South Africa national rugby union team

South Africa

Union	South African Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	Springboks, Springbokke, Boks, Bokke
Emblem(s)	the Springbok and the Protea
Coach(es)	Heyneke Meyer
Captain(s)	Jean de Villiers
Most caps	Victor Matfield (121)
Top scorer	Percy Montgomery (893)
Most tries	Bryan Habana (57) (correct as at 22 November 2014)
Team kit Change kit
First international
Cape Colony 0 – 4 British Isles (30 July 1891)
Largest win
South Africa 134 – 3 Uruguay  (11 June 2005)
Largest defeat
England 53 – 3 South Africa  (23 November 2002)
World Cup
Appearances	5/7 (First in 1995)
Best result	Champions, 1995 & 2007

The South Africa national rugby union team (known as the Springboks) represents South Africa in rugby union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblems are the Springbok and the Protea. The team has been playing international rugby since 30 July 1891, when they played their first Test match against a British Isles touring team.

Although South Africa was instrumental in the creation of the Rugby World Cup competition, the Springboks did not compete in the first two World Cups in 1987 and 1991 because of anti-apartheid sporting boycotts of South Africa. The team made its World Cup debut in 1995, when the newly democratic South Africa hosted the tournament. The Springboks defeated the All Blacks 15–12 in the final, which is now remembered as one of the greatest moments in South Africa's sporting history, and a watershed moment in the post-Apartheid nation-building process. As a result of the 2007 World Cup tournament the Springboks were promoted to first place in the IRB World Rankings, a position they held until July the following year when New Zealand regained the top spot. They were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards.^[1] South Africa regained their title as champions 12 years later, when they defeated England 15–6 in the 2007 final.

The Springboks also compete in the annual Rugby Championship, along with southern-hemisphere counterparts Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. They have won this championship on three occasions in sixteen years. They also play Test matches against the various rugby-playing nations. They are currently ranked second in the world by the International Rugby Board. The current captain is Jean de Villiers, and the current coach is Heyneke Meyer. During the 2014 mid-year Test series, de Villiers will not play as he is recovering from a knee injury; Victor Matfield is serving as captain in his place.

History

First internationals: 1891–1913

The first British Isles tour took place in 1891.^[2] These were the first representative games played by South African sides. The tourists won all twenty matches they played, conceding only one point.^[3][4] The British Isles' success continued on their tour of 1896, winning three out of four tests against South Africa. South Africa's play improved markedly from 1891, and their first test win in the final game was a pointer to the future.^[5][6] In 1903 the British Isles lost a series for the first time in South Africa, drawing the opening two tests before losing the last 8–0.^[7][8] Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press.^[9] South Africa would not lose another series—home or away—until 1956.^[10]

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. England managed a draw, but Scotland was the only one of the Home unions to gain a victory.^[11] The trip instilled a sense of national pride among South Africans.^[10][12] The South Africans played an unofficial match against a 'France' team while the official French team were in England; the Springboks won 55–6.^[13][14] It was during this tour that the nickname Springboks was first used.^[15][16][17]

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.^[18]

The Boks' second European tour took place in 1912–13. They beat the four Home nations to earn their first Grand Slam, and also defeated France.^[10][19]

Inter war

By the first World War, New Zealand and South Africa had established themselves as rugby's two greatest powers.^[20][21] A Springbok tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1921 was billed as "The World Championship of Rugby".^[22] The All Blacks won the first Test 13–5,^[23] The Springboks recovered to win the second Test 9–5,^[23] and the final Test was drawn 0–0, resulting in a series draw.^[24]

The 1924 British and Irish Lions team to South Africa lost all four Tests to the Springboks.^[25][26] This was the first side to pick up the name Lions, apparently picked up from the Lions embroidered on their ties.^[27][28] 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.^[29][30] The All Blacks rebounded to win the second Test 7–6. After a Springbok win in the third Test, the All Blacks won 13–5 to draw the series.^[31]

Despite winning South Africa's second Grand Slam, the Springbok tourists of 1931–32 were an unloved team, due to their tactics of kicking for territory.^[32][33] It was successful however, winning against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as defeating all their Welsh opponents for the first time.^[34]

In 1933, Australia toured South Africa, with the Springboks winning the series 3–2.

In 1937 South Africa toured New Zealand and Australia and their 2–1 series win prompted them to be called "the best team to ever leave New Zealand".^[35][36]

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. However, the Lions bounced back to record a win in the third test, for the first Lions win on South Africa soil since 1910.^[37]

Post-war era

Danie Craven was appointed coach in 1949, and started his coaching career winning ten matches in a row, including a 4–0 whitewash of New Zealand on their 1949 tour to South Africa.^[38]

The 1951–52 team that toured Europe was considered amongst the finest Springbok sides to tour.^[19] The team won the Grand Slam as well as defeating France. Hennie Muller captained the side. The South African highlight of the tour was a 44–0 defeat of Scotland.^[32][39] The team finished with only one loss, to London Counties, from 31 matches.^[40]

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. This was the first Springbok defeat for 15 years. The 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa four-test series ended in a draw.

