The term ‘great’ is far too liberally used in the sporting world, particularly when a player has recently retired, but when it comes to Steven Kitshoff, it’s an understatement.
A red-headed nightmare for tighthead props across the globe, Kitshoff forged a wonderful career at the highest level and did it in an unconventional manner, that not only changed Springboks rugby but Test rugby as we know it.
Even so, his forced retirement still stings with the loosehead robbed of prime years as a front-row forward despite collecting accolades that would be the envy of two or three careers.
Rapid rise
It’s one thing being tipped for greatness and another to achieve it. Kitshoff attended the famous Paul Roos Gymnasium, which has produced the most Springboks rugby players ever (56) and quickly garnered a reputation as a ferocious scrummager as detailed by one of his victims and future Stormers teammate Neethling Fouche.
“The first time our paths crossed was at Craven Week 2010. The night before the final, everyone came to tell me I’d be scrumming against a big guy with red hair the next day. The ‘big’ part intimidated me, but the ‘red hair’ part even more,” Fouche detailed on X, formerly Twitter, in a touching tribute to the retiring prop.
“A 17-year-old ex-8th man having to scrum against this beast. I hardly slept that night, and when we met in the first scrum, I realized this was a different kind of strength. In that moment, I knew you’d leave a huge mark on SA rugby.”
Fouche was not the only one who recognised his potential as Western Province and the Stormers quickly moved to snap up one of the most promising front-row talents in the country.
They moved so soon that the Stormers were required to gain special permission for the then-18-year-old to train with the senior squad.
But there was certainly merit for the special treatment as the powerhouse rookie would make his Stormers debut in 2011 and a year later pick up his first bit of silverware in a Green and Gold jersey, the World Rugby U20 Championship title.
He was a driving force in South Africa’s U20s success on home soil as he manhandled opposing tightheads in what foreshadowed what was to come later in his career. It was a generational team that clinched the title and brought a swift end to New Zealand’s stronghold, who had won the previous four consecutive editions.
2012 was a breakout year for the young prop who would also claim Currie Cup glory starting the final as Western Province edged the Sharks 25-18 in Durban.
Despite his brilliant rise to the top, a Springboks debut was not yet on the arisen and Kitshoff took up an opportunity overseas signing with French club Bordeaux.
Breaking new ground
It was during his time in France that the prop did attract Bok interest as new head coach Allister Coetzee, his former boss at the Stormers and Western Province, wished to bring him on board. After agreeing a deal to return to Cape Town in 2017, Kitshoff was permitted to represent South Africa and in doing so became the first-ever overseas-based player to debut for the Springboks against Ireland in Port Elizabeth, breaking the ceiling that would pave the way for players like Cheslin Kolbe, Jasper Wiese and Jean Kleyn later down the line.
He quickly established himself as a regular in the squad featuring in 10 Tests in his first year as a Bok and 12 more in 2017 coming off the bench in his first 18 caps before earning a first start.
That statistic is particularly significant when one looks over the career of the man affectionately known as the Spicy Plum as unlike the other greats before him, Kitshoff did not regularly start Test matches for the Springboks.
In fact, he started just 29 of his 83 Test matches in the number one jersey coming off the bench a Springbok record of 54 times.
Still, when one discusses the greatest Springboks props of all-time, Kitshoff’s name simply has to enter the conversation despite the fact that fellow loosehead props Tendai Matawarira (102) and Os du Randt (75) comfortably started more games in Green and Gold.
But this is all part of the now-retired legacy as he has shifted the perspective of pundits, fans and the rugby-loving public perception.
His influence with the Springboks inspired Rassie Erasmus, who perhaps more than any other international coach embraced the idea of the replacements not just being there for injuries but to change and influence the game in the latter stages.
Erasmus’ plan was simply to utilise the incredible depth that the Springboks had at their disposal in the best way possible and with two of the best loosehead props that South Africa has ever produced in his ranks, so the idea of the Bomb Squad was born.
