Top French publication picks THREE Springboks in 2021 Team of the Year

Three Springboks have been named in top French publication L’Equipe’s 2021 Team of the Year.

READ | SA RUGBY JOINS CHORUS OF CONDOLENCES FOR DESMOND TUTU

The trio are loose forward Siya Kolisi, lock Eben Etzebeth and centre Lukhanyo Am.

All three of those players were also selected in World Rugby’s 2021 Dream Team – along with hooker Malcolm Marx and wing Makazole Mapimpi – as reported by The South African website earlier this month. 

No Springboks were among World Rugby’s shortlist

Local supporters were left outraged – to put it mildly – when not a single Springbok player was named among the four-man shortlist for World Rugby’s Player of the Year award for 2021.

READ | RIP: DESMOND TUTU – REMEMBERING HIS WHOLESALE SPRINGBOK INTERACTIONS

The quartet who were nominated were Wallaby duo Michael Hooper and Samu Kerevi, England’s Maro Itoje and eventual winner, France’s Antione Dupont. 

READ | ENGLAND PROP: I F***ING LOVE RASSIE ERASMUS!

Kerevi does not even feature in the L’Equipe Team of the Year with Springbok Lukhanyo Am and All Blacks star Rieko Ioane named as the centres.

MUST READ | HOW ‘THE ARCH’ HELPED ‘BEAST’ WITH HIS SA PASSPORT

The L’Equipe XV features four players from New Zealand and France, three from South Africa and one each from Australia, Wales, England and Ireland.

L’Equipe Team of the Year:

15 Jordie Barrett (New Zealand), 14 Will Jordan (New Zealand), 13 Rieko Ioane (New Zealand), 12 Lukhanyo Am (South Africa), 11 Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales), 10 Romain Ntamack (France), 9 Antoine Dupont (France), 8 Ardie Savea (New Zealand), 7 Michael Hooper (Australia), 6 Siya Kolisi (South Africa), 5 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa), 4 Maro Itoje (England), 3 Tadhg Furlong (Ireland), 2 Julien Marchand (France), 1 Cyril Baille (France)