One of the most feared match-winners in the game, South African Naas Botha was best known for his deadly boot – whether punting, place-kicking or drop-kicking the ball.

Today the former Springbok captain remains the highest scorer in his country’s history, despite having played for many years when South Africa was in sporting isolation, denying him the chance of achieving even greater success on the world stage.

Had he been playing in recent years, with far more matches, would surely have far exceeded his points total of 312.
His tactical understanding of the game was outstanding and his ability to dominate a match with the boot beyond compare. But Naas Botha was more than just a kicking flyhalf. Although he seldom took the ball up in the manner of the modern-day flyhalf, he had an eye for a gap and was a deceptively fast runner, blessed with good hands.

Naas Botha played for Northern Transvaal from the late 1970s into the early 1990s, and during that time the Blue Bulls won the Currie Cup six times. He captained the province a record 128 times and scored a record 2,511 points, including 1,699 points in the Currie Cup.