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Springboks dominate the World Rugby Dream Team of the Year

Eben Etzebeth is a powerhouse for the Springboks. (Photo by Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images)

Jacques Nienaber’s Springboks are the dominant force in the 2021 World Rugby Men’s 15s Dream Team of the Year, Eben Etzebeth leading the charge towards securing five places in an XV featuring players from eight different countries. South Africa signed off on their 13-game season with a last-gasp loss last month to England at Twickenham. 

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However, they have now trumped Eddie Jones’ side on a five-to-one score in the World Rugby dream team selection which features a combined total of 850 Test caps across the 15 picks. Malcolm Marx, Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am were the five chosen Springboks compared to Maro Itoje being the sole England pick.

The All Blacks were the next-best in terms of representation, Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett and Will Jordan giving them three picks. The Wallabies secured two inclusions, Michael Hooper and Samu Kerevi, with Wales’ Wyn Jones, Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong, France’s Antoine Dupont and Scotland’s Stuart Hogg the other players who were chosen. 

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World Rugby Men’s 15s Dream Team of the Year
1. Wyn Jones (Wales)
2. Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
4. Maro Itoje (England)
5. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
6. Siya Kolisi (South Africa)
7. Michael Hooper (Australia)
8. Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
9. Antoine Dupont (France)
10. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
11. Makazole Mapimpi (South Africa)
12. Samu Kerevi (Australia)
13. Lukhanyo Am (South Africa)
14. Will Jordan (New Zealand)
15. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

In the women’s dream team selection, six countries were represented in a 539-cap XV dominated by France and England, who respectively had six and five picks. 

World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year
1. Annaëlle Deshayes (France)
2. Agathe Sochat (France)
3. Sarah Bern (England)
4. Safi N’Diaye (France)
5. Abbie Ward (England)
6. Zoe Aldcroft (England)
7. Karen Paquin (Canada)
8. Poppy Cleall (England)
9. Laure Sansus (France)
10. Caroline Drouin (France)
11. Abby Dow (England)
12. Beatrice Rigoni (Italy)
13. Stacey Fluhler (New Zealand)
14. Caroline Boujard (France)
15. Jasmine Joyce (Wales)

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1 Comment
B
Bill 1072 days ago

An easy one for a journo waiting out the last days before the holidays. Pick a Dream Team. Sit back. Watch your selections get torn to shreds. Smile, and go to bed.

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Hellhound 4 minutes ago
South Africa will beat England at a canter

Very good article and no, you are definitely not the only one. You hit the nail on the head with both teams. England will fall back to the WC semi ta tics, whereas the Boks will run it. They mean to destroy, not only with their forwards but with their backs too.


There is immense speed in that backline. England need a miracle. The Boks have the best defence and attack this year. This Bok team is different from the one from the semi. Most the same players, but way different tactics from last year.


Manie Libbok has a lot to prove and with Sacha basically making the 10 his own with exceptional games this year, I'm sure he will be out to showcase just how dangerous he is. No one in the team except a few is absolutely certain of their places. The rest is going to go hard at the English to prove why they should be considered every time.


These Boks targeted the English game as the toughest of the Autumn nations series. This is the game they want to win. They want to prove that the WC semi result was a fluke. They want to show just why they are the current Kings of rugby.


It's hard to stop a team who has lost only 2 Tests this year, both by a point. It could've been 11/11. What makes it scarier is that in each and every Test, they swapped many players and still came away with wins. The ability to muscle and grind out wins is this team's best attribute.


They believe in their coaches and each and every team mate. They are full in. Playing on the day or not. This is going to be a slaughter. Before the teams was named, I had the Boks by a winning margin of 12-15 points, but after it was named, I changed it to 20+.


The English is going to give the Boks the ball and the Boks is going to run them ragged. This team wasn't chosen to play the same boring strategy of the WC semi.

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