The experienced Springbok veteran was named captain in June 2012, and has been an incredible skipper for the team, leading by example and representing his country with pride. De Villers won the World Cup with South Africa in 2007, although he tore his biceps muscle in the opening encounter of the tournament and was unable to play in the remaining matches. He will be determined to be a key player at this World Cup, using his courage, experience and leadership qualities to perform at the showpiece event. Currently returning from a knee injury, he has done well to recover in time and looks likely to be at full fitness come the tournament.
South Africa has twice been crowned world rugby champions, winning the competition in 1995 and 2007, and if they manage to secure the Webb Ellis trophy this year, they will become the first country to win a trio of titles ahead of New Zealand and Australia on two titles each.
The South Africans will begin their tournament in England with an opening match against Japan on September 19. The other sides that will stand between the Springboks and the knockout stages of the competition include Samoa, Scotland and the USA. The Scots and Samoa are likely to prove the toughest test for the South Africans, who are expected to progress without too many problems.
The Springboks were disallowed from competing in the first two Rugby World Cup competitions in 1987 and 1991, due to an anti-apartheid sporting boycott that affected South African sports. This meant that the South African national rugby team only made their World Cup debut in 1995, when they hosted the tournament and subsequently won the title.
Following South Africa’s victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Finals against a strong New Zealand team, South African president and international icon Nelson Mandela presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, with that moment producing an iconic image representing the new Rainbow Nation.
The kit above will be on show when the Springboks take on the best rugby nations in the world in September and October at the World Cup. The solid dark green jersey features gold detailing, a v-neck design in dark green and the asics logo in gold in the center of the jersey under the collar. The sleeve has 2 hoops of gold of varying widths, while the South African Rugby Union (SARU) logo is over the heart and the 2015 Rugby World Cup logo is over the right part of the chest.
Current Rugby World Cup champions New Zealand are massive rivals for the Springboks, with the All Blacks likely to be favourites to retain the title later this year, having won in 2011. When the Springboks won their first title in 1995, they defeated the All Blacks 15-12 in extra time. Both sides currently have two titles each, and this World Cup will be an important occasion to achieve grabbing rights as the first team to conquer a third title.
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) are bidding to host the 2023 World Cup in the hopes of replicating the 1995 event and conclusion. World Rugby predict that the 2023 tournament will boost the host nation’s economy by as much as $2.6bn while tournament costs are relatively modest. From 2003 to 2015 the tournament had cost the host nation between $45-million and $155 million. The tender process will culminate in the selection of the 2023 host in May 2017.
Current International Rugby Board (IRB) rankings place South Africa’s Springboks as the second best team in the world behind long-time rivals the All Blacks of New Zealand. The positions have Australia in third spot, with the three southern hemisphere rugby titans traditionally placing amongst the top three on the rankings.
For the first time since 2003 there were no South African franchises left in the semi-finals of the 2015 Super Rugby competition, with all five of the sides from the country failing to progress. The competition format allowed the Stormers to move into the knockout stages as their best-placed South African side, though they would only have had enough points to finish in seventh place in the regular season table. With the disappointing performances from SA club sides against their Australian and New Zealand counterparts, many are concerned about how this may reflect on the national team.
