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| Home / Articles / Adventure and Adrenaline / Rugby in South Africa |
| Rugby in South Africa |
For many South Africans, rugby is religion. Next to football and cricket, this rough and tough sport makes up the big three South African national sports.
When the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup on home turf in 1995, Nelson Mandela donned the No 6 shirt of the team's captain Francois Pienaar, a white Afrikaner,and the two embraced in a spontaneous gesture of racial reconciliation that melted hearts around the country.In fact, it such a serious matter, that an Oscar nominated Hollywood movie, Invictus, documented the story of the historical South African Rugby world cup victory in 1995.
This day in sporting history marked a symbol of South Africa’s return on the global scene in social, political and economic levels.The country has traditionally fared extremely well on an international level, having a good reputation in the world cup and rugby tours, and South African rugby fans patriotic to the hilt, expect their national team to win every game!
Things have changed in South Africa since 1994, however, and the South African Rugby Football Union has been working hard to make rugby the game of all South Africans, mainly through an active development programme throughout the country.
At provincial age-group levels, players of colour are playing an increasingly prominent role as the development programme and the quota system begin to bear fruit.
The Springboks
The Springboks are the national rugby team and traditionally one of the sport's international powerhouses. Every talented South African youngster dreams of one day wearing "the green and gold".
The Boks have an outstanding international scoresheet, and for many years enjoyed a winning record against all other nations, until a slight slump in performances after South Africa's return from international isolation in 1992.
New Zealand's All Blacks now hold a slight edge in head-to-head meetings with the Springboks, but the South Africans retain a winning record against all other countries.
Tri-Nations
The Tri-Nations is an annual competition, taking place in July and August, that decides who the top international team in the southern hemisphere is.
The competition was first staged in 1996, born of a demand for more regular competition between the southern hemisphere superpowers following the success of the 1995 World Cup.
New Zealand, South Africa and Australia have traditionally set the pace in world rugby - five out of the six World Cups contested since 1987 have been shared among these three - so becoming Tri-Nations champion is a great honour.
Super 14
The Super 14 competition features 14 regional teams from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, with South Africa providing five teams, New Zealand five and Australia four.
The South African teams in the competition are:
The Sharks from Natal Sharks
The Stormers from Western Province and Boland Cavaliers
The Cats from the Cheetahs, Griquas and Griffons.
The Lions from the Lions, Pumas and Leopards.
The Bulls from the Blue Bulls and Falcons.
Currie Cup
The Currie Cup, the premier provincial rugby competition in South Africa, was first contested in 1892. The format of the Currie Cup varied from year to year, and finals were held intermittently until 1968, after which the final became an annual event.
The teams, in alphabetical order, are: Blue Bulls, Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs, Eagles, Falcons, Free State Cheetahs, Golden Lions, Griffons, Griquas, Leopards, Mighty Elephants, Natal Sharks, Pumas and Western Province.
Vodacom Cup
The Vodacom Cup has become an important competition on the South African rugby calendar. It takes place at the same time as the Super 14 competition - starting in late February and finishing in mid-May - and thus creates a platform for talented young players who might otherwise not get a chance to make their mark.
The Vodacom Cup is divided into two sections - North and South - with the top two teams advancing to the semi-finals and playing cross-section matches of one-versus-two for a place in the final.
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