In 1956, Springboks toured Australasia the All Blacks won its first series over the Springboks, in "the most bitterly fought series in history."^[41][42]

When France toured South Africa in 1958 they were not expected to compete.^[43] France exceeded expectations and drew 3–3.^[44] The French then secured a Test series victory with a 9–5 victory.^[45]

Anti-apartheid protests: 1960s–1970s

In 1960, international criticism of apartheid grew in the wake of The Wind of Change speech and the Sharpeville massacre.^[46] The Springboks increasingly became the target of international protest. The All Blacks toured South Africa in 1960, despite a 150,000 signature petition opposing it.^[47] The Springboks avenged their 1956 series defeat by winning the four-match test series 2–1 with one draw.^[48][42] Later that same year the Springboks toured Europe, and they defeated all four Home unions for their fourth Grand Slam.

The 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa lost all three tests. In 1963 the touring Wallabies beat the Springboks in consecutive tests, the first team to do so since the 1896 British team. In 1964, in Wales' first overseas tour they played one test match against South Africa, losing 24–3, their biggest defeat in 40 years.^[49][50][49]

South Africa had a poor year in 1965, losing matches in a tour of Ireland and Scotland, and in a tour of Australia and New Zealand.

The planned 1967 tour by the All Blacks was cancelled by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union after the South African government refused to allow Maori players.^[51] In 1968 the Lions toured and lost three Tests and drew one.

Next year in the 1969–70 Springbok tour to Britain and Ireland the Springboks lost test matches against England and Scotland, and drew against Ireland. Throughout the tour however, large anti-apartheid demonstrations meant that several matches had to be played behind barbed wire fences.

In 1970 the All Blacks toured South Africa once again—after the South African government agreed to treat Maoris in the team and Maori spectators as 'honorary whites'.^[52][53] The Springboks won the test series 3–1.

In the Springbok tour of Australia in 1971, the Springboks won all three tests. As in Britain three years before, however, massive anti-apartheid demonstrations greeted the team, and they had to be transported by the Royal Australian Air Force after the trade unions refused to service planes or trains transporting them. A planned tour of New Zealand for 1973 was blocked by New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk on the grounds of public safety.^[54]

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 "battle of Boet Erasmus Stadium" was one of the most violent matches in rugby history.^[55]

Sporting isolation: 1970s–1980s

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. A planned 1979 Springbok tour of France was blocked by the French government.

The Lions toured South Africa in 1980, losing the first three tests before winning the last one.

The 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand went ahead in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement. South Africa lost the series 2–1. The tour and the massive civil disruption in New Zealand had ramifications far beyond rugby. 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 1984, England toured losing both test matches; of the players selected, only Ralph Knibbs of Bristol refused to tour for political reasons.

Due to the isolation from apartheid, from 1985 to 1991, South Africa did not play a single test match against an established country, although South Africa did play some matches against makeshift teams.^[56] 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.^[57] The Springboks won the series 3–1. In 1989, a World XV sanctioned by the International Rugby Board went on a mini-tour of South Africa; all traditional rugby nations bar New Zealand supplied players to the team. South Africa was not permitted by the International Rugby Board to compete in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, nor in the following 1991 Rugby World Cup.

Rainbow nation and 1995 World Cup

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. During the 1992 All Blacks tour, the first to South Africa since 1976, the Springboks were defeated 27–24 by New Zealand, and suffered a 26–3 loss to Australia the following month.

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."^[58] 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 quarterfinal against Western Samoa (42–14) and in the semifinal 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.^{[59][60][61][62][63]} President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok shirt, presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, a white Afrikaner. The gesture was widely seen as a major step towards the reconciliation of white and black South Africans.

A series of crises followed in 1995 through 1997. Christie resigned in 1996 due to leukaemia. 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,^[64] and the Lions won their 1997 South African tour test series two games to one. Coach Andre Markgraaff was fired in 1997 over a racial comment he made. The team suffered successive defeats in the Lions 1997 tour and the 1997 Tri Nations Series.

In 1997, coach Nick Mallett coached South Africa's unbeaten 1997 tour of Europe, and in 1998 the Boks tied the then-existing record for longest test winning streak, winning 17 consecutive tests, including the 1998 Tri-Nations.^[65] At the 1999 Rugby World Cup the Springboks reached the semi-finals of the competition, where they lost to eventual champions Australia.^[66]

During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, the Springboks lost by record margins to England (53–3), France, Scotland and New Zealand.^[67][68] At the 2003 Rugby World Cup, they were eliminated in the quarter final round – their worst showing to date.

Following wins during the June 2004 tours, the Boks won the 2004 Tri Nations Series. The Springboks won the 2004 IRB International Team of the Year award. The Springboks finished second in the 2005 Tri-Nations.

The 2006 Springboks lost to France, ending their long undefeated home record. A poor 2006 Tri Nations Series included two losses to the Wallabies. Coach Jake White told the press in July 2006 that he had been unable to pick some white players for his squad "because of transformation"—a reference to the ANC government's policies to redress racial imbalances.

