Today in History: The first rugby match in the country is played in Cape Town
The first rugby club, Hamilton, was formed in 1875 and was soon followed by the Villagers Club.
On 23 August 1862, the first rugby match in South Africa took place, starting what would become a hugely popular sport among the White population of the country.
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.
The sport grew rapidly and was popular among many. Later, the Rugby Union Board was formed.
When South Africa was banned from the international sporting arena, it meant that it could no longer participate in international rugby matches.
The country was only allowed to return to playing international rugby in 1992, following changes in the political environment.
The Springboks have since won the World Cup twice, first in 1995, in their very first competition (of which they were also the host country) representing a democratic state, and again in 2007.
Both the World Cup competitions have helped to spread the popularity of the sport in Black communities.
SA now has a number of local rugby competitions, with the Currie Cup being the premier provincial rugby competition in SA.
Today the Springboks compete in an annual competition with national teams from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in what is known as the Rugby Championship (formerly known as the Tri Nations). This competition is second only to the Rugby World Cup on the country’s rugby calendar.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
