Kolbe's majesty is a delight to behold

CHESLIN Kolbe won the “man of the match” award for his two-try contribution to South Africa’s victory over England, thereby proving that for all their sins of omission and commission, members of the union game’s decision-making class still have the capacity to recognise the bleeding obvious when they see it.

- CHRIS HEWETT

Kolbe could have been awarded a Nobel Prize for Sporting Majesty and still felt underappreciated. Yes, he was that good.

Good enough, indeed, to have ended the debate over who may or may not be the finest Springbok wing of them all. There have been some top-notch performers in the fourtime global champions’ No 11 and No 14 shirts, some of whom played their international rugby in the Jurassic age before World Cups were even a thing, but this bloke knocks every last one of his predecessors into a cocked scrum cap – an opinion your columnist would happily enter a boxing ring to defend, even if the opponent was Eben Etzebeth.

Those of you with a handle on history will know that in the amateur era, the Boks specialised in big wings, just as they went for size in most other departments. The likes of Gert Muller, Gerrie Germishuys and Ray Mordt were all 90kgs plus at a time when the home nations were fielding Subbuteo-sized wide men like Gerald Davies, Keith Robertson and Roger Baird; indeed, the MGM triumvirate were all more substantial than James Small and Chester Williams, who played such an important role in securing the Webb Ellis Trophy for their country in 1995.