Top 15 youngest Springboks of all time.

One has to go back 133 years to find the youngest.

That was Jack Hartley on 5 September 1891 on the tour of Britain.

Hartley was just 18 years and 18 days when he made his debut for South Africa.