Editor’s Note: We at LWOS are always looking to add passionate sports fans to our growing team. We are excited to have Richard, Ferguson, an experienced rugby writer of four years, join our team. Richard is a life-long fan of Springbok Rugby as well as his local side, the Natal Sharks from Durban, SA, where he resides.
The Springboks, which is what the South African Rugby Union team is called, may have had some recent success, winning the 1995 and 2007 Rugby World Cups, but have been around since 1891. This is when the first team representing South Africa travelled to the United Kingdom to tour the Home Nations and learn the game of rugby.
Even though the Springbok collective was only first mentioned on a later tour, which took place 1906 – 1907, the original tour was already a success, with only Scotland able to beat the travelling team from South Africa, already setting a benchmark for a successful team.
I can go through each era with you, but I do not think anybody here needs to be put to sleep quite yet, so we can touch on highlights and lowlights in one short summary: The Springboks continued to tour during the war era, but the cloud hanging over South African rugby has always been Apartheid. As early as 1919, New Zealand teams touring South Africa were forced to send home players with Maori blood, and teams all through history felt the pressure to abide by this so as to keep the peace.
This went on until 1981, where the International Rugby Board (IRB) finally banned South Africa from playing International rugby. This led to International teams boycotting South Africa with their International teams, South African players left to only play in the Currie Cup, the local South African tournament.
South Africa finally got back in the thick of things in 1992, when the South African Rugby Union was formed, which was a non-racial committee. This led to South Africa being re-introduced into International rugby. In the process though, the rest of the World had played in two World Cups, which was won by New Zealand in 1987 and Australia in 1991.
In some form of irony, the following instalment of the tournament was hosted by South Africa, in 1995, and will always be remembered for the effect it had on South Africa as a country. The Springboks beat the All Blacks in the final, where then President Nelson Mandela handed the coveted trophy to captain Francois Pienaar.
That moment, that trophy, was more than simply South Africa being the best Rugby team in the World, but had a massive effect on South Africans, who were dealing with life changing changes to their country, many whom have fled the country.
South Africa has been one of the top ranked Rugby Nations since, and even though there have been patches of animosity, with coaches forced into selecting a certain number of Non-White players, the bottom line has been that the Springboks are one of the toughest opponents in World Rugby.
Currently, South Africa are ranked 2nd in World Rugby, behind the mighty New Zealand All Blacks. The Springboks have a minor winning streak running currently, having not lost in 8 consecutive matches. This streak is in danger though, with their toughest match of this streak awaiting in Australia this weekend, followed by an even tougher test against the All Blacks in New Zealand a week later.
Thanks for reading, you can follow me on Twitter @richfergie and my fellow LWOS rugby writer –@recaffeinated99. Give the site a follow while you’re at it – @lastwordonsport.
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