Enviable record against All Blacks: Still remember this Springbok?

The Springboks and the All Blacks are the best rugby-playing nations in the world, and their rivalry is massive! 

This is also depicted in the number of Rugby World Cups both the Springboks and All Blacks have. 

The Springboks are record four-time World Cup winners, moving ahead of their great rivals the All Blacks with three. They have also met twice in a Rugby World Cup final, in 1995 on South African soil, then in 2023 in France. The South Africans came up trumps on both occasions. Just like those two meetings, games between the two nations are often close and nerve-wracking. 

Springboks vs All Blacks rivalry

However, as it stands on a head-to-head basis, it is the All Blacks who continue to have the Springboks’ number. In 106 clashes between the two proud rugby-playing nations, the New Zealanders have won 62 while South Africa have emerged victorious 40 times. There have also been four stalemates, with the most recent one in the 2019 Rugby Championship, a tournament won by Rassie Erasmus’ side. 

With the record heavily favouring the All Blacks, there aren’t many Springboks who have a majority stake in the win-loss column. But one such is ex-Bok cult hero Heinrich Brussow! The stocky open-side flanker was a bit of an anomaly in the South African rugby system. A system traditionally known purely for physicality in its forward pack saw the introduction of a modern-day open-side flank. A stocky figure who was a menace on the ground, as a fetcher. 

Brussow is remembered for arguably being the only player in world rugby to have bullied All Black Richie McCaw. The legendary ex-New Zealand captain was known to be dominant in the breakdown, until he met the former Cheetahs man. He made his Springbok debut against England at Twickenham in 2008. 

Brussow won all four Tests against the old foe

Brussow played four times against the All Blacks between 2009 and 2011, beating them on all occasions, both home and away. The first was in Bloemfontein on the 25th of July, with the boys winning 28-19. Then, in Durban on the 1st of August they won 31-19. The third was on 12th September in Hamiltion, with the Boks winning 32-29 and then a Man of the Match performance in a 18-5 win in 2011 in Gqeberha.

However, his 100% record was unfortunately broken in a 2015 Test in Johannesburg when the All Blacks clinched a 27-20 victory. Brussow would only play two more Test matches after that encounter, ending his international career with 23 caps to his name.