Rugby league first gained attention in South Africa when the English and French attempted expansion in the 1950s for the purpose of creating further international opposition.

Though rugby league was only seriously played in South Africa beginning in the 1950s, the sport was not unknown to South Africans prior to that decade; for example, a number of notable black and Coloured rugby union players, such as David Barends, Green Vigo, and Enslin Dlambulo, code-switched from union to league and moved overseas, in part because of the allure of professionalism, while also escaping the apartheid regime.

The first South African national side played their first competitive fixture on 23 August 1962 and put on a good showing against the much stronger British but eventually lost by nineteen points 49–30.

[4] After this first string of international fixtures the South Africans became disheartened after only winning four of the thirteen tour matches and rugby league again lay dormant for decades.

[7] The following world cup matches added further disappointment and diminish all optimism the South Africans originally had with further heavy losses to both Papua New Guinea[8] and the French.

In 2008, the South Africa Rhinos were scheduled to participate in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers in the Atlantic pool also featuring the USA, Japan and the West Indies.

[11] In 2015 South Africa were confirmed to take on Lebanon in a one-off 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifier in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.