2007 Rugby World Cup victory

At the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, the Springboks won their pool. The Springboks then defeated Fiji 37–20 in the quarterfinals, and Argentina 37–13 in the semi-finals. In the final they prevailed 15–6 over England to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for a second time.

In January 2008, Peter de Villiers was appointed as the first non-white coach of the Springboks. De Villiers's first squad included ten of colour. The team finishes last in the Tri Nations, but notched several wins during their 2008 end of year tour.

The 2009 season was more successful. The Boks earned a 2–1 series win over the Lions, and then won the 2009 Tri Nations Series. However, during the November tests they lost their top spot in the IRB rankings with losses to France and Ireland. Nonetheless, the Boks were named IRB International Team of the Year.

The Boks' June 2010 test campaign included a win over France (their first victory over the French since 2005).^[69] However, the Boks performed poorly in the 2010 Tri Nations campaign, sliding to third in the world rankings.^[70] In the 2011 Tri Nations the Boks rested a number of players in preparation for the upcoming World Cup. At the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the Springboks topped their group before falling to Australia 11–9 in the quarter-final.

Apartheid and transformation

Even before the apartheid laws were introduced to South Africa in 1948 the Springboks had been an all-white team. The team became a symbol of racial division within South Africa, and following the first open elections in 1994, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) instituted a policy of transformation in South African sport. In this context transformation can be defined as "a complete alternation of the appearance or character of South African rugby", and one aim is to transform the Springboks into a team more representative of South Africa's race and class.^[71]

South Africa's World Cup winning side of 1995 fielded only one non-white player (Chester Williams). This continued in the team's biggest matches of the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, and in the 2007 World Cup final the team fielded two non-white players (Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen).^[72] South African Rugby Union president Oregan Hoskins considered the number of non-white players in the 2007 World Cup squad too low,^[72] and in 2008 the first non-white coach of the side was appointed. The political pressure on rugby coaches and administrators to select non-white players is strong; 16 of the 35 new Springboks appointed by former coach Jake White were non-white.^[72] ANC Minister of Parliament Butana Komphela expressed a view held by many politicians in the country when he said "Sport cannot be excluded from imperatives of empowerment and transformation."^[72] Currently, 15 of the 49 players in training for the World Cup are non-white.

Controversy over the emblem

Since the demise of apartheid the ruling African National Congress has wanted to replace the Springbok across all national teams, as emblem of the racially segregated sporting codes, with a neutral symbol that would represent a decisive break with a repressive past. The king protea as South Africa's national flower was chosen for this purpose, so that the national cricket team became known as the Proteas, for example. A similar change was envisioned for the national rugby squad's springbok emblem. Paul Roos's team had first introduced the Springbok in 1906, and it had promoted a measure of unity among white English and Afrikaans-speaking players after the two Anglo-Boer Wars of the late 19th century.^[73]

The Springbok was regarded as representing both the exclusion of players who were not designated white under apartheid legislation and, by extension, of apartheid itself.^[74] Although the Springbok was adopted briefly by the first coloured national rugby team in 1939 and by their first black counterparts in 1950, it became exclusively associated with segregated sporting codes afterwards. South African rugby officials in particular, and the national rugby team itself, have an historical association with racism from 1906 on. The first rugby Springboks initially refused to play against a Devon side that included Jimmy Peters, the first black player to represent England.^[75] Legendary official, national coach, and Springbok scrumhalf Danie Craven had acquiesced with government officials who had demanded that Māori players be excluded from visiting All Black teams.^[76] Craven had also indicated that the Springbok was exclusively tied to the white identity of the national rugby team.^[74]

As a result of political pressure the national rugby team jersey from 1992 on featured a king protea alongside the springbok. As portrayed in the film Invictus, pressure to replace the Springbok as emblem for the rugby team came to a head in 1994, just before the Rugby World Cup that would take place in South Africa. As a result of Nelson Mandela's direct interference, the ANC's executive decided not to do away with the emblem at the time, but to reappropriate it. After the national team won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, black rugby pioneer Dan Qeqe said that "The Springboks play for all of us".^[73]

In March 2004 the South African Sports Commission ratified a decision that the protea be the official rugby emblem on blazers and caps, with the concession that the springbok could remain on the team jersey.^[77] And in November 2007 the ANC's special conference at Polokwane again endorsed the need for a single symbol for all sporting codes. While detractors like Qondisa Ngwenya foresaw a loss of revenue from dumping the springbok emblem,^[73] others like Cheeky Watson urged the need for an alternative, unifying symbol.^[78]

Strip

South Africa play in green jerseys with gold trim, white shorts and green socks. Their jersey is embroidered with the SA Rugby logo on the upper left corner and the flag of South Africa on the sleeve and traditionally has a gold collar. The strip is made by ASICS and their current shirt sponsor is South African banking giant ABSA. The green jersey was first adopted when the British Isles toured South Africa in 1896.^[79] On their first tour to Great Britain and Ireland in 1906–07 the South Africa wore a green jersey with white collar, blue shorts, and blue socks. A replica shirt was worn in 2006 against Ireland in Dublin to mark the centenary of the tour.^[80] When Australia first toured South Africa in 1933, the visitors wore sky blue jerseys to avoid confusion, as at the time, both wore dark green strips. In 1953, when Australia toured again, the Springboks wore white jerseys for the test matches. In 1961 Australia changed their jersey to gold to avoid further colour clashes.^[81]

The Springbok nickname and logo also dates from the 1906–7 tour of Britain. The springbok was chosen to represent the team by tour captain Paul Roos in an attempt to prevent the British press from inventing their own name. The logo was not restricted to the white team alone, the first coloured national team used the springbok in 1939 and the first black team in 1950.^[79] After the fall of apartheid in 1992 a wreath of proteas was added to the logo. When the ANC was elected in 1994 the team's name was not changed to the Proteas like that of other South African sporting teams only because of the intervention of President Nelson Mandela.^[79][82] The movie Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon depicts this story.

