On November 2, 2019, the Springboks completed their remarkable journey to the top of the international game, beating England 32-12 in the Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan.
It was the third time that South Africa had been crowned world champions after their victorious campaigns in 1995 and 2007.
In 2018, Rassie Erasmus took over the head coach job, with South Africa sitting in a lowly sixth place in the world rankings, but turned the team’s fortunes around to clinch a third title.
Five years on from that day in Yokohama, we take a look at where the Springboks stars from the Rugby World Cup final are now.
15 Willie le Roux
Now in the twilight stages of his career, Willie le Roux is closing in on 100 Test caps in Green and Gold. The brilliant playmaker was crucial to the Boks’ charge to the title in 2019 and featured throughout their successful defence four years later, albeit mostly off the bench. Five years ago, he was plying his trade in Japan with Toyota Verblitz but has since returned to South Africa and represents the Bulls.
14 Cheslin Kolbe
The scorer of South Africa’s second-ever try in a Rugby World Cup final, Cheslin Kolbe has gone from strength to strength in the Springboks squad and has played a pivotal role in the team’s success. He was a standout during the 2021 British and Irish Lions series and at the 2023 World Cup.
Highly regarded as one of the best players in the world, Kolbe has shifted clubs since 2019. He had an incredible stint at Toulouse, winning a Champions Cup and two Top 14 titles, before joining Toulon where he won the Challenge Cup. The speedster now plays his club rugby for Suntory Sungoliath in Japan and remains a regular starter for Erasmus’ Springboks.
13 Lukhanyo Am
Lukhanyo Am shot to stardom in 2019 as he filled Jesse Kriel’s void in the number 13 jersey and famously provided the final pass to Makazole Mapimpi for South Africa’s first try in a World Cup final.
Am would retain the starting role and lead the Springboks’ efforts on defence during the 2021 British and Irish Lions series and at a point was arguably one of the best players in the world.
The midfielder sustained an untimely knee injury before the 2023 World Cup which saw him miss out on the selection for the tournament but was called up later, replacing the injured Mapimpi.
At the time of writing, Am has 40 Test caps to his name and is still playing for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship, although he has been linked with a move to France ahead of the 2025/26 season.
12 Damian de Allende
Another mainstay in South Africa’s starting XV, so much so that he features in two of the three most-capped centre partnerships in Springboks Test match rugby history.
Damian de Allende was playing for the Stormers in 2019 but moved on to join Irish side Munster before signing for Japanese club the Wild Knights. He too was a key figure in the Springboks’ backline during their Rugby World Cup defence in 2023 and the Lions series two years prior and enters the 2024 Autumn Nations Series with 85 Test caps.
11 Makazole Mapimpi
The scorer of South Africa’s first Rugby World Cup final try, Makazole Mapimpi is another star of 2019 that is still in the Springboks squad five years on from the final. The 34-year-old is certainly in the twilight of his career and while he is not the first-choice winger week in, week out for the Boks anymore, he is still scoring tries at a rapid rate. He enters the 2024 November internationals with 30 tries in 45 Test matches — a tally that only three Springboks have bettered.
10 Handré Pollard
After guiding the Springboks to the World Cup title in 2019, Handre Pollard left the Bulls to join French club Montpellier where he would win the Top 14 and Challenge Cup trophies. In 2022, he signed for Premiership side Leicester Tigers and is another player who has been a regular selection for the Springboks’ coaches when fit.
The pivot famously missed out on Jacques Nienaber’s squad for the 2023 World Cup but was called in as an injury replacement for hooker Malcolm Marx and went on to slot all of his shots at goal to seal back-to-back titles. Pollard also captained the Springboks for the first time in 2022 and heads into the November Tests with 77 Test caps and 755 points.
He sits in second place on the Springboks’ all-time leading points scorer’s list with only Percy Montgomery (893) ahead of him.
9 Faf de Klerk
Livewire scrum-half Faf de Klerk remained as the first-choice number nine for the Springboks until 2024, winning the British and Irish Lions series and 2023 World Cup with the side. He did, however, leave his club Sale Sharks to join Japanese side Canon Eagles in 2022 and set a new record with Pollard as the most-capped Springboks half-back combination of all-time. De Klerk missed the 2024 Rugby Championship through injury and was omitted from the Springboks squad for the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.
