How masterful was Itoje s masterpiece? The semi-final win over New Zealand A Set the default text size A Set large text size
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In my series, Bakkies Botha has so far set the gold standard for a grinder lock in one complete match: 1.1 involvements per minute in the brutally physical Rugby World Cup final of 2007, a quantum leap up from the best of 2020’s tighthead locks playing in the Tri Nations.
His positive-to-neutral ratio was still sky high, even with a full 80 minutes of Bakkie-ness. He hit rucks with sickening force. He stole lineouts.
· Lynn McConnell · GETTY IMAGES
All Blacks legend Dan Carter is taking until the end of the year to decide his plans for next year.
Carter told French rugby newspaper Midi Olympique that with all the uncertainty in the world at the moment he was taking the remainder of the year to rest and enjoy time with his family, something he hadn t been able to do over the last two years because he lived in Japan.
I missed them very much and I wanted to spend more time with my wife and three young sons.
I m not thinking of playing abroad either because the New Zealand borders are still closed, he said.
Bakkies Botha was a bad, bad man A Set the default text size A Set large text size
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Remember Bakkies Botha? Opponents kept an eye out. Bok fans revered him as the patron saint of hardness. Pundits oohed, aahed, and scolded. Referees kept their cards handy. Teammates adored the man.
In the insightful comments, I noticed a few names recur: a common one was Botha, mentioned as the prototype of a bruising tighthead lock. As RobC observed, none of the five locks of today scared him. I decided to look at one complete match by perhaps the scariest lock of all time, and compare one of Bakkies’ Tests to gain a sense of how efficient these nice modern big men really are, stacked against an all-time great no.4.