In December 2008, the SARU decided to place the protea on the left side of the Boks' jersey, in line with other South African national teams, and move the springbok to the right of the jersey.^[83] The new jersey was worn for the first time during the British and Irish Lions' 2009 tour of South Africa.^[84]

Name	Start	End
Nike	1996	2004 mid year internationals
Canterbury	2004 Tri-Nations	2013
Asics	2014	Current

Home grounds

The Springboks do not use a national stadium as their home, but play out of a number of venues throughout South Africa. The 60,000 seat Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg was the main venue for the 1995 World Cup,^[85] where the Springboks defeated the All Blacks in the final. Other regular venues for tests include Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, Kings Park Stadium in Durban, Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, and Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.^[86] The Springboks played their first test match at Soccer City on 21 August 2010, a Tri Nations match against New Zealand.^[87]

Other stadiums which have been used for test matches include Buffalo City Stadium in East London, the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace outside of Rustenburg, Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit and Puma Stadium in Witbank.

The first South African international took place at Port Elizabeth's St George's Park Cricket Ground in 1891.^[88] Ellis Park was built in 1928, and in 1955 hosted a record 100,000 people in a Test between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions.^[85]

The Springboks are said to have a notable advantage over touring sides when playing at high altitude on the Highveld.^[89] Games at Ellis Park, Loftus Versfeld, or Vodacom Park are said to present physical problems,^[90][91] and to influence a match in a number of other ways, such as the ball travelling further when kicked.^[92] Experts disagree on whether touring team's traditionally poor performances at altitude are more due to a state of mind rather than an actual physical challenge.^[91]

Records

World Rugby Rankings
Top 25 Rankings as 27 April 2015[93]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	93.70
2		South Africa	88.23
3		Ireland	85.76
4		England	85.40
5		Wales	84.07
6		Australia	82.95
7		France	79.74
8		Argentina	78.23
9		Samoa	75.39
10		Scotland	74.79
11		Japan	74.70
12		Fiji	74.57
13		Tonga	74.12
14		Georgia	72.16
15		Italy	71.85
16		United States	67.61
17		Canada	66.83
18		Romania	66.23
19		Russia	64.65
20		Uruguay	63.58
21		Spain	62.59
22	1	South Korea	58.38
23	1	Namibia	58.27
24	1	Portugal	57.40
25		Belgium	56.47
*Change from the previous week
South Africa's Historical Rankings
Source: World Rugby - Graph updated to 27 April 2015[93]

List of South Africa national rugby union team records

Rugby Championship

South Africa's only annual tournament is The Rugby Championship (formerly Tri-Nations), involving Australia and New Zealand since 1996, with Argentina joining the competition in 2012. South Africa has won the tournament three times; in 1998 and 2004 and 2009. South Africa also participates in the Mandela Challenge Plate with Australia, and the Freedom Cup with New Zealand as part of the Rugby Championship.

Tri Nations (1996 – 2011)
Nation	Games				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Championships
	played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	diff
New Zealand	72	50	0	22	1936	1395	+541	32	232	10
Australia	72	29	1	42	1531	1721	–190	34	152	3
South Africa	72	28	1	43	1480	1831	–351	24	138	3

Rugby Championship (2012 – )
Nation	Games				Points			Bonus points	Table points	Championships
	played	won	drawn	lost	for	against	difference
New Zealand	18	16	1	1	543	272	+271	10	76	3
South Africa	18	10	1	7	457	336	+121	8	50	0
Australia	18	7	1	10	349	467	-118	2	32	0
Argentina	18	1	1	16	273	547	-274	7	13	0

Updated: 5 Oct 2014
Source: espnscrum.com

World Cup

South Africa did not participate in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups because of the sporting boycott that apartheid brought against them. South Africa's introduction to the event was as hosts. They defeated defending champions Australia 27–18 in the opening match, and went on to defeat the All Blacks 15–12 after extra time in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final, with a drop goal from 40 metres by Joel Stransky.^[94]

In 1999 South Africa suffered their first World Cup loss when they were defeated 21–27 by Australia in their semi-final; they went on to defeat the All Blacks 22–18 in the third-fourth play-off match.^[95] The worst ever South African performance at a World Cup was in 2003 when they lost a pool game to England, and then were knocked out of the tournament by the All Blacks in their quarter-final.^[96] In 2007 the Springboks defeated Fiji in the quarter-finals and Argentina in the semi-finals. They then defeated England in the final 15–6 to win the tournament for a second time. In 2011 the Springboks were defeated by Australia 9–11 in the quarter-finals after winning all four their pool games.

