Naas Botha - Rugby Union

Rugby Union

Botha was best known for extremely accurate (both left- and right-footed) kicking, which earned him the nickname "Nasty Booter" from the British press when the British Lions toured South Africa in 1980. He is best remembered for his abilities as a very successful drop-kicker in high pressure situations and is also considered to have had an outstanding tactical understanding of rugby.

While Botha was sometimes criticized for avoiding physical contact and not running with the ball, his handling of the ball was very deft and he could get his backline moving very quickly with accurate short and long range passing. As a result, he scored many tries and contributed to many more. However, some consider that he was somewhat weak in defence. Nevertheless, Danie Craven once said, "Give me Naas, and I'll conquer the world!"

Botha remained the highest points scorer in Springbok rugby history for a number of years, with a points total of 312, until 17 July 2004, when his tally was passed by Percy Montgomery. However, Montgomery passed him in his 50th match, while Botha had only played in 28.

In addition to his Springbok rugby-playing duties, Botha also played for the Northern Transvaal province (nicknamed the "Blue Bulls", which they have since adopted as their official name) from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. During this period his contributions ensured that they dominated South African rugby and won the Currie Cup nine times (sharing it twice with Western Province in 1979 and 1989). He was also captain of the province a record 128 times and scored a record 2,511 points (including 1,699 points in the Currie Cup).