Raised on a farm, Kwagga Smith's attributes and impact regularly see him top South Africa's 'battle-stats' in big matches.
Still, they played an attacking brand that was soon dubbed 'Lions rugby'. The beating heart of this enterprising play was Elton Jantjies.
Matt Proudfoot, who quit as England forwards coach, is one of the names in the hat to become the Lions' new forwards coach.
When the Lions returned to Super Rugby in 2014, they introduced a new group of ‘no-name brand’ players to the game in South Africa - write Jan de Konnig for Rugby 365.
With so many high-profile names absent from this year's World Cup, RugbyPass presents the World Cup Omissions XV, made up of the best players around the globe who won't board the plane to Japan.
Following what Rassie Erasmus has described as a good first week's training, 13 more players have been added to the Springboks squad for their next pre-Rugby Championship gathering.
A stint in the Premiership at Northampton cultivated Nic Groom's preference for all things European and he can't wait to get back to Britain following a difficult season at the Lions.
Although 2018 was a poor year for the Springboks, there’s will be enough depth in the 2019 squad to seriously challenge for the World Cup.