Overall

Until the 1990s South Africa were considered one of the most successful rugby nations in Test match history, with a positive win-loss ratio against every Test playing nation including their traditional rivals, New Zealand. However, for the last twenty years whilst the Springboks have managed to maintain their positive win-loss ratio, they have failed to do so against New Zealand. South Africa are currently ranked number two in the world rankings. When the ranking system was introduced in October 2003 South Africa were ranked sixth. Their ranking fluctuated until victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup briefly sent them to the top of the rankings. Since then, the top two rankings changed ultimately remaining with the All Blacks since November 2009 when the Boks lost to France on their end-of-year tour^[97] and most recently regained second position after defeating Australia in Pretoria.

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a South Africa national XV at test level up until 29 November 2014:^[98]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	19	18	0	1	94.74%	728	361	+367
Australia	80	45	34	1	56.25%	1552	1391	+161
British and Irish Lions	46	23	17	6	50.00%	600	516	+84
Canada	2	2	0	0	100%	71	18	+53
England	37	23	12	2	62.16%	780	592	+188
Fiji	3	3	0	0	100%	129	41	+88
France	39	22	11	6	56.41%	783	578	+205
Georgia	1	1	0	0	100%	46	19	+27
Ireland	22	16	5	1	72.73%	432	277	+155
Italy	12	12	0	0	100%	599	145	+454
Namibia	2	2	0	0	100%	192	13	+179
New Zealand	89	35	51	3	39.33%	1392	1718	-326
New Zealand Cavaliers	4	3	1	0	75%	96	62	+34
Pacific Islanders	1	1	0	0	100%	38	24	+14
Romania	1	1	0	0	100%	21	8	+13
Samoa	8	8	0	0	100%	385	93	+292
Scotland	25	20	5	0	80.00%	652	270	+382
South American Jaguars	8	7	1	0	87.50%	210	114	+96
Spain	1	1	0	0	100%	47	3	+44
Tonga	2	2	0	0	100%	104	35	+69
United States	3	3	0	0	100%	145	42	+103
Uruguay	3	3	0	0	100%	245	12	+233
Wales	30	27	2	1	90%	814	440	+374
World XV	3	3	0	0	100%	87	59	+28
Total	441	281	139	21	63.72%	10148	6831	+3317

Tour

Traditionally, most of the test matches (and all until 1987) against other countries happened during "tours". The first team to visit South Africa, was the British Lions in 1891. The first Springbok overseas tour was arranged in 1906–07 to Europe.

South Africa rugby union tours Springboks tours Britain, Ireland and France (1906-07) Britain, Ireland and France (1912-13) Australia and New Zealand (1921) Britain and Ireland (1931-32) Australasia (1937) Europe (1951-52) Europe (1960-61) Scotland and Ireland (1965) Australasia (1965) Britain and Ireland (1969-70) Australia (1971) South America (1980) New Zealand (1981) Europe (1992) Australia (1993) Argentina (1993) New Zealand (1994) Britain and Ireland (1994) Argentina and Europe (1996) Europe (1997) Britain & Ireland (1998) Argentina, Britain & Ireland (2000) France & England (2001) Europe (2002) Britain, Ireland and Argentina (2004) Argentina and Europe (2005) Ireland and England (2006) Wales (2007) Great Britain (2008) Junior Springboks Argentina (1932) * South America (1959) Gazelles Argentina (1966) Argentina (1972)

Rugby union tours of South Africa British and Irish Lions 1891 1896 1903 1910 1924 1938 1955 1962 1968 1974 1980 1997 2009 New Zealand  1928 1949 1960 1970 1976 1992 1996 Australia  1933 1953 1961 1963 1969 1992 Argentina  1965 (no test) 1971 (no test) 1994 2002 2003 England  1972 1984 1994 1998 2000 2007 2012 France  1958 1964 1967 1971 1975 1980 1993 2001 2005 2006 Ireland  1961 1981 1998 2004 Italy  1973 (no test) 1999 2001 2008 Scotland  1999 (no test) 2003 2006 Wales  1964 1998 2002 2004 2008 2014 Fiji  1996 Samoa  2003 (no test) 2007 Tonga  1997 Various selections 1978 (American Cougars) 1980 (S.A.Jaguars) 1982 (S.A.Jaguars) 1985 (Cavaliers) 1987 (South Sea Barbarians) 1989 (World XV)

Players

See List of South Africa national rugby union players for a complete list of every player to have represented the Springboks.

