84-631: The South African Rugby Union ( SARU ) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby . It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board and the non-racial South African Rugby Union (SACOS) , and took up its current name in 2005. SARU organises several national teams, most notably
168-565: A change that took effect in 2006. South Africa was entitled to add one franchise to the four from the Super 12 era. In a controversial move, the Southern Spears franchise was assured a place in the 2007 and 2008 competitions, with an increasingly unpopular promotion/relegation system established to keep the total of South African Super 14 teams at its allotted five. Van Rooyen was widely viewed as being responsible for this arrangement, which
252-621: A massive sell-off in emerging economies." In 2014, South Africa experienced its worst year against the US dollar since 2009, and in March 2015, the rand traded at its worst since 2002. At the time, Trading Economics released data that the rand "averaged R4.97 to the dollar between 1972–2015, reaching an all time high of R12.45 in December 2001 and a record low of R0.67 in June of 1973." By the end of 2014,
336-502: A new logo at a function at Kings Park Stadium in Durban . Celebrations continued later in the year, with two tests against England at Twickenham . According to World Rugby , South Africa has 434,219 registered players broken down into: 157,980 pre-teen males; 121,879 teen males; 143,722 senior males (total male players 423,581); 1,653 pre-teen females; 5,504 teen females; 3,481 senior females (total female players 10,638). However, this
420-701: A one-off expanded Currie Cup before its permanent replacement, the Rugby Challenge , launched in 2017. The Challenge now includes only South African sides, plus the Namibian team that had sporadically featured in the Vodacom Cup. Since 2008, the Varsity Cup is an annual tournament held between the top university club sides in South Africa. In 2011, a second tier known as the Varsity Shield
504-546: A special commemorative series of banknotes was released in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth. This series includes notes of all denominations, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rand. These notes will circulate alongside the existing notes. The notes depict the standard face of Nelson Mandela on the obverse. Still, instead of the Big Five animals on the reverse, they show a younger Mandela with different iconic scenes relating to his legacy. These scenes comprise
588-622: A statement condemning discrimination saying the team "stands together with Tel Aviv Heat players and coaches." Rugby union in South Africa Rugby union in South Africa is a highly popular team sport , along with cricket and soccer , and is widely played all over the country. The national team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in at least the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won
672-537: A strong reelection challenge, withdrew from consideration for election. Brian van Rooyen was elected president of SARU in 2004. He soon became a highly polarising figure in South African sport, with detractors accusing him of financial shenanigans, favouritism, and general mismanagement. His management style was also widely perceived as autocratic. One of the major gripes against the Van Rooyen administration
756-492: Is an old report. There are 4,074 referees. From 1990 to 1991 the legal apparatus of apartheid was abolished, and in 1992 the Springboks were readmitted to international rugby. On 23 March 1992 the non-racial South African Rugby Union and the South African Rugby Board (the government-approved white-only governing body) were merged to form the South African Rugby Football Union. The unified body changed its name in 2005 to
840-700: Is known as the Craven Week (there are two editions of this competition – an Under-18 competition for high schools and an Under-13 competition for primary schools), and the other national youth weeks are the Under-18 Academy Week, the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week and the Under-18 LSEN Week for Learners with Special Educational Needs. The Women's Premier Division was first played in 2003. The Bulls Daisies became
924-544: Is scheduled to host the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens . Super Rugby is an international provincial competition initially featuring teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. South Africa withdrew its franchises in September 2020. The Super 10 (predecessor to Super Rugby) was won in 1993 by Transvaal but the Super Rugby competition was not won by a South African team until 2007, when South Africa provided
