TOP OF THE PILE: Serial winners, underrated captain — Boks’ curious status after beating All Blacks

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> After a slow start, the Springboks deservedly won the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 3-1 against the All Blacks. Outside South Africa, though, the Boks are still not universally loved.

The price of being the best team in the world is that no one loves a serial winner except die-hard fans of that team. The dislike and envy can be extreme, especially in the social media age.

When peak Manchester United, the prime Australian men’s cricket team, the dominant Mercedes F1 team and the mighty All Blacks circa 2010-2019 ruled the world, there was perhaps grudging admiration, but also intense envy and dislike.

That is what the Springboks are experiencing now after beating the All Blacks 3-1 in the four-Test Greatest Rivalry series over the past month.

The Boks continue to win every prize they fight for, even if they lose the odd game along the way.

Since 2019, Siya Kolisi’s team have won two World Cups, three Rugby Championships, a British & Irish Lions Test series, and now a series against the All Blacks.

They’re the No 1-ranked team in the world, which is the perch they occupied at the end of the past two seasons as well.

Over the past three years, their win rate is 85%, even while rotating more than 50 players.

The Boks hold the Webb Ellis Cup, the Freedom Cup, the Mandela Plate, the Greatest Rivalry spire and some other trophies handed out for winning random games.

Rassie Erasmus, in his incarnations as director of rugby and head coach since 2018, has built the best team in the world, capable of playing rugby of varying styles with an almost interchangeable roster of about 50 players and an innovative coaching group.

It’s an unprecedented approach to management that has allowed the Boks to experiment with personnel while maintaining huge success. It’s been built on the best foundations of South Africa’s rugby DNA – set piece and defensive muscle – with more subtle layers on top.

The Springboks of this era have established an almost cult-like devotion from fans, thanks firstly to their success, but also due to a cast of iconic players and characters.

Kolisi’s statesmanship and genuine warmth attract people of all backgrounds and make ordinary fans feel included and seen by the Boks.

Behind him, totemic players such as Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nché, Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe, all men of action rather than words, appeal to a broad cross-section of society.