Current squad

On 27 October 2014, coach Heyneke Meyer named a 36-man squad for the 2014 end-of-year rugby union internationals:^[99]

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Robbie Coetzee 2 Hooker (1989-05-02) 2 May 1989 0 Golden Lions Bismarck du Plessis ‡ Hooker (1984-05-22) 22 May 1984 70 Natal Sharks Scarra Ntubeni 2 Hooker (1991-02-18) 18 February 1991 0 Western Province Adriaan Strauss ‡ Hooker (1985-11-18) 18 November 1985 44 Free State Cheetahs Ruan Dreyer 3 Prop (1990-09-16) 16 September 1990 0 Golden Lions Jannie du Plessis 3‡ Prop (1982-11-16) 16 November 1982 62 Natal Sharks Tendai Mtawarira ‡ Prop (1985-08-01) 1 August 1985 64 Natal Sharks Trevor Nyakane Prop (1989-05-04) 4 May 1989 13 Free State Cheetahs Coenie Oosthuizen ‡ Prop (1989-03-22) 22 March 1989 21 Free State Cheetahs Julian Redelinghuys Prop (1989-09-11) 11 September 1989 2 Golden Lions Gurthrö Steenkamp Prop (1981-06-12) 12 June 1981 53 Toulouse Bakkies Botha Lock (1979-09-22) 22 September 1979 85 Toulon Lood de Jager Lock (1992-12-17) 17 December 1992 9 Free State Cheetahs Eben Etzebeth ‡ Lock (1991-10-29) 29 October 1991 33 Western Province Victor Matfield ‡ Lock (1977-05-11) 11 May 1977 121 Blue Bulls Schalk Burger Flanker (1983-04-13) 13 April 1983 75 Suntory Sungoliath Nizaam Carr Flanker (1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 2 Western Province Marcell Coetzee ‡ Flanker (1991-05-08) 8 May 1991 26 Natal Sharks Jaco Kriel Flanker (1989-08-21) 21 August 1989 0 Golden Lions Oupa Mohojé Flanker (1990-08-03) 3 August 1990 7 Free State Cheetahs Duane Vermeulen ‡ Number 8 (1986-07-03) 3 July 1986 29 Western Province Warren Whiteley Number 8 (1987-09-18) 18 September 1987 2 Golden Lions Ross Cronjé 6 Scrum-half (1989-07-26) 26 July 1989 0 Golden Lions Francois Hougaard ‡ Scrum-half (1988-04-06) 6 April 1988 35 Blue Bulls Rudy Paige 4 6 Scrum-half (1989-08-02) 2 August 1989 0 Blue Bulls Ruan Pienaar 1 Scrum-half (1984-03-10) 10 March 1984 80 Ulster Cobus Reinach Scrum-half (1990-02-07) 7 February 1990 6 Natal Sharks Jano Vermaak 1 4 Scrum-half (1985-01-01) 1 January 1985 3 Toulouse Marnitz Boshoff 4 Fly-half (1989-01-11) 11 January 1989 1 Golden Lions Johan Goosen 4 Fly-half (1992-07-27) 27 July 1992 6 Racing Métro Pat Lambie ‡ Fly-half (1990-10-17) 17 October 1990 40 Natal Sharks Handré Pollard Fly-half (1994-03-11) 11 March 1994 9 Blue Bulls Morné Steyn 4 Fly-half (1984-07-11) 11 July 1984 59 Stade Français Damian de Allende ‡ Centre (1991-11-25) 25 November 1991 3 Western Province Jean de Villiers (c) ‡ Centre (1981-02-24) 24 February 1981 106 Western Province JP Pietersen Centre (1986-07-12) 12 July 1986 59 Panasonic Wild Knights Jan Serfontein ‡ Centre (1993-04-15) 15 April 1993 20 Blue Bulls Bryan Habana Wing (1983-06-12) 12 June 1983 106 Toulon Seabelo Senatla 5 Wing (1993-02-10) 10 February 1993 0 Western Province Cornal Hendricks ‡ Wing (1988-04-18) 18 April 1988 11 Free State Cheetahs Lwazi Mvovo Wing (1986-06-03) 3 June 1986 10 Natal Sharks Willie le Roux ‡ Fullback (1989-08-18) 18 August 1989 25 Free State Cheetahs

¹ Jano Vermaak was included in the squad following Ruan Pienaar's failure to recover from an injury.^[100]
2 Scarra Ntubeni was included in the squad following an injury to Robbie Coetzee.^[101]
3 Ruan Dreyer was included following an injury to Jannie du Plessis.^[102]
4 Marnitz Boshoff and Rudy Paige were included in the squad for the final test against Wales, due to Johan Goosen, Morné Steyn and Jano Vermaak not being available for the match.^[103]
5 Seabelo Senatla returned to South Africa after the match against Italy to join up with the S.A. Sevens prior to the 2014 South Africa Sevens event.^[104]
6 Ross Cronjé was included following an injury to Rudy Paige.^[105]

The following players were not considered for selection, due to injury.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Schalk Brits Hooker (1981-05-16) 16 May 1981 7 Saracens Callie Visagie Hooker (1988-07-09) 9 July 1988 0 Blue Bulls Frans Malherbe Prop (1991-03-14) 14 March 1991 4 Western Province Marcel van der Merwe Prop (1990-10-24) 24 October 1990 5 Blue Bulls Pieter-Steph du Toit Lock (1992-08-20) 20 August 1992 2 Natal Sharks Flip van der Merwe ‡ Lock (1985-06-06) 6 June 1985 35 Blue Bulls Willem Alberts ‡ Flanker (1984-05-11) 11 May 1984 32 Natal Sharks Arno Botha Flanker (1991-10-26) 26 October 1991 2 Blue Bulls Siya Kolisi ‡ Flanker (1991-06-16) 16 June 1991 10 Western Province Francois Louw Flanker (1985-06-15) 15 June 1985 34 Bath Pierre Spies Number 8 (1985-06-08) 8 June 1985 53 Blue Bulls Fourie du Preez Scrum-half (1982-03-24) 24 March 1982 70 Suntory Sungoliath

