The Vodacom URC salutes itsterrific Bok 12

For the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, theyare the terrific 12. For the opposition, they’d be the terrifying 12. Whateverthe description, those 12 Springboks who will play the All Blacks in Saturday’sWorld Cup final in Paris are 12 of the most awesome ambassadors of the Vodacom URC.

These 12 emphasise the quality of playerin the Vodacom URC and, except for Willie le Roux, who will make his Vodacom URC debut thisseason for the Vodacom Bulls, the rest have all prospered in the first twoseasons of the Vodacom URC.

There are more Vodacom URC survivors in theSpringboks World Cup squad, but the likes of Manie Libbok, Grant Williams,Jaden Hendrikse, Canan Moodie and Lukanyo Am will watch from the non-playingseats as the Boks look to defend the title they won in Japan four years ago.

Veteran No 8 Duane Vermeulen stars for theSpringboks after two rejuvenated seasons at Ulster, a side that will welcomethe former DHL Stormers captain Steven Kitshoff for the new season.

The Irish interest remains in Saturday’sfinal because of the Irish connection, with Munster’s monster lock pairing ofJean Kleyn and RG Snyman bound to influence proceedings in the last quarter.

Kleyn and Snyman, monumental in Munster’stitle-winning final against the inaugural Vodacom URC winners, the DHL Stormers, lastseason, are part of the famed and feared Bok Bomb Squad, which will featureseven forwards and Le Roux as the solitary backline substitute.

The loaded forwards substitutes' benchmeans there is room for both Kleyn and Snyman, and Kleyn’s journey from SouthAfrica to Ireland and into a World Cup final reads more like fantasy, but isall fact.

Ditto, the Springboks coaching headlineduo of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, who spent 18 months in charge ofMunster and who lured Kleyn from the Stormers to Munster.

Erasmus and Nienaber had coached Kleynwhen in charge of the DHL Stormers and they always believed in his qualities asa player. The then Ireland coach Joe Schmidt also saw the value of Kleyn andpicked him for Ireland’s 2019 World Cup squad once the player had served hisresidency in Ireland.

Kleyn played five times for Ireland underSchmidt, but in four years never got picked for Andy Farrell’s Ireland. Itopened the door for Erasmus and Nienaber to pick him for the Springboks and theplayer, who averaged 70-plus minutes a game for Munster last season, has addedsolidity and strength to the Bok lock stocks.

Schmidt and Kleyn’s mission in 2019 wouldhave been to win the World Cup with Ireland. In a twist, both are in Paris forthe final, and both are with the teams of their birth and upbringing. Schmidt,a Kiwi, has assisted the All Blacks for the past year and Kleyn, still residentin Munster, will form part of the Boks match-day challenge for a fourthSpringboks World Cup title.

Snyman’s game time in the Vodacom URC was limitedbecause of injury and unavailability, but he produced the clutch plays when itmattered most in last season’s URC grand final in Cape Town.

Winger Kurt Lee Arendse, for the VodacomBulls, and utility back Damian Willemse, for the DHL Stormers, found form inthe Vodacom URC and transferred that form to the Springboks. Neither was the startingwing and fullback two seasons ago, but both have been first choice starters atthis World Cup.

Ox Nche’s growth as a player has been theresult of an apprenticeship fine-tuned at the Hollywoodbets Sharks in the Vodacom URC.

Veterans Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, DeonFourie, Eben Etzebeth and Bongi Mbonambi will all play in the Vodacom URC this seasonfor Ulster, the DHL Stormers and Hollywoodbets Sharks respectively.

It is remarkable that a league, still inits infancy, has produced so many quality players on the global stage andSaturday’s World Cup final could easily be a final between the Vodacom URC and SuperRugby Pacific.

Internationally, it is an all-southernhemisphere final, but the make-up of the Bok squad has given the northernhemisphere an invite to rugby’s biggest dance of the year.