The South Africa national rugby union team, widely known as the Springboks, is a symbol of national pride and unity. Governed by the South African Rugby Union, the team sports green and gold jerseys adorned with the springbok emblem, a native antelope and the national animal. The Springboks have a rich and complex history, marked by periods of isolation and triumph, making them one of the most compelling teams in rugby history.
Their first test match was on 30 July 1891 against a British Isles touring team. The Springboks are the reigning World Cup winners, and have won the tournament four times (1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023), more than any other country.
Early History and Tours
The first British Isles tour took place in 1891, at Diocesan College. These were the first representative games played by South African sides. The British Isles' success continued on their tour of 1896, winning three out of four tests against South Africa. The first South African team to tour the British Isles and France occurred during 1906-07. The team played tests against all four Home Nations.
Paul Roos's team first introduced the Springbok emblem during their 1906-07 tour of Britain to prevent the British press from inventing their own name for the team. The 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa was the first to include representatives from all four Home unions. The tourists won just one of their three tests. The Boks' second European tour took place in 1912-13.
The All Blacks first toured South Africa in 1928, and again the Test series finished level. The Springboks won the first Test 17-0 to inflict the All Blacks' heaviest defeat since 1893. The All Blacks rebounded to win the second Test 7-6. The British Isles toured South Africa again in 1938, winning the majority of their tour matches. The Springboks secured easy victories in the first two tests. The 1951-52 team that toured Europe was considered amongst the finest Springbok sides to tour. The team won the Grand Slam as well as defeating France. Hennie Muller captained the side.
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In 1953, Australia toured South Africa for the second time and although they lost the series, they defeated South Africa 18-14 in the second test. In 1959, Danie Craven was elevated to chairman of the International Rugby Football Board (IRB).
Apartheid Era and International Isolation
From 1906 onwards, South African rugby officials and the national team were historically linked with racism. In 1960, international criticism of apartheid grew in the wake of The Wind of Change speech and the Sharpeville massacre. The Springboks increasingly became the target of international protest.
The 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa lost three of the four tests, drawing the other. Next year in the 1969-70 Springbok tour to the UK and Ireland the Springboks lost test matches against England and Scotland, and drew against Ireland and Wales. In the Springbok tour of Australia in 1971, the Springboks won all three tests. The Lions team that toured South Africa in 1974 triumphed 3-0 (with one drawn) in the test series.
A key feature was the Lions' infamous '99 call'. Lions management had decided that the Springboks dominated their opponents with physical aggression, so decided "to get their retaliation in first". At the call of '99' each Lions player would attack their nearest rival player. The 1976 All Blacks tour of South Africa went ahead, and the Springboks won by three Tests to one, but coming shortly after the Soweto riots the tour attracted international condemnation.
Twenty-eight countries boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in protest, and in 1977 the Gleneagles Agreement discouraged any Commonwealth sporting contact with South Africa. In response to the growing pressure, the segregated South African rugby unions merged in 1977. The 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand went ahead in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement. South Africa lost the series 1-2. The tour and the massive civil disruption in New Zealand had ramifications far beyond rugby.
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In 1981, Errol Tobias became the first non-white South African to represent his country when he took the field against Ireland. South Africa sought to counteract its sporting isolation by inviting the South American Jaguars to tour. The team contained mainly Argentinian players. Eight matches were played between the two teams in the early 1980s-all awarded Test status. In 1985, a planned All Black tour of South Africa was stopped by the New Zealand High Court. A rebel tour took place the next year by a team known as the Cavaliers, which consisted of all but two of the original squad. The Springboks won the series 3-1.
Post-Apartheid Era and World Cup Success
Apartheid was abolished during 1990-91, and the Springboks were readmitted to international rugby in 1992. They struggled to return to their pre-isolation standards in their first games after readmission. South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, with a surge of support for the Springboks among the white and black communities behind the slogan "one team, one country." This was the first major international sports event to be held in the Rainbow Nation.
By the time they hosted the 1995 World Cup, the Springboks, coached by Kitch Christie, were seeded ninth. They won their pool by defeating Australia, Romania, and Canada. Wins in the quarter-final against Western Samoa (42-14) and in the semi-final against France (19-15) sent the Springboks to the final. South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup final against the All Blacks 15-12 in extra-time.
President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok shirt, presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, a white Afrikaner. Nelson Mandela later wrote "It was under Francois Pienaar's inspiring leadership that rugby became the pride of the entire country. Francois brought the nation together."
A series of crises followed in 1995 through 1997. Christie resigned in 1996 due to leukaemia, which led to his death in 1998. South Africa struggled in the new Tri-Nations competition, the All Blacks won a test series in South Africa for the first time in 1996, and the Lions won their 1997 South African tour test series two games to one.
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At the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, the Springboks won their pool. The Springboks then defeated Fiji 37-20 in the quarter-finals, and Argentina 37-13 in the semi-finals. The final match between South Africa and England served as a rematch between the two in reference to the 2007 Rugby World Cup final.
The Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan after defeating England 32-12 in the final. Siya Kolisi became the most decorated South African Captain, having won two world cups back to back in 2019 and 2023 (equaling the New Zealand team led by Richie McCaw who also won back to back world cups in 2011 and 2015) as captain.
Furthermore, as Captain he stands alone as the only Springboks Captain to have led South Africa to four consecutive wins against the All Blacks. Prior to that he shared the record with former Captain's John Smit (2007) and Felix du Plessis (1949). He also has now won as captain, the most trophy's in one year (2024) than any other Springboks Captain before him. The Qatar Airways Cup "The Springboks retain the Qatar Airways Cup"., The Mandela Challenge Plate, The Freedom Cup, The Rugby Championship and The Prince William Cup.
It is also under his Captaincy that South Africa Hold not only the World Cup consecutively, but also led his charges to win the British & Irish Lions Series in 2021 held in South Africa.
The Springboks faced a tough pool that included the likes of Ireland and Scotland. They suffered a narrow defeat to Ireland. Throughout the tournament, the Springboks displayed a resolute defensive performance. They conceded the fewest penalties of any team and their tackling technique was exceptional.
The 2023 World Cup
The 2023 Springboks were a team that embodied the spirit of unity. The Springboks were crowned Rugby World Cup champions for the fourth time, making them the first nation to win men's 4 titles (NZ and England having already won 4 across men's and women's rugby) and their second in a row .
Every South Africa point at Rugby World Cup 2023
Key Moments from the 2023 World Cup:
- Quarter Final vs France: In a nail-biting encounter against the host nation, the Springboks fought tenaciously throughout the match.
- Semi Final vs England: Another tense affair, this game tested the Springboks' grit. They battled fiercely against England, with the score seesawing throughout.
- Final vs New Zealand: A thrilling 80 minutes that kept fans on the edge of their seats. The All Blacks were reduced to 14 men in the first half after captain Sam Cane was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Despite their numerical advantage, the Springboks faced strong defense from New Zealand.
The Bomb Squad: The Springboks' dominance in the scrums became a defining feature of their knock-out stage success.
Emblem and Kit Evolution
Since the end of apartheid, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has sought to replace the Springbok emblem with a neutral symbol representing a break from the past, the King Protea, South Africa's national flower, was chosen for this purpose, leading to the national cricket team being named the Proteas for example. A similar change was envisioned for the national rugby team.
As portrayed in the film Invictus, pressure to replace the Springbok emblem intensified in 1994, just before the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. However, Nelson Mandela, a devoted fan of the Springbok rugby team, intervened, leading the ANC's executive to reappropriate the emblem instead of abolishing it. In March 2004, the South African Sports Commission ratified a decision for the Protea to be the official rugby emblem on blazers and caps, allowing the Springbok to remain on the team jersey and the traditional Springbok colours.
Furthermore, South African Rugby (SARU) has not made any official moves to change the emblem. South Africa plays in green jerseys with a gold collar and trim, white shorts and green socks. The green jersey was first adopted when the British Isles toured South Africa in 1903. When Australia first toured South Africa in 1933, the visitors wore sky blue jerseys to avoid confusion, as both teams wore dark green jerseys at the time.
In 1953, when Australia toured again, the Springboks wore white jerseys for the test matches. For the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the springbok was moved from the front of the jersey to the right sleeve while the Protea remained on the front. This change was due to World Cup regulations stating that only the IRB logo and the main team logo could appear on the front of the shirt.
American company Nike is the kit provider for all the South Africa rugby teams from July 2023, through a six-year contract signed with the SARU. South Africa's shirt sponsor as of 2025 is FNB, one of the country's major banks.
Notable Players and Records
South Africa's most capped player is Eben Etzebeth with 139 caps. The Lock broke the record previously held by Victor Matfield on the 28th of September 2024 in a test match against Argentina. The most-capped back is Bryan Habana.
South Africa's most capped player is Eben Etzebeth with 128 caps. John Smit was the world's most-capped captain, having captained South Africa in 82[7] of his 111 Tests.
On 1 August during the 2009 Tri Nations tournament, Morné Steyn set a number of records during the second Test between the Springboks and the All Blacks. The Springboks won 31-19, with Steyn scoring all South Africa's points - 1 try, 1 conversion, 8 penalties. Most points scored by any player in a Tri Nations match, surpassing Andrew Mehrtens (All Blacks vs.
Eleven former South African international players have been inducted into either the International Rugby Hall of Fame or the IRB Hall of Fame.
| Player | Induction Year | Hall of Fame |
|---|---|---|
| Barry "Fairy" Heatlie | N/A | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| Bennie Osler | N/A | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| Danie Craven | N/A | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| Morné du Plessis | N/A | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| Naas Botha | 2005 | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| Danie Gerber | 2007 | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| Francois Pienaar | 2005 (IHF), 2011 (IRB) | International Rugby Hall of Fame, IRB Hall of Fame |
| Joost van der Westhuizen | N/A | International Rugby Hall of Fame |
| John Smit | 2011 | IRB Hall of Fame |
| Bryan Habana | N/A | IRB Hall of Fame |
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