The following players are centrally contracted by SARU, but failed to be selected in the squad:

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province JJ Engelbrecht ‡ Centre (1989-02-22) 22 February 1989 12 Blue Bulls

Appearances updated 29 November 2014.
‡ denotes players who are centrally contracted to the South African Rugby Union.

Individual records

South Africa's most capped player is Victor Matfield with 120 caps. Matfield is the most-capped lock for any nation in rugby history, with all of his 120 appearances at that position. ^[106] The most-capped back is Percy Montgomery, whose 102 caps made him the country's leader until first being equalled by John Smit and later surpassed by Matfield, but was regained by Smit. Montgomery also holds the South African record for Test points with 893, which at the time of his international retirement placed him sixth on the all-time list of Test point scorers (he now stands ninth).^[107] The most points Montgomery ever scored in a single international was 35 against Namibia in 2007—this is also a South African record.

Fly-half Jannie de Beer holds the world record for dropped goals in a Test match (5, during the 44–21 quarter-final win over England in the 1999 Rugby World Cup)

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. This gave him records for:

• Most points scored by any player in a Tri Nations match, surpassing Andrew Mehrtens (All Blacks vs. Australia, 1999).
• Most points ever scored by an individual in a Test against the All Blacks, passing Christophe Lamaison's 29 (France, 1999).
• World record for most points scored by a player who has scored all their team's points.
• South African record for penalties in a test (8) – beating the seven achieved twice by Montgomery.^[108]
• Steyn also holds the Springbok record for the fastest 100 points (8 Test matches)^[109]

Although statistics on the success rate of kicks at goal were not kept until the late 1980s, it is believed that Steyn also holds the record for most consecutive successful kicks at goal in Tests. He had a streak of 41 successful kicks at goal, which started during the Boks' Test against Italy on 19 June 2010 and ended on 6 November 2010 against Ireland.^[110][111]

John Smit was the world's most-capped captain, having has captained South Africa in 82^[112] of his 110 Tests.^[113] He has since been overtaken by Richie McCaw and Brian O'Driscoll. The world's most-capped lock pairing is that of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha, who have started together in 62 Tests.^[114] Smit also played 46 consecutive matches for South Africa, which is a record.

The record try scorer is Bryan Habana with 53 tries. ^{(as at 6 October 2013)[107][115]}

Notable players

Eleven former South African international players have been inducted into either the International Rugby Hall of Fame or the IRB Hall of Fame. Six are members of the International Rugby Hall of Fame only; two are members of the IRB Hall of Fame only, and four are members of both Halls of Fame.

Barry "Fairy" Heatlie, who played in the late 19th century and into the early 20th, was one of the early greats of South African rugby. He appeared for Western Province 34 times between 1890 and 1904, with 28 of them being Currie Cup wins. He also played six Tests for South Africa against the Lions in 1891, 1896, and 1903, and also captained the side to their only two Test wins of the 1890s. Arguably his greatest legacy to South African rugby is the green jersey; he is credited with introducing the colour for South Africa's 1903 Test against the Lions at Newlands. He was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2009.^[116]

Bennie Osler played 17 consecutive Tests between 1924 and 1933. Playing at fly-half, his first Test was against the touring British team in 1924. He also played in the series against the All Blacks in 1928, but most notably captained the Springboks on their Grand Slam tour of 1931–32 when they defeated all four Home Nations.^[117] His last Tests were the five played against Australia when they toured to South Africa in 1933.^[118] Osler was inducted to the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007^[117] and the IRB Hall of Fame in 2009.^[116]

Making his Test debut in Olser's Grand Slam winning team in 1931 was scrum-half Danie Craven. Craven played several positions including fly-half, scrum-half, centre and even number-eight.^[119] However Craven was most famous for popularising the dive pass.^[120] As well as winning a Grand Slam with Osler's team, Craven toured with 1937 Springboks to New Zealand where they achieved their first series victory over New Zealand.^[121] His last act as player was captaining South Africa in a Test series against the Lions.^[119] Craven's involvement with the Springboks continued after his playing retirement, and he coached them to a 4–0 series win over the touring All Blacks in 1949.^[38] He was elected President of the South African Rugby Board in 1956, a position he held until the post-apartheid South African Rugby Union was formed in 1991. Craven was instrumental in the formation of the South African Rugby Union and became its first Executive President.^[121] Such was Craven's influence in South African rugby he became known as "Mr Rugby", was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 1997,^[119] and was in the second class of inductees into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2007; behind Rugby School and William Webb Ellis.^[121]

