Rugby Union in South Africa
Alongside football and cricket, rugby union isthe most popular sport in South Africa . The South African national team , known as "Springboks", "Springbokke" or "amaBokoboko", is one of the best in the world and has won the World Cup three times so far.
history
In 1861 Canon Georgie Ogilvie brought Winchester football to Cape Town , where he worked as the director of Diocesan College. This variation of football was similar to today's rugby and is believed to be the origin of the sport in South Africa. The first game was played in 1862 between an army selection and a team consisting of administrative employees and ended 0-0. The country's first rugby club was founded in 1876, and Winchester football soon ceased to play a role. The game quickly spread from Cape Town via the provinces of Eastern Cape and Natal to Johannesburg .
In 1883 the Western Province Rugby Football Union was founded , the country's first regional rugby association. Others followed, until in 1889 they were ready to set up an overarching national association called the South African Rugby Board . In the same year the first national tournament between individual provinces took place. In 1891 a South African selection traveled to Great Britain to compete against the British and Irish Lions . This was also the first official international match.
During the second Boer War , the British played some games against Boers in prisons, making rugby a popular sport in this part of the population. Sport also played an important role in the “black” population. In 1896 they founded their own association, the South Africa Colored Rugby Board. The players who belonged to this association were not allowed to play with the "whites" and received little financial support to practice the sport. Even before apartheid was established in 1948, individual countries saw it as necessary to keep players with “non-white” backgrounds away from the games against South Africa. The All Blacks from New Zealand did without players like George Nepia .
As a result of the consistent racial segregation, the "Springboks" were internationally isolated and so hardly ever had any game practice. However, after the 1976 Soweto uprising , the New Zealanders traveled to South Africa to play against the national team. This was followed by the boycott of the 21st Summer Olympics in Montréal by 16 African countries. The following year, the Commonwealth of Nations signed the Gleneagles Agreement , in which they forbade any sporting contact with South Africa. A planned tour of the "Springboks" to France was prevented by the French government. In 1981, however, the New Zealand Association allowed the entry of South Africans, and New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon did not intervene. As a result of these events, the International Rugby Board banned the South African Federation from all gaming operations until the end of apartheid. In 1992 South Africa was taken back into its ranks.
In 1995 the "Springboks" were allowed to take part in a world championship for the first time , and at the same time they were the hosts. The team even managed to win the title. Nelson Mandela presented the winners with the Webb Ellis Cup , which is still one of the most symbolic events in sport to this day. In 2006 the association celebrated its 100th anniversary and presented its new logo. The following year, the national team was able to become world champions for the second time . At the end of the tournament, Pieter de Villiers took over as coach and became the first “black” national coach in South Africa. The team is now a multicultural unit, consisting of both “white” and “black” players. In 2019, under Rassie Erasmus, Siya Kolisi became the first “black” captain in South Africa and led the Springboks to their third world title, on a par with rival New Zealand.
Competitions
The South African provinces have been competing in the Currie Cup since 1889 . The cup is named after Sir Donald Currie, who owned the Union-Castle Line . This shipping company made it possible for the British to travel to South Africa. First, the trophy was given to the team with the best performance and the greatest sportsmanship, until it became a continuous competition.
As the sport became more professional, the international Super 12 league (later Super 14, Super Rugby ) was founded in 1996 , a tournament between New Zealand, Australian and South African franchises . South Africa currently has five teams. These are the Bulls , the Central Cheetahs , the Lions , the Sharks and the Stormers . So far, the Bulls have won the championship title once.
National team
The South African national team "Springboks" has won the world championship three times in 1995, 2007 and 2019 . One was excluded from the world championships in 1987 and 1991 due to apartheid . In addition to the three titles, South Africa won the game for third place in 1999 and 2015 .
The team competes in gold-green jerseys. The first official international match was played in 1891 against the British and Irish Lions . Since 1996 the "Springboks" compete annually in the Tri Nations against Australia and New Zealand ; Argentina has also been taking part in the tournament since 2012 , which has been called The Rugby Championship since then . So far South Africa has won the tournament four times in 1998, 2004, 2009 and 2019. The duels with New Zealand are particularly important for the South Africans. They are the only nation that can show anywhere near a balanced record against the All Blacks.
