South Africa national rugby union team
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts. Their emblem is a native antelope, the Springbok, which is the national animal of South Africa. The team has been representing South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the number one ranked rugby team in the world and are the reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup on a record four occasions. Incredibly, the Springboks have won half of the Rugby World Cups they've attended. They are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
The South Africa team that played the second test against the British Isles in 1891
The 1906 Springboks team
The Springboks team that faced New Zealand in 1921
The complete squad that toured New Zealand and Australia in 1937
The springbok or springbuck is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus Antidorcas, this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780. Three subspecies are identified. A slender, long-legged antelope, the springbok reaches 71 to 86 cm at the shoulder and weighs between 27 and 42 kg. Both sexes have a pair of black, 35-to-50 cm (14-to-20 in) long horns that curve backwards. The springbok is characterised by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light-brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper fore leg to the buttocks across the flanks like the Thomson's gazelle, and a white rump flap.
Springbok
Horn development in males juvenile (left); sub-adult (right)
A herd on the road Etosha National Park, Namibia
Springbok locking horns in a fight