World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
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 have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett is a former South African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000 and was the head coach of Italy's rugby union team between 2007 and 2011.
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.
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.
Victor Matfield is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for and captained the South Africa national team (Springboks) as well as the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls franchise in Super Rugby. He is generally considered one of the best locks to have ever played for South Africa and had a long successful partnership with Springbok and Blue Bulls teammate Bakkies Botha.
The South African national baseball team is the baseball team which represents the Republic of South Africa in international baseball competitions such as the World Baseball Classic and the Summer Olympics. The governing body of the team is the South African Baseball Union.
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.
Andries Hendrik Snyman is a South African rugby union former player and current coach. His usual position was outside centre, but he had success on the wing at international level. Snyman earned 38 test caps for the South Africa national rugby union team, before retiring from playing in 2007. Snyman has been coaching rugby in the United States since 2011.
Springbok colours is the name given to green and gold blazers awarded to members of the South Africa national rugby union team. They were historically awarded to teams and individuals representing South Africa in international competition of any sport, following their creation in 1906. With the arrival of South Africa's new post-apartheid government in 1994, the name Springbok was abandoned by the various control boards since they felt that the term had been abused by the previous apartheid governments, and stigmatised by the anti-apartheid movement. An exception was made in the case of the national rugby union team, who have retained the practice of awarding colours.
Sport has a significant role in South African culture. The three most popular mainstream sports in the country — cricket, football and rugby — reflect the country's early British colonial influence. South Africa was absent from international sport for much of the apartheid era due to sanctions, but started competing globally after the end of apartheid. South Africa is among a very few countries which have participated in world cups of all three major sports — cricket, soccer, and rugby union. England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are among other such nations. South Africa has hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2007 ICC World Twenty20, and 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Rugby union in Israel was brought to the country by British soldiers during the British Mandate for Palestine. Rugby Israel was founded as the Israel Rugby Union in 1975, and joined the IRB in 1988. For political reasons it is also part of FIRA-AER, the European rugby body, rather than the Asian Rugby Football Union.
Peter de Villiers is a South African professional rugby union coach and former Good Party politician. He was coach of the South Africa national rugby union team from 2008 to 2011, after successes with the South African U19 and U21 squads, and the first-ever non-white to be appointed to the position.
Jongikhaya Lutric Nokwe is a South African former rugby union player who played as a winger.
Germany Women's National Rugby Sevens Team is a minor national sevens side.
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.
Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era.
Pieter Willem Gabriel Rossouw is a South African former professional rugby player and current coach. Rossouw played wing for Western Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers in the Super Rugby competition. He played a total of 43 times for the Springboks, making him one of the most capped Springbok wingers after South Africa's readmission to international rugby. He was also one of South Africa's most prolific try-scoring wingers, post-isolation, with only Breyton Paulse(26) and Bryan Habana(53) scoring more tries. He is 7th on the all-time try-scoring list for the Springboks. Rossouw is currently the backline coach of the Bulls in Super rugby and the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He was known as "Slaptjips", apparently because the sight of his running legs was like potato chips slapping together. Pieter is the older brother of Chris Rossouw, who played flyhalf for Western Province and the Free State Cheetahs.
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.
The Tel Aviv Heat is the first professional Israeli rugby union team. Based in Tel Aviv, the team competed annually in the Rugby Europe Super Cup until 2023. The team is also called the Israeli Springboks, on account of the number of South Africans in the team and have also been described as 'the world's most diverse rugby team'.
