Related Research Articles
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. Their emblem is a native antelope, the Springbok, which is the national animal of South Africa. The team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. They are currently the reigning World Champions and have won the World Cup on three occasions,. The Springboks are equalled with the All Blacks with three World Cups.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board and the non-racial South African Rugby Union (SACOS), and took up its current name in 2005.
Jacobus Petrus "Os" du Randt is a former South African rugby union loosehead prop who retired as the most-capped forward in the history of the Springboks. For most of his career, he played in the domestic Currie Cup for the Free State Cheetahs, though he spent one season with the Blue Bulls. In Super Rugby, he represented the Free State Cheetahs when South Africa sent its top Currie Cup teams to the competition instead of franchised sides, later represented the Cats franchise, spent one season with the Bulls before returning to the Cats, and still later played for the Cheetahs. He ended his career as one of the last remaining international-level players from the amateur era of the sport and the last active member of the 1995 World Cup-winning squad. His final match was the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, which the Springboks won, with Du Randt playing the entire 80 minutes. He is one of 21 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions, only two of whom are South Africans.
Joost van der Westhuizen was a South African professional rugby union player who made 89 appearances in test matches for the national team, scoring 38 tries. He mostly played as a scrum-half and participated in three Rugby World Cups, most notably in the 1995 tournament, which was won by South Africa. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest scrumhalves of all time.
The Golden Lions is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU), and was originally known as Transvaal, before changes to the political landscape in South Africa forced a name change to the Gauteng Lions, before again being changed to the Golden Lions. The GLRU also operates the associated United Rugby Championship franchise Lions, which also draw players from Griquas.
John William Smit, OIS, is a former South African 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.
Chester Mornay Williams was a South African rugby union player. He played as a winger for the South Africa national rugby union team (Springboks) from 1993 to 2000, most notably for the team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted in South Africa. He was the only non-white player on the team. During the tournament he scored four tries for South Africa in its quarter-final match and also appeared in the semi-final and final. Domestically he played rugby for the Western Province in the Currie Cup.
Rudolf August Wilkens Straeuli is a former South African rugby union player and coach and currently the CEO of the Lions Rugby Company. He played in the positions of flanker and Number 8, making ten test appearances for South Africa in 1994 and 1995. He was the coach of the Springboks rugby team in 2002 and 2003. He also played for the Golden Lions provincial team in the Currie Cup and Super 12 competitions.
Cornelius Petrus Johannes "Corné" Krige is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for Western Province in the Currie Cup, the Stormers in Super Rugby and captained the South African national side, the Springboks.
Ulrich Louis Schmidt is a former South African rugby union footballer. His usual position was at hooker, where he played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup, and later the Golden Lions, as well as the national team, the Springboks. He later became a Springbok team doctor.
Gary van Ginkel Botha is a former rugby union player, that professionally played as a hooker between 2002 and 2013. He spent the majority of his career at his home-town team the Blue Bulls and their affiliated Super Rugby team the Bulls, but he also had spells at the Sharks, at English side Harlequins and at French Top 14 side Toulouse. He also played in 12 test matches for South Africa from 2005 to 2007.
Neil (Niles) de Kock is a retired rugby union footballer who last played at scrum half for Saracens. He has claimed ten caps for South Africa. Before moving to the Guinness Premiership in 2006 he had gained a reputation for hard work and personal integrity from his days in South African rugby, representing Western Province and the Super Rugby franchise the Stormers, having started his professional career at the Griffons.
Izak Stephanus de Villiers 'Balie' Swart, is a former South African rugby union player. He played as a prop, with the ability to prop on either side of the hooker.
Jacobus Cornelius 'Japie' Mulder, is a former South African rugby union player who played for South Africa between 1994 and 2001.
Damian de Allende is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights. His usual position is either centre or wing. He was a member of the Springboks team that won a record-equalling third Rugby World Cup in 2019.
The 2002 South Africa rugby union tour of France Scotland and England was a series of matches played by the South Africa national rugby union team in November 2002 in France, Scotland and England. The tour concluded with a 53–3 loss against England, the worst defeat in the history of the Springboks.
Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt MBE is a Rhodesian-born South African retired rugby union player and former captain of the Springboks. He was nicknamed the "Bald Eagle" due to his pace on the wing and bald head. He became the first Rhodesian to captain South Africa. Upon retiring from playing, he acted as a coach and administrator for Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country into Zimbabwe.
John Allan is a former Scotland international rugby union player; and later a former South Africa international rugby union player. He played as a hooker.
Jacobus Frederick Beatrix 'Piston' van Wyk is a former South African rugby union player.
Lukas Cornelius Strachan was a South African rugby union international.
References
- ↑ "Ban lifted on Van Biljon". News24 . 3 March 2005.
- ↑ "Van Biljon axed after car park brawl". Independent Online . 22 August 2003.
- ↑ "Former rugby star stabbed repeatedly, threatened kids would be killed in attack". NZ Herald . 26 September 2023.
- ↑ Bhengu, Cebelihle (1 June 2023). "Attackers stabbed Lukas van Biljon's hamstrings so he couldn't run, says ex-Springbok hooker's friend". News24.