The ability to secure a Rugby Ball should not be dependent upon one’s ability to conduct agreements off the record. And yet, South African rugby - the nation’s most loved sport - is dotted with such patterns. South Africa has always been a rugby loving nation and as Mandela puts it, "Sport has the power to change the world." Along with football and cricket, rugby union is an extremely popular team sport in South Africa and is played all throughout the nation. South Africans mostly start playing at a very young age and play the game as they get older, so it becomes second nature and a part of their culture.
Although South Africa played a key role in the development of the Rugby World Cup competition, the Springboks were banned from the 1987 and 1991 World Cups due to global anti-apartheid sporting boycotts. Together with the All Blacks, the Springboks dominated international rugby for more than a century, and the question of who the real-world champions were was frequently contentious. Politics and sport could not be kept apart, and during the 1970s and 1980s, the international community increased pressure on all sports governing bodies to cut their relations with South Africa on all playing fields. Although occasional international rugby matches in the 1980s took place, the Currie Cup emerged as South African rugby's highest honour. South Africa's political environment was shifting in 1990 and this paved the path for South Africa’s unique return to International Rugby. In 1991 the national cricket team went on their first official tour to India. Rugby would soon follow and on 23 March 1992 the South African rugby team was officially formed.
The 1992 domestic rugby season was already well under way, although there was still the chance to play internationally. Five tests were scheduled, starting with matches against the All Blacks and Wallabies in South Africa before the team headed to England and then France. South Africa experienced a surge in rugby fever as people eagerly anticipated the return of the official Springbok team to the field. The truth is that South African teams were amateur in contrast to other nations, the players, provincial teams, and administration suffered significant setbacks during isolation.
For the first time, South Africa competed in the World Cup in 1995, becoming the world champions. They hosted the finals and celebrated their victory in the best possible way in the competition against New Zealand. When the tournament was held in newly democratic South Africa in 1995, the team made their World Cup debut. The 1995 final between the Springboks and the All Blacks, which the Springboks won 15-12, is hailed as one of the greatest sporting events in South African history and a turning point in the post-Apartheid nation-building process. Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar wearing the Springbok shirt. The gesture was important as it was widely seen as a major step towards reconciliation for South Africans.
The Springboks are well-known around the world, even to those who are not rugby experts, and South Africans have been proud of the accomplishments of their rugby union team for a century. They presently hold the title of World Champions and have three World Cup victories (1995, 2007, and 2019). The playing of rugby has been entangled with politics however despite this, the future of rugby for south Africa looks promising.
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