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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 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.
Jacobus Francois Pienaar is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After being dropped from the Springbok team in 1996, Pienaar went on to a career with English club Saracens.
Gary Hamilton Teichmann is a retired South African professional rugby union player. He played number eight and captained the South African national team, the Springboks, between 1995 and 1999.
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in international competition. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team did not play its first test until 1981, against Kenya. Zimbabwe has competed in two World Cups, in 1987 and 1991, in place of South Africa, who were sanctioned by the IRB at the time due to apartheid. Zimbabwe is categorized as Tier 3 Development One, which prioritizes Zimbabwe over other nations due to historical success as well as popularity of rugby in the nation.
Ruan Pienaar is a retired South African professional rugby union player who played either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half for the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup.
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.
George Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie, was a South African rugby union coach best known for coaching the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He remained unbeaten during his tenure as Springbok rugby coach between 1994 and 1996, including leading the team to a then record 14 consecutive victories. In 2011, he was inducted posthumously into the IRB Hall of Fame, later subsumed into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
Benjamin Louwrens Osler was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for South Africa. Osler played mainly at fly-half for both South Africa, and his provincial team of Western Province.
The 1994 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand was a series of rugby union matches played in New Zealand by the South Africa national team from June to August 1994. The team played 14 matches in total; 11 against provincial rugby teams and 3 against New Zealand. South Africa won 10 out of the 11 matches against provincial sides, losing to Otago. They lost their first two test matches against New Zealand national and drew the last test. The South Africa coach for the tour was Ian McIntosh. This was South African's first tour to New Zealand since the controversial 1981 South Africa rugby union tour, which was received negatively by New Zealanders due to South Africa's Apartheid regime at the time.
Siyamthanda "Siya" Kolisi, is a South African professional rugby union player who currently captains the South Africa national team. Having formerly played for the Stormers and Racing 92, he currently plays for Sharks in the URC. He generally plays as a flanker and a loose forward. In 2018, Kolisi was appointed captain of the Springboks, becoming the first black man to hold the position and eventually leading the South African Rugby team to victory in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final against England, and again in the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final against New Zealand.
Jacobus Meyer Reinach is a South African professional rugby union player who plays for the Top 14 side Montpellier and South Africa national team. His playing position is scrum-half and he is the son of former Springbok winger Jaco Reinach. He was the member of the victorious Springbok team who won at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, Yokohama.
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.
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.
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.
Phillippus Jacobus Mostert was a South African rugby union player and 16th captain of the South Africa national rugby union team. He predominantly played in the forwards as prop, but could also play lock.
Zacharias Matheus Johannes 'Gysie' Pienaar is a former South African rugby union player.
David Jacobus 'Divan' Serfontein is a former Springbok rugby union player.
Henning Jonathan van Aswegen (born 11 February 1955 in Okahandja, South West Africa is a former South African rugby union player.
William Herman "Boy" Morkel was a South African rugby union player and 14th captain of the South Africa national rugby union team.
References
- ↑ "Boy Morkel". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- 1 2 Heath, Duane; Grieb, Eddie; Smit, Kobus (2020). South African Rugby Annual 2020. Cape Town: South African Rugby Union. p. 243. ISBN 9780620872041.
- 1 2 Craven, Daniel Hartman (1980). Die groot rugbygesin van die Maties. Kaapstad: G. & S. pp. 110–111. ISBN 0620048794. OCLC 86067195.
- ↑ Griffiths, Edward (2001). The Captains. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball. pp. 46–47. ISBN 1-86842-112-0. OCLC 48044997.