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#17327905400671008-476: The 1995 Rugby World Cup , and won again in 2007 , 2019 and 2023 . As with much else in South Africa, the organisation and playing of rugby has been entangled with politics, and racial politics in particular. When Canon George Ogilvie became headmaster of Diocesan College in Cape Town in 1861, he introduced the game of Winchester College football . This version of football, which included handling of
1092-781: The British Isles by a team from Southern Africa (drawing on players from the then independent republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State , and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal) took place in 1891 , with the trip financially underwritten by (the British arch imperialist) Cecil Rhodes of the Cape and (the resolutely Boer) President Kruger of the Transvaal Republic. Seven years later Britain
1176-520: The Cheetahs and Southern Kings played during the previous version of the tournament, the Pro14, from the 2017–18 season . This followed their axing from Super Rugby after its 2017 season . The Currie Cup tournament has been the premier domestic rugby union in South Africa since its first edition in 1892. Since then, the number of teams participating in the competition varied in different seasons, with
1260-577: The South African pound as legal tender, at the rate of 2 rand to 1 pound, or 10 shillings to the rand. The government introduced a mascot, Decimal Dan, "the rand-cent man" (known in Afrikaans as Daan Desimaal). This was accompanied by a radio jingle to inform the public about the new currency. Although pronounced in the Afrikaans style as / r ʌ n t / in the jingles when introduced,
1344-519: The Tel Aviv Heat from an international competition in South Africa in February 2023. South Africa Rugby’s CEO said that after listening to "the opinions of important stakeholder groups," it had decided to disinvite Tel Aviv "to avoid the likelihood of the competition becoming a source of division, notwithstanding the fact that Israel is a full member of World Rugby." The Tel Aviv Heat protested
1428-703: The Thai ฿10 coin , the pre-2018 Philippine ₱10 coin , the British £2 coin , and the Canadian $ 2 coin ), a specially serrated security groove along the rim and microlettering. On 3 May 2023, the South African Reserve Bank announced that a new series of coins would be released. These will have the same denominations as the previous series. The 10c will feature an image of the Cape Honey Bee,
1512-740: The Western Province Rugby Football Union to be formed that same year; Griqualand West followed in 1886; Eastern Province in 1888; Transvaal in 1889 and in 1889 the South African Rugby Board was founded. Kimberley was the founding city of the South Africa Rugby Football Board in 1889. In 1889 the first nationwide tournament was held at Kimberley, with the Western Province (rugby team) prevailing over Griqualand West, Eastern Province and Transvaal. The first-ever tour of
1596-506: The rand , ( sign : R ; code : ZAR ) is the official currency of South Africa . It is subdivided into 100 cents (sign: "c"), and a comma separates the rand and cents. The South African rand is legal tender in the Common Monetary Area member states of Namibia , Lesotho , and Eswatini , with these three countries also having national currencies: (the dollar , the loti and the lilangeni respectively) pegged with
1680-776: The sevens version of the sport. The country hosts one of the 10 events in the annual Sevens World Series . From 2001 through 2010, it was held at Outeniqua Park in George , a community along the Garden Route in the Western Cape . Starting in 2011, the tournament moved to the Eastern Cape and the much larger Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth , and moved again in 2015 to Cape Town and Cape Town Stadium . The Cape Town Sevens has since become one of
1764-476: The 1 and 2-cent coins was discontinued in 2002, followed by 5-cent coins in 2012, primarily due to inflation having devalued them, but they remain legal tender. Shops normally round the total purchase price of goods to the nearest 10 cents. To curb counterfeiting, a new 5-rand coin was released in August 2004. Security features introduced on the coin include a bimetal design (similar to the €1 and €2 coins ,
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#17327905400671848-578: The 2011 World Cup, the Boks only managed to reach the quarter-final stage where they were beaten by Australia. South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for a third time in 2019 , once again defeating England , 32–12 in the final in Yokohama . South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for a fourth time in 2023 , once again defeating New Zealand at Stade de France ., 12–11 in the final . Upon winning
