The Springboks also compete in the annual Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations), along with their Southern Hemisphere counterparts Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

For nearly a century, South Africans have rallied behind the Springboks, the team's success has transcended the sport, becoming a symbol of national pride recognized even by those who don't follow rugby.

Many teams have suffered their biggest record defeats to the Springboks, including Australia, Italy, Scotland, Uruguay, Wales and New Zealand.

[8][9] Rugby was given a huge boost by the early Lions tours, which created great interest in the South African press.

[32] Despite winning South Africa's second Grand Slam, the Springbok tourists of 1931–32 were an unloved team, due to their tactics of kicking for territory.

[50] In 1964, in Wales' first overseas tour they played one test match against South Africa, losing 3–24, their biggest defeat in 40 years.

The planned 1967 tour by the All Blacks was cancelled by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union after the South African government refused to allow Maori players.

Twenty-eight countries boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in protest, and in 1977 the Gleneagles Agreement discouraged any Commonwealth sporting contact with South Africa.

During the 1992 All Blacks tour, the first to South Africa since 1976, the Springboks were defeated 24–27 by New Zealand, and suffered a 3–26 loss to Australia the following month.

South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, with a surge of support for the Springboks among the white and black communities behind the slogan "one team, one country.

[64][65][66][67][68] President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok shirt, presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, a white Afrikaner.

It was the first time that a Black South African rugby captain got to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, as well as the first time that a team won a final with a defeat in pool stages, the captain being Siya Kolisi who presented South African president Cyril Ramaphosa the number 6 jersey to commemorate Nelson Mandela, who wore the same numbered jersey during the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

The Springboks were crowned Rugby World Cup champions for the fourth time, making them the first nation to win 4 titles and their second in a row.

At that time, the emblem promoted unity among white English and Afrikaans-speaking players following the two Anglo-Boer Wars of the late 19th century.

[81] Although the Springbok was briefly adopted by the first colored national rugby team in 1939 and by their first black counterparts in 1950, it soon became exclusively associated with segregated sporting codes.

[82] Initially, the first Springboks refused to play against a Devon side that included Jimmy Peters, the first black player to represent England.

[83] Notable figures like Danie Craven, a legendary official, national coach, and Springbok scrumhalf, reluctantly complied with government demands to have Māori players excluded from the visiting All Black teams.

As portrayed in the film Invictus, pressure to replace the Springbok emblem intensified in 1994, just before the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

However, Nelson Mandela, a devoted fan of the Springbok rugby team, intervened, leading the ANC's executive to reappropriate the emblem instead of abolishing it.

[89] Traditionally, South Africa's away uniform consisted of a white shirt, usually with a gold collar, black shorts, and socks, as seen in the 1981 Test against Ireland.

American company Nike is the kit provider for all the South Africa rugby teams from July 2023, through a six-year contract signed with the SARU.

Additional uniform sponsors are FNB on the back above the numbers, and Betway, FlySafair, Dell, and Switch Energy Drink rotating on the rear hems of the shorts.

[99] The 60,000 seat Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg was the main venue for the 1995 World Cup,[100] where the Springboks defeated the All Blacks in the final.

[104] Experts disagree on whether touring team's traditionally poor performances at altitude are more due to a state of mind rather than an actual physical challenge.

A feat that Richie McCaw couldn't achieve with Kieran Read leading the All Blacks in the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand which ended up being tied.

South Africa also participates in the Mandela Challenge Plate with Australia, and the Freedom Cup with New Zealand as part of the Rugby Championship.

[116] The worst ever South African performance at a World Cup was in 2003 when they lost a pool game to England, and then were knocked out of the tournament by the All Blacks in their quarter-final.

In the 2015 World Cup, South Africa suffered a 32–34 loss to Japan in their first pool match on 19 September, and it has been regarded as one of the biggest upsets in Rugby Union history.

The Springboks won the 2023 Rugby World Cup, defeating New Zealand 12–11 in the final at the Stade de France in Paris on October 28, 2023.

The next year on 2 September 2006 in a game in Rustenburg, the Springboks became the first team of only four to beat the All Blacks in a match that had the "Kapa o Pango" performed prematch with a final score of 21–20.