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
20
5
15
0
197
483
In South Africa
7
0
7
0
108
225
Neutral venue
2
0
2
0
19
52
Overall
29
5
24
0
324
760
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)
8 (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)
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team currently tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa.
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their unmatched international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as the most successful sports team in history.
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 Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team.
The England men's national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on 29 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three further occasions.
The Italy national rugby union team represents Italy in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
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.
The Ireland and South Africa rugby union teams have a rivalry dating back to 1906. The Springboks of South Africa dominated their early meetings, as have the other southern hemisphere giants, with the Irish winning just once against South Africa prior to 2004, but results have since turned in Ireland's favour, winning eight of the twelves matches between the sides since 2004. Following Ireland's tour win over New Zealand in 2022, South Africa are the only major Southern Hemisphere team over which Ireland has not achieved a series victory.
Edward Jones is an Australian rugby union coach and former player. He currently coaches the Australia national rugby union team after returning to replace Dave Rennie in January 2023 following his sacking from England. He was the head coach of the England national team from 2015 to 2022. His first stint coaching the Wallabies was between 2001–2005 where he coached them to successful Bledisloe Cup games and a Rugby World Cup final.
Bryan Gary Habana OIS is a South African former professional rugby union player who initially played as an outside centre but later shifted to the wing. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He most recently played for Toulon in the French Top 14 competition, and for the South Africa national team.
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents nation of Zimbabwe in international competition, and is administered by the Zimbabwe Rugby Union. 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.
Paul Johannes Roos was one of the first South African Springbok rugby union captains and led the first South African rugby team to tour overseas – to Britain in 1906. Roos was born near the South African town of Stellenbosch on 30 October 1880 and completed his education there.
The French national rugby union team first competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
The national rugby union teams of England and South Africa have been playing each other in Test rugby since 1906, and by November 2022 had met in 45 Test matches. South Africa lead the series by 27 wins to 16, with 2 matches drawn. Their first meeting was on 8 December 1906, as part of South Africa's first tour of Europe, with the match ending in a 3-3 draw. The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals, on 26 November 2022, which South Africa won 27-13. The two highest-profile matches between the sides were the 2007 and the 2019 Rugby World Cup finals, both of which were won by South Africa.
The 1906–07 South Africa tour of Europe was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams before finally travelling to France to play the national team.
In 1912-13 the South Africa national rugby union team toured England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, playing a series of test matches, as well as games against club, regional, and representative teams. South Africa accomplished their first Grand Slam by winning all four tests against the Home Nations sides, and also won the test match against France. This was the second South African tour of the Northern Hemisphere, after the very successful 1906 tour.
The contest between The Wallabies and The Springboks is one of the major rivalries in rugby union. Since 2000s, the two teams have competed for the Mandela Challenge Plate.
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 History of the Argentina national rugby union team starts with the first international played by an Argentine side against the British Isles in 1910 when they toured on South America. Argentina gained recognition in 1965, when the team toured South Africa playing a series of friendly matches there. In that tour the national team was nicknamed Los Pumas, a name that became an identity mark for Argentina, remaining to present days.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