Probably at the alignment camps where the “bomb squad” principle was born pic.twitter.com/irQeyaRhSB
— Johan Erasmus (@RassieRugby) February 20, 2020
The ploy gave the Springboks a huge advantage as Erasmus was able to hook players off the second they looked to tire but also deploy the bench when a possible momentum swing was within their grasp and more often than not, they did.
Kitshoff was central to this ploy as not only did he get the better of opposing tightheads who were starting to tire but their replacements too. He also added a massive work-rate on top of that and an unparalleled ability at the breakdown for a prop.
He gave the Springboks a unique edge in the latter stages and led the demolition job charge countless times, particularly en route to a Rugby World Cup title in 2019.
Shifting in roles
While he was a lethal weapon off the bench in his Bomb Squad role, when given the responsibility of starting Test matches, he was just as influential highlighted by the British and Irish Lions series’ success where he went toe-to-toe with Ireland’s world-class Tadhg Furlong.
He would comfortably switch between the roles in the build-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup when he donned the number one jersey in the knockout stages of the tournament to guide the side to back-to-back World Cups.
With the last time, we’d see the iconic fiery redhead front rower bowing down for a scrum in a Green and Gold jersey being in that victory over the Boks’ fiercest rivals the All Blacks in the 48th minute.
Bowing out
Playing a part in a successful World Cup final would be the crowning moment for any international player, do it twice something some wouldn’t even dream of but for Kitshoff he still wanted more.
“That’s what motivates me to get up every morning and keep working,” Kitshoff told Netwerk24 in April 2024 ahead of his return from Ulster.
“It’s always in the back of my head, to be fit and strong enough to make another World Cup. I want to accomplish this and leave a good legacy at the Stormers.”
Ageing Springboks star Steven Kitshoff motivated to win ‘another World Cup’
And frankly, he deserved more. 100 Test caps? Absolutely. Another chance to push for a place at the next World Cup? Of course.
But sport can be just as brutal as seven fresh Springboks forwards marching onto the pitch at the same time after 60 minutes.
“I had a quick conversation with Daan Human (Springboks scrum coach),” Kitshoff told reporters on the announcement of his retirement.
“His first reaction when I told him the situation and how serious the injury could’ve been was to thank me for an awesome career. It is tough to have these conversations with your coaches. Because you still want to be there and you still want to play, but unfortunately it is the reality.”
Human put it mildly by stating an ‘awesome career’, it was glorious. Kitshoff not only changed the way we view replacement players but enjoyed immense success in doing so while also leading his beloved Stormers to their first club international trophy in their history.
While he will always be remembered for his Bomb Squad brilliance, particularly with his beer company with Malcolm Marx sporting the same name, Kitshoff set the standard for the modern prop. He was mobile, destructive, technically sound and gave everything to his team regardless of what jersey he was wearing. Perhaps there is no greater example of this than the fact that he played on with the injury that ultimately ended his career but almost took his life too.
“I’m very lucky to still be able to walk or still be able to breathe. I can count my blessings that I’m still alive,” Kitshoff told reporters.
Stormers boss John Dobson added: “It wasn’t even a wheelchair discussion, it was a stop-breathing discussion. It’s not something we wanted to discuss too widely.
Kitshoff’s retirement feels cruel, brutal, and far too soon but when put into perspective what could have happened and the career he had, one cannot but with relief.
One of the Springboks’ greatest and most beloved players steps away from the game with a glowingly CV but most importantly he takes those steps on both feet breathing in the brisk Cape Town air.
So many before him and so many after him won’t be able to say the same after suffering the kind of catastrophic injury he sustained.
A master of the dark arts, his craft, a serial winner, and an unselfish servant of SA Rugby, Spicy Plum bows out a great among greats with a legacy that will burn bright for decades to come. Enjoy the retirement big fella.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/opinion-red-headed-nightmare-steven-kitshoff-changed-the-way-we-view-the-greats-as-bomb-squads-lethal-weapon-bows-out
