History of rugby union matches between Scotland and South Africa
Last updated
Cartoon after the SA-Scotland match in 1906
The national rugby union teams of Scotland and South Africa (the Springboks) have been playing each other in Test rugby since 1906, and as of November 2021, they have met in 28 Test matches. Their first meeting was on 17 November 1906, and was won 6-0 by Scotland and their most recent match was on 10 September 2023 at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and was won 18-3 by South Africa.
South Africa have won the majority of games played between the two sides, with 23 victories in the 28 matches. They are also the only team to win an away match between the sides, having won 15 times in Scotland. South Africa have won all seven of their home games. Since South Africa's rugby re-admission in 1992, South Africa has dominated once again, winning 18 of the 20 encounters between the two.
The 1906 match between Scotland and South Africa was South Africa's first official international rugby tour. It was also the tour in which the Springbok nickname was coined. South Africa lost to Scotland, defeated Ireland and Wales and drew with England. They also played a game against a representative French side drawn from two Parisian clubs and won.
Summary
Overall
Details
Played
Won by Scotland
Won by South Africa
Drawn
Scotland points
South Africa points
In Scotland
21
5
16
0
212
515
In South Africa
7
0
7
0
108
225
Neutral venue
2
0
2
0
19
52
Overall
30
5
25
0
339
792
Records
Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set.
Record
Scotland
South Africa
Longest winning streak
2 (17 Apr 1965 – 19 Nov 1994)
9 (17 Nov 2012–present)
Largest points for
Home
29 (3 October 1999)
55 (28 June 2014)
Away
25 (7 June 2003)
68 (6 December 1997)
Largest winning margin
Home
15 (16 November 2002)
49 (28 June 2014)
Away
NA
58 (6 December 1997)
Largest aggregate score
78 (South Africa 68 - 10 Scotland) (6 December 1997)
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