Today in South African History: 23 August 1862 – The first Rubgy match that is played in SA

On 23 August 1862, the first rugby match heralded the start of what would become a hugely popular sport among white people in South Africa. The match took place in Green Point, Cape Town between one team made up of civilians and one made up of military members.

The first rugby club, Hamilton, was formed in 1875 and was soon followed by the Villagers Club. As the popularity of the sport grew, the Rugby Union Board was formed.

After SA was banned from international sporting arena, it meant that it could no longer participate in international rugby matches. SA was only allowed to return to playing international rugby in 1992, following changes in the country’s political environment.

The national team, the Springboks, has since, won the World Cup Three times, first in 1995, in their very first competition (of which they were also the host country) representing a democratic state, in France 2007 and Japan in 2019. The World Cup competitions have helped to further spread the popularity of the sport in black communities also.

SA now has a number of local rugby competitions, with the Currie Cup being the premier provincial rugby competition in SA. The Springboks are also involved in annual competitions with national teams from Australia and New Zealand. This competition, known as the Tri Nations, is second only to the Rugby World Cup in the country’s rugby calendar.