There are Saturdays when South Africa empties out. The taxi rank goes quiet, the braai fire gets lit early, and somebody’s uncle is already explaining the scrum to anyone who will listen. Those are Springbok Saturdays, and nothing else in our sport moves the whole country in quite the same way.
This page tells the Springboks rugby team history from the start: where the team came from, the days that changed it, the rivals who define it, and the side Rassie Erasmus takes to Europe in November. It is ScoreLine’s home for the national team, updated as the story moves.
| Springboks: quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Governing body | SA Rugby |
| First Test | 1891, against a British Isles touring team |
| Rugby World Cup titles | Four: 1995, 2007, 2019, 2023 |
| Head coach | Rassie Erasmus |
| Captain | Siya Kolisi (as at 20 October 2026) |
| Next fixture | Italy v South Africa, Saturday 7 November 2026, Turin |
Springboks rugby team history: from 1891 to four World Cups
The story starts in 1891, when a British Isles touring team played the first Test on South African soil. From there the Springboks built a reputation that travelled: big forwards, hard defence and a stubbornness that the rest of the rugby world learned to respect.
That history carries a shadow, and an honest team page has to say so. For 90 years the Springboks picked only white players, AFP’s history of the team records. The jersey that so many now wear with pride was, for most of the century, closed to most of the country.
The World Cup came late. South Africa’s first tournament was 1995, at home. Since then the Springboks have played in it like a team that had decades to catch up on. Four titles: 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023.
| Year | Final | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | South Africa 15, New Zealand 12, Johannesburg | Francois Pienaar |
| 2007 | South Africa 15, England 6, Paris | John Smit |
| 2019 | South Africa 32, England 12, Japan | Siya Kolisi |
| 2023 | South Africa 12, New Zealand 11, Paris | Siya Kolisi |
Add the Tri-Nations and Rugby Championship titles of 1998, 2004, 2009 and 2019, and series wins over the British and Irish Lions in 2009 and 2021, and you have one of the great records in the sport, SA Rugby’s own roll of honour shows.
1995: the day the jersey changed
Ask any South African old enough to remember, and they will tell you where they were. In the 1995 final in Johannesburg, the Springboks beat the All Blacks 15-12. Then Nelson Mandela, wearing a replica of Pienaar’s shirt, handed his captain the trophy.
It mattered far beyond rugby. A mostly white crowd chanted Mandela’s name. Chester Williams was the only Black player in that squad, a detail that says as much about the era as the result does. One afternoon did not fix a country, and nobody pretends it did. But it showed what the team could stand for.
The Kolisi era
If 1995 was the promise, 2018 was the turning point. That year Rassie Erasmus took over as coach, and Siya Kolisi became the first Black Test captain in the Springboks’ history.
What followed is the most successful spell the team has had. Kolisi lifted the World Cup in Japan in 2019, beating England 32-12, and again in Paris in 2023, by a single point against New Zealand. Two titles in a row under the same captain, and in 2019 a final team with six Black starters, AFP noted at the time. Our Siya Kolisi profile tells his own story.
Kolisi has company in the core of the side. Players such as Eben Etzebeth, the lock at the heart of the pack, give the team its hard edge.
What it means to wear the Bok
The Springboks belong to the whole country in a way few teams do. The jersey turns up at weddings, in offices on Friday and at schools on match day. Bok fans are loud, hopeful and very sure they could pick the team better than the coach.
The players come up through the provinces and franchises South Africans already follow week to week. On a URC weekend the same names play for the Sharks, the Stormers and the Bulls, and the old provincial rivalries become one green jersey when the national anthem plays.
The rivalries
New Zealand. The rivalry that defines the Springboks. The All Blacks were the opponents in two of the four World Cup finals, and in 2026 they came for a four-Test series, three Tests in South Africa and the last in the United States. The Springboks won it 3-1, closing it with a 43-28 win in Baltimore in front of 68,173 people, a record for a rugby Test in the United States.
England. Two World Cup finals, two Springbok wins, in 2007 and 2019. England are the northern-hemisphere side every Bok fan wants to beat.
The British and Irish Lions. A Lions tour comes round rarely, and when it does the series becomes the whole sporting conversation. The Springboks won the series in 2009 and 2021.
Australia. Less noise than New Zealand or England, but no less sting. In Perth on 27 September 2026, Australia won 42-38 after the Springboks scored three late tries to come within four points.
Beyond the Score: why the Springboks matter
The Springboks are the closest thing South Africa has to a shared calendar. The country plans around their Tests. When they win, the mood at work on Monday is different. When they lose, everybody has a theory.
They also carry the weight of their own history. A team that once stood for exclusion now stands, for many fans, for what the country could be. That is a lot to put on 23 players and a coach. It is also why a Bok Test is never only a Test.
The current side (as at 20 October 2026)
Head coach: Rassie Erasmus. Captain: Siya Kolisi, both confirmed on SA Rugby’s own team page.
The 2026 season so far:
| Date | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| July | Nations Championship v England, Scotland and Wales | Won all three |
| 8 August | Argentina v South Africa, Buenos Aires | South Africa won 17-10 |
| August to September | All Blacks tour, four Tests | South Africa won the series 3-1 |
| 12 September | South Africa v New Zealand, Baltimore | South Africa won 43-28 |
| 27 September | Australia v South Africa, Perth | Australia won 42-38 |
Next up is the November leg of the Nations Championship, the new competition between the southern-hemisphere sides and the Six Nations. The Springboks are away for all three Tests, SA Rugby Mag and Rugby World list:
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 7 November | Italy v South Africa | Allianz Stadium, Turin |
| Friday 13 November | France v South Africa | Stade de France, Paris |
| Saturday 21 November | Ireland v South Africa | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 27 to 29 November | Finals weekend | Twickenham, London |
The finals weekend puts the best southern-hemisphere team against the best northern-hemisphere team for the first title, with the rest playing for hemisphere points. Kick-off times in SAST will be added here once SA Rugby confirms them.
Frequently asked questions
How many Rugby World Cups have the Springboks won?
Four: 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023. They beat New Zealand in the 1995 and 2023 finals and England in 2007 and 2019.
Who is the Springboks captain?
Siya Kolisi, as at 20 October 2026. He became the first Black Test captain of the Springboks in 2018 and led the team to the 2019 and 2023 World Cup titles.
Who coaches the Springboks?
Rassie Erasmus is head coach, as SA Rugby’s team page lists. He first took charge in 2018, the year Kolisi became captain, and coached the side that won the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
When did the Springboks play their first Test?
In 1891, against a British Isles touring team in South Africa. The team’s first World Cup came more than a century later, in 1995.
Who do the Springboks play in November 2026?
Italy in Turin on Saturday 7 November, France in Paris on Friday 13 November and Ireland in Dublin on Saturday 21 November, all in the Nations Championship. The finals weekend follows at Twickenham from 27 to 29 November.