Ranked: Three greatest Springbok goal-kickers of all time
The history of Springbok rugby has been littered with incredible examples of goal-kicking heroics and special players who were remarkably accurate in front of goal.
With this in mind, we have attempted to rank the three greatest Springbok goal-kickers of all time.
1 Naas Botha
I mean, how could we ever overlook a man who was dubbed the ' Nasty Booter ' for his incredible kicking ability, and which saw him accumulate 312 points from just 28 Tests.
Botha was a pure points machine and simply boasted an aura and ease from the kicking tee that truly set him apart as one of the all-time greats.
To categorise Botha as a kicking flyhalf alone would do him a great injustice, but his place-kicking prowess and drop-goal ability made him one of the most lethal figures in front of goal.
2 Morne Steyn
If you were going to bet your house on a place kicker, many would have very little issue in selecting Steyn as the man they'd want to step up, particularly in high pressure situations.
Who could ever forget his incredible match-winning kicks at opposite ends of his career against the British & Irish Lions, 12 years apart?
It epitomised the goal-kicking expertise of a player who hardly put a foot wrong when stepping up to the kicking tee, and who racked up a whopping 742 points in 68 Tests (only 40 of which came from tries).
3 Percy Montgomery
The Springboks' all-time leading points scorer, he was an absolute ice man when kicking at goal, which is also quite incredible considering he didn't start out his career as a frontline goal kicker.
However, by the time he ended his career, Montgomery had virtually perfected his his abilities as a goal kicker, hardly ever missing off his trademark short run up.
He was never a particularly flashy player, but his reliability in front of goal truly defined his role as one of the most influential Springboks of all time.
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