Springboks

South Africa National Rugby Union Team: The Springboks

The South Africa national rugby union team are affectionately known as the Springboks. They're the current holders of the Rugby World Cup and are one of the most formidable teams on the planet.

Several giants of the game have played for the South Africa national rugby union team. This includes more than a dozen former Springboks players who have been inducted into either the International Rugby Hall of Fame or the World Rugby Hall of Fame, such as John Smit and Francois Pienaar.

The Springboks at The Rugby Championship 

The Springboks joined the inaugural edition of the Tri-Nations in 1996, alongside Australia and New Zealand. In 2012, the competition was expanded to include Argentina. It’s now known as The Rugby Championship and is the pinnacle of rugby in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Since 1996, the Springboks have won this annual competition on five occasions, most recently in 2024. To date, they're the only team to win both this competition and the Rugby World Cup in the same year.

The Springboks at the Rugby World Cup 

Although South Africa was instrumental in the creation of the Rugby World Cup, the team could not compete in the first two editions of the tournament due to anti-apartheid sporting boycotts.

But, the first time the Springboks entered the competition in 1995, they both hosted and won the tournament. Famously, Nelson Mandela presented the Springboks players with the trophy after the final. Since, they've continued to be highly successful. They've won the tournament three more times (2007, 2019 and 2023) and they've claimed third-place twice. Interestingly, they’ve won all four of the Rugby World Cup finals they’ve played in. 

Added to this, the Springboks are now the most successful team in the history of the Rugby World Cup. This is because South Africa’s 2023 Rugby World Cup victory made the Springboks the first team to capture four Webb Ellis Cups. They’re followed by New Zealand on three, Australia on two and England on one. 

On this page you’ll find everything you need to know about the South Africa national rugby union team, including a rundown of all the current Springboks players, the team’s latest results and all of the upcoming Springboks fixtures.