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 reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup a record four times. South Africa are the only team to have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in, and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
Schalk Willem Petrus Burger Jr. is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a flanker for Saracens in the English Premiership and has won 86 caps for South Africa.
John William Smit, OIS, is a South African former professional rugby union player and former chief executive officer of the Sharks. He was the 50th captain of the Springbok rugby union team and led the team to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He played most of his senior career as a hooker, but also won 13 caps as a prop, where he had also played for South Africa's under-21 team. He retired from international rugby following the 2011 Rugby World Cup as the most-capped South African player ever, with 111 appearances.
Bryan Gary Habana OIS is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the Golden Lions, the Blue Bulls and Western Province in South Africa, for the Bulls and the Stormers in Super Rugby, and for Toulon in the French Top 14, and won 124 caps for the South Africa national team.
Jean de Villiers is a South African former professional rugby union player. He started his career at wing, but played most of his career as an inside centre. De Villiers previously played for Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super Rugby, Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby and internationally for South Africa, for whom he was named captain in June 2012.
Petrus Fourie du Preez is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played as a scrum half for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup competition and the Bulls in Super Rugby between 2002 and 2011, and for Japanese Top League side Suntory Sungoliath between 2011 and 2016. He represented South Africa between 2004 and 2015, winning 76 caps, playing in three Rugby World Cup tournaments, and winning the 2007 competition.
Danie Coetzee is a South African rugby union footballer. His usual position is at hooker, and he has played for the Springboks. He played for the Bulls in the international Super 12 competition as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup, and played for London Irish for five seasons between 2005 and 2010, retiring in 2010.
Juanne Hugo Smith is a South African former professional rugby union player who represented South Africa in international test rugby, the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby competition, and the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup. He mainly played as a blindside flanker, although he has also played number eight.
Philippus Albertus van den Berg is a South African former professional rugby union rugby player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team, the Springboks. His usual position was at lock. He also played for the Sharks in the international Super 14 competition. He is currently the forwards coach for Welsh professional rugby union club Scarlets.
Sireli Masibalavu Naqelevuki plays as a prop in rugby sevens but in traditional 15s he is a wing or centre. He made his rugby sevens debut in 2002 in Dubai Sevens. He is 1.93m tall (6'4") and weighs 118 kg. Contracted to the FRU, he played in seven of the eight IRB 7s tournaments when Fiji won the 2005–06 Series. His father, test rep Samu Naqelevuki, was a hard-hitting utility back who died in November 2002 only a few days after Sireli had been selected for the Fiji 7s team.
Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis is a South African former professional rugby union player, who played for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship and for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He played for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003, before moving to the Sharks in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career, and then to Montpellier in the French Top 14. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best hookers of his time, both in club and country performances.
Francois Hougaard is a South African professional rugby union player. His primary position is scrum-half, but he can also play wing.
The 2010 Tri Nations Series was the 15th annual Tri Nations series between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Johann Sadie is a professional South African rugby union player. He usually plays as a centre and currently plays for French Top 14 side Agen.
Eben Etzebeth is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship and the South Africa national rugby team. He made his international debut for the Springboks in 2012 and has since won 130 caps, making him the Springboks' most capped player. His regular playing position is as a loosehead lock. He is widely regarded as one of the best locks in the history of the game.
Handré Pollard is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. His regular playing positions are fly-half, where he started for South Africa in their 2019 Rugby World Cup Final win, and inside-centre. He has previously played for the Bulls and Blue Bulls in his native South Africa, Osaka Red Hurricanes in Japan and Montpellier in France. He is one of 43 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions, 24 of whom are South Africans.
Cheslin Kolbe is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing, but he also plays at fullback. He has also recently featured at fly half for Toulouse in the Top 14, and as a scrum half internationally. Kolbe was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He has won the Rugby World Cup twice with South Africa, in 2019 and 2023. Kolbe was nominated for 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year but lost to teammate Pieter-Steph du Toit. He previously played for Toulouse, Toulon, Stormers, and Western Province. He has also won the Rugby Championship and the Lions Series with the Springboks, the Top14 and Champions Cup with Toulouse, the Currie Cup with Western Province, and the Challenge Cup with Toulon. He is one of the highest paid rugby players in the world, with a reported salary of between ¥130–155 million yen per season.
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.
Makazole D-rex Mapimpi is a South African professional rugby union player for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship and South Africa national team. He usually plays as a winger and centre. He was part of the winning Springboks of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. He became the first South African to score a try in a World Cup Final.
