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The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblem is the Springbok, a native antelope and the national animal of South Africa. The team has represented South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the top-ranked rugby team in the world and reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup a record four times. South Africa have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
The Ireland and South Africa rugby union teams have a rivalry dating back to 1906. The Springboks of South Africa dominated their early meetings, with the Irish winning just once against South Africa prior to 2004, but results have since turned in Ireland's favour. Ireland have won nine of the last fourteen test matches since they met during the 2004 Autumn internationals. Following Ireland's tour win over New Zealand in 2022, South Africa are the only major Southern Hemisphere team over which Ireland has not achieved a series victory.
Paul Johannes Roos was one of the first South African Springbok rugby union captains and led the first South African rugby team to tour overseas – to Britain in 1906. Roos was born near the South African town of Stellenbosch on 30 October 1880 and completed his education there.
Rugby union in South Africa is a highly popular team sport, along with cricket and soccer, and is widely played all over the country. The national team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in at least the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and won again in 2007, 2019 and 2023.
Harold "Paddy" Carolin was a rugby union player who represented South Africa and is credited with conceiving both the 3-4-1 scrum formation and helping choose the name 'Springboks' for the South African national side. Carolin was the second player ever to serve as captain abroad, following Paul Roos.
Douglas Francis Theodore Morkel was a South African international rugby union player. He was one of Paul Roos 1906 touring Springboks.
The 1906–07 South Africa tour of Europe was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams before finally travelling to France to play the national team.
In 1912-13 the South Africa national rugby union team toured England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, playing a series of test matches, as well as games against club, regional, and representative teams. South Africa accomplished their first Grand Slam by winning all four tests against the Home Nations sides, and also won the test match against France. This was the second South African tour of the Northern Hemisphere, after the very successful 1906 tour.
Edward John Richard Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union back who played club rugby for Mountain Ash.
Fred Leonard Perrett was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Neath. He won five caps for Wales, and in his first international game faced the touring South Africans.
Basil Maclear was an Irish rugby international. He played eleven games for Ireland between 1905 and 1907.
Johannes Jacobus "Hannes" Strydom was a South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1993 and 1997.
Aaron "Okey" Geffin was a South African rugby union player.
Walter Michael "Mike" Dickson was a rugby union player, who represented Scotland, Blackheath and Oxford. He was killed in World War I.
Septimus "Sep" Heyns Ledger was a South African rugby union player from Kimberley, South Africa. He was killed in World War I, in Arras, France while serving as a sergeant in the South African Infantry. He was a clerk by profession.
Tobias "Toby" Mortimer Moll was a South African rugby union player from Cape Town. He was awarded a single cap for South Africa on 27 August 1910, against the British Isles team on its 1910 tour of South Africa. He played for Randfontein RFC, Transvaal, and Western Province.
Jan "Jacky" Willem Hurter Morkel was a South African international rugby union player, who also played first class cricket. Morkel played at centre for Somerset West RFC and Western Province. He was selected for South Africa for the 1912–13 tour of the Home Nations and France. He played in 18 games on the tour, including all five test matches, and scored four tries, two of them against Ireland. His brother, Gerhard, and his cousins 'Boy' and Dougie, were also on the tour. Jacky Morkel also represented Transvaal in cricket.
Gerald "Tommy" W. Thompson was a South African rugby union player who played for Somerset West Rugby Club. He was selected for the provincial team of Western Province in 1912. He was selected to participate in the 1912–13 South Africa rugby tour to the British Isles and France, and was capped in three tests, against Scotland, Ireland and Wales, all in 1912. He played in a further 12 matches against club sides. He was considered one of the two best of an outstanding pack of South African forwards.
The History of the South Africa national rugby union team dates back to 1891, when the British Lions first toured South Africa where they played against South African representative sides. The South Africa national rugby union team played few international matches during a period of international sanctions due to apartheid. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has once again fully participated in international rugby.