1932-864: The 20c the Bitter Aloe, the 50c the Knysna Turaco , the R1 the Springbok , the R2 the King Protea , and the R5 the Southern Right Whale . The first series of rand banknotes was introduced in 1961 in denominations of 1, 2, 10, and 20 rand, with similar designs and colours to the preceding pound notes to ease the transition. They bore the image of what was believed at the time to be Jan van Riebeeck ,
2016-650: The Cape colony; the same year the first rugby (as opposed to Winchester football ) club, Hamilton, was formed in Sea Point, Cape Town . Former England international William Henry Milton arrived in Cape Town in 1878. He joined the Villagers club and started playing and preaching rugby. By the end of that year Cape Town had all but abandoned the Winchester game in favour of rugby. British colonists helped spread
2100-731: The Currie Cup trophy being awarded to the champions of the top tier. Other trophies, such as the Percy Frames Trophy , the W.V. Simkins Trophy and the South African Cup (currently awarded to the winners of the First Division), were also on offer. Between 1983 and 1994, teams also competed in a knockout cup competition called the Lion Cup . There was no competition in 1995, as South African rugby adjusted to
2184-500: The EU would impact the South African economy and trade relations. In April 2017, a Reuters poll estimated that the rand would remain relatively stable for the rest of the year, as two polls found that analysts had already factored in a possible downgrade to "junk" status. At the time, Moody's rated South Africa two notches above junk status. When President Jacob Zuma narrowly won a motion of no confidence in South Africa in August 2017,
2268-530: The English national anthem and New Zealand's haka were played over and over again... [and] were also forced into a freezing lake in the early hours of the morning to pump up rugby balls under water and... when some players tried to get out they were ordered back into the water at gunpoint." Straeuli resigned, as did Rian Oberholzer, the managing director of South Africa Rugby (Pty) Ltd, the commercial arm of SARFU. Soon afterwards, SARFU president Silas Nkununu, facing
2352-724: The Rugby Championship and the World Championships. There are also the Blitzboks, the national team for sevens rugby. Children and young people are introduced to rugby at school and then, depending on their interest and talent, training begins. The most talented players at school level are brought together every year after Craven Week (named after Danie Craven ) in the SA Schools team. Each South African university has its own rugby team, which can take part in
2436-566: The South Africa Coloured Rugby Board formed in 1896) and teams were kept segregated with discrimination against black and coloured players and little government funding. Even before the 1948 elections in South Africa in which the apartheid government came to power and legislated systematically along racial lines, foreign sporting teams going to South Africa had felt it necessary to exclude non-white players. New Zealand rugby teams in particular had done this, and
2520-558: The South African Rugby Board were merged to form the South African Rugby Football Union. The unified body changed its name in 2005 to the current South African Rugby Union. The debacle of the 2003 World Cup saw the Springboks exit in the quarterfinals. Further, SARU experienced the scandal of Kamp Staaldraad , the training camp run by then-Boks coach Rudolf Straeuli . Reportedly, "naked players were crammed into foxholes and doused repeatedly with ice-cold water while
2604-682: The Springboks, perceived as prominent representatives of apartheid South Africa, were increasingly isolated internationally. Coming shortly after the Soweto riots as it did, the 1976 All Blacks tour of South Africa attracted international condemnation and 28 countries boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics in protest. The next year, in 1977, the Commonwealth signed the Gleneagles Agreement , which discouraged any sporting contact with South Africa. A planned 1979 Springbok tour of France
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2688-536: The Stellenbosch club was formed in the predominantly Boer farming district outside Cape Town and rugby was enthusiastically adopted by the young Boer farmers. As British and Boer migrated to the interior they helped spread the game from the Cape colony through the Eastern Cape, and Natal, and along the gold and diamond routes to Kimberley and Johannesburg. The game was strong enough in the Western Cape for
2772-463: The Stormers from Cape Town. Since the seasons overlap only slightly, many players are used in both professional leagues. The South African Rugby Board was the rugby union governing body of white South Africans between 1889 and 1992. The governing of white and coloured rugby union was handled separately during South Africa under