The man most credited with inventing modern number 8 play was Hennie Muller, inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 2001.^[122] He played 13 Tests between 1949 and 1953, and in the process won a 4–0 series victory over the All Blacks and a Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland.^[123] He was nicknamed Windhond (greyhound) for his speed around the field.^[122] When writing about the 1949 series against the All Blacks, Harding and Williams wrote: "(Okey) Geffin won the series, perhaps, but Muller made it possible."^[124] Of Muller's 13 Tests, he only lost one—against Australia in 1953.^[123]

Named South Africa's player of the 20th Century in 2000, Frik du Preez played 38 Tests between 1961 and 1971.^[125] Du Preez could play both flanker or lock and was one of the most dominant forwards of the 1960s,^[125] but was especially well known for his all round skills.^[126] Danie Craven said of du Preez, "To my mind he could have played any position on a rugby field with equal brilliance."^[125] He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 1997^[126] and the IRB Hall of Fame in 2009.^[116]

Morne du Plessis played 22 Tests for South Africa between 1971 and 1980.^[127] His debut was at Number 8 in South Africa's series win over Australia in 1971. He went on to captain South Africa and became part of the only father-son pair to captain South Africa—his father had captained South Africa in 1949.^[128] He led South Africa to a 3–1 series win over the All Blacks in 1976 and a series win over the British and Irish Lions in 1980 by the same margin.^[129] Du Plessis would be inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 1999.^[127]

International Hall of Fame inductees Naas Botha, inducted in 2005, and Danie Gerber, inducted in 2007, both had careers interrupted by South Africa's sporting isolation in the 1980s and early 1990s. Botha made his Test debut against the South American Jaguars in 1980. Playing at fly-half, Botha played 28 Tests and scored 312 Test points before his international retirement in 1992.^[130] Botha contributed significantly to the Springboks 1980 series win over the Lions, and also played for the World XV in the IRB Centenary Match at Twickenham.^[131] Gerber also made his debut in 1980, and scored 19 tries in his 24 Tests before retiring in 1992.^[132] He scored a hat-trick against England in 1984, and played alongside Botha in the World XV team in 1986. In South Africa's first Test since the fall of apartheid, against the All Blacks in 1992, he scored twice.^[133]

Two players that straddled the amateur and professional eras were Francois Pienaar and Joost van der Westhuizen. Both first played for the Springboks in 1993. Pienaar was named captain in his first Test against France, and went on to captain the side to the 1995 World Cup.^[134] It was there he captained South Africa to the World Cup title, and received the trophy from Nelson Mandela who was wearing his number 6 jersey.^[135] 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."^[134] Pienaar entered the International Hall of Fame in 2005,^[135] and was inducted into the IRB Hall in 2011 alongside all other World Cup-winning captains from the inaugural event in 1987 through 2007 (minus the previously inducted Australian John Eales).^[136] Joost van der Westhuizen also participated in the 1995 World cup victory, but went on to play in two more World Cups. Playing at scrum-half, van der Westhuizen played 89 Tests for South Africa and scored 38 tries.^[137] At the time of his retirement following the 2003 World Cup he was South Africa's leading try scorer and most capped player.^[138] He entered the International Hall of Fame two years after Pienaar, in 2007.^[137]

The newest Springbok player to enter the IRB Hall is John Smit, inducted in 2011 alongside Pienaar.^[136] The captain of the 2007 World Cup winners, Smit (as noted earlier) ended his international career as the most-capped Springbok in history.

Coaches

The role and definition of the South Africa coach has varied significantly over the team's history. Hence a comprehensive list of coaches, or head selectors, is impossible. The following table is a list of coaches since the 1949 All Blacks tour to South Africa:

Name	Tenure	Win %[139]
Danie Craven	1949–56[140]	74%
Basil Kenyon	1958[141]	0%
Hennie Muller	1960–61, 1963, 1965[142]	44%
Boy Louw	1960–61, 1965[143]	67%
Izak van Heerden	1962[144]	75%
Felix du Plessis	1964[145]	100%
Ian Kirkpatrick	1967, 1974[146]	60%
Avril Malan	1969–70[147]	50%
Johan Claassen	1964, 1970–74[148]	50%
Nelie Smith	1980–81[149]	80%
Cecil Moss	1982–89[150]	83%
John Williams	1992[151]	20%
Ian McIntosh	1993–94[152]	33%
Kitch Christie	1994–96[153]	100%
Andre Markgraaff	1996[154]	61%
Carel du Plessis	1997[155]	37%
Nick Mallett	1997–2000[156]	71%
Harry Viljoen	2000–02[157]	53%
Rudolph Straeuli	2002–03[158]	52%
Jake White	2004–07[159]	67%
Peter de Villiers	2008–11[160]	62%
Heyneke Meyer	2012–[161]	70% (as of 29 November 2014)

Both World Cup-winning coaches, Christie and White, were inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011 alongside all other World Cup-winning head coaches through the 2007 edition.^[136]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Africa national rugby union team.

• List of Springboks
• Rugby union in South Africa
• South Africa national sevens team
• South African rugby union captains

References

Bibliography

Notes

Sources

External links

• SA Rugby Homepage
• Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame.

Awards
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