Former Springbok captain John Smit hailed a "colossal" effort by Siya Kolisi's current team, who backed up their 2019 Rugby World Cup triumph with a series win against the British and Irish Lions.

Smit, who led the Springboks to a 2007 and 2009 World Cup and Lions double triumph, said the feat of the current team was made special by the challenges they faced, which included being prevented by the Covid pandemic from playing any Test matches in 2020.