The future of the South African senior rugby national team looks brighter than a shooting star moving rapidly to the top, as the current crop of Springbok young prospects at the 2023 Rugby World Cup have been eye-catching.
Ahead of the tournament, Boks coach Jacques Nienaber named an exciting squad that had a gripping mixture of youth and experience in his 33-man squad.
The World Cup in France has once again lived up to the expectation, producing some monumental moments and fans got to witness some of the most exciting emerging stars.
With the likes of captain fantastic Siya Kolisi, veteran Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth and Makazole Mapimpi likely to have featured in their last World Cup, Sunday World takes a look at some of the exciting stars that will presumably be hard to ignore looking ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Damian Willemse (25)
Dubbed as “the general” in the Boks backline, Willemse has fitted in Nienaber’s team like a hand in a glove and is proving to be the perfect replacement for seasoned fullback Willie le Roux.
Against France in the pulsating quarterfinal clash and what was arguably the best match at the WorldCup so far, Willemse was superb and solid at the back every time the French kicked on him. That was not only it, but he also displayed some brilliant attacking runs that helped the team gain some ground in the opposition’s half.
Manie Libbok (26)
Apart from his questionable kicking, Libbok has been outstanding in all forms of his performances throughout the tournament.
The highlight of the talented flyhalf at the World Cup will undoubtedly be his cross field no-look pass to Kurt-Lee Arendse, which led to a try during their Pool A opening match against Scotland.
Libbok will most certainly take his conversion struggles as a positive and a blessing in disguise, as it happened early in his Springboks career. He will have all the time in the world to improve on his kicking heading into the next major tournament.
Kurt-Lee Arendse (27)
Arendse has energy for days! Apart from fellow pacey teammate Cheslin Kolbe, the speedy winger currently has no other substitute for pace and has an amazing work rate on and off the ball.
Kurt-Lee is definitely one to look out for as a Springbok future star and is tipped to be the closest thing to the athletic and legendary Bryan Habana.
He will, without a shadow of a doubt, fill the wing position with ease and most probably be the next big talent SA rugby has ever witnessed.
Malcom Marx (29)
With age still on his side and arguably at the peak of his career, Marx will still have the opportunity to have a taste of the World Cup come 2027.
The promising hooker sustained a devastating tournament-ending long-term knee injury after their World Cup opener against the Scots, which ultimately put a premature end to his World Cup campaign.