8 Duane Vermeulen
Widely regarded as the greatest Springboks number eight of all-time, Duane Vermeulen produced a man-of-the-match performance in the victory over England in 2019. The back-rower was 33 years old at the time and many believed that he would hang up his boots after the tournament but he was persuaded to stay on by the Springboks coaches.
He would miss the British and Irish Lions series through injury but did crack the squad for the 2023 World Cup, where he started all of the side’s knockout matches.
The 12-11 victory over the All Blacks in 2023 would be his final match and he has quickly moved into coaching and serves as a roving coach in SA Rugby’s systems, working with the youth teams right up to the Springboks.
7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
Pieter-Steph du Toit’s efforts at the 2019 World Cup earned him the World Rugby Player of the Year Award but the brilliant back-rower’s career was almost cut short as just a year later.
In 2020, he suffered a haematoma injury which required emergency vascular surgery to save the leg and stayed in the hospital for 12 days with an open wound.
This was just another setback for the Bok who over the years had surgery on both ankles, a cracked sternum and two anterior cruciate ligament injuries — the second required his father to donate a piece of his own hamstring tendon.
Du Toit managed to recover from that 2020 setback to feature for the Springboks in the British and Irish Lions series and at the 2023 World Cup, where he was named man of the match in the final. To this day, he remains a crucial member of the Springboks pack and plays his club rugby in Japan for Toyota Verblitz.
6 Siya Kolisi (c)
After guiding the Springboks to glory as the first black captain of the national team, Siya Kolisi went one better in 2023 as he became the second captain to win back-to-back World Cups after All Blacks legend Richie McCaw.
Kolisi would swap the Stormers for the Sharks in 2021 and after the 2023 World Cup joined Racing 92 but his stint in France lasted just one season before he returned to Durban.
Ahead of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, Kolisi has captained the Springboks 59 times with only John Smit leading the side on more occasions (83). Kolisi has also started a record 75 times at flank for the Springboks having surpassed Schalk Burger’s tally (66).
5 Lood de Jager
One of the few starters in 2019 that did not collect a winner’s medal in 2023 after a heart condition ruled him out of the tournament in France. Lood de Jager did however play the 2021 Lions series and was regularly selected for the Boks between the two tournaments.
He has since returned to action after getting medical clearance and helped his club, the Wild Knights, reach the final of the Japan Rugby League One in 2024 where he sustained an injury that ruled him out of contention for the Springboks.
4 Eben Etzebeth
Since the 2019 World Cup Final, Eben Etzebeth has gone about breaking records for the Springboks and recently surpassed Victor Matfield as the most-capped Bok of all-time. The second-rower starred in the 2023 World Cup and was nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year.
After the victory in Japan, Etzebeth headed to France enjoying a stint with Toulon before he also returned to South Africa in 2022, signing for the Sharks.
3 Frans Malherbe
A cornerstone of the Springboks scrum, Frans Malherbe is another starter from 2019 who has remained in the squad and now only trails Os du Randt and Tendai Mtawarira for the most starts at prop for South Africa. Malherbe has remained at the Stormers throughout his career and won the maiden URC title with the side and has become the franchise’s most-capped player.
2 Bongi Mbonambi
Much like his tighthead prop, Bongi Mbonambi has cemented himself as one of the finest Springboks front-rowers. He played a key role in the 2023 World Cup despite sustaining an injury in the opening minutes of the final.
Ahead of the 2023 World Cup, Mbonambi became the second black player to skipper the Springboks and the 65th player overall as he led the side against Argentina and did so again during the tournament. The hooker left the Stormers in 2021 to also join the Sharks.
1 Tendai Mtawarira
The victory over England would be Mtawarira’s 117th and final Test match for the Springboks as he capped off his illustrious international career in style.
‘The Beast’ did join Major League Rugby side Old Glory DC for one final season having played all of his club rugby for the Sharks. The former prop is now a self-described “serial entrepreneur” having founded his own wine collection and foundation while he is also a director at the Sharks. —Planetrugby
