In our continued ‘blast from the past’ series, we look back at the powerful loose trio that started in the most Tests for the Springboks.

It’s interesting to note that Francois Louw, Willem Alberts and Duane Vermeulen have featured as a starting Springbok back row on 17 occasions, putting the three stalwarts at the top of the list for loose-forward combinations.

Just three Tests behind them, Gary Teichmann, Andre Venter and Rassie Erasmus ran on in 14 Tests together as a combination. It’s the same number of games that Teichmann and Venter also featured in when combining with Ruben Kruger.

However, it’s Louw, Alberts and Vermeulen who racked up a consistent series of Test starts as a combination between 2012 and 2014, and who will go down as one of the most effective combinations of physicality, ball-carrying ability and breakdown strength.

Take a look at some of the highlights from their careers and then let us know in the comments section what some of your best memories of these three Bok greats are.

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Photo: Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images