The two-time defending world champion Springboks added the Rugby Championship title in September, but Handre Pollard says they’ve yet to match the greatness of the 2011-2015 All Blacks.
Speaking on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast with Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, Pollard gave a grounded take on the Springboks’ legacy, acknowledging that the All Blacks team of 2011 to 2015 remains the benchmark.
Between winning the World Cup in 2011 and 2015, the All Blacks lost just three times and enjoyed a whopping 89% win rate.
“That’s 100% for other people to judge. My personal opinion is that we aren’t there yet,” said the 77-Test Bok flyhalf. “We want to be. We are going to try our best. But that All Blacks team, from 2011 to 2015, I personally feel is still the best team ever.”
The Springboks made history by defending a World Cup title for the first time in their history and became the first team to lift the Webb Ellis Cup four times, but Pollard said sustained success will be the true measure of this team’s greatness.
“The thing is that we need consistent success. We’ve done well in the World Cups. We’ve spoken about it. It’s about consistently winning Rugby Championships between World Cups now, winning series.
“We are coming to Europe now, trying to go three out of three. That’s the kind of stuff that makes you really one of, if not the, greatest teams ever.
“So we’ve still got a little bit to go there, I feel. But it’s not something we speak about wanting to be. We speak about consistency.
“With developing players and rotation, that’s going to be hard. We believe we can do that and still get the results. It’s tough, but we are on our way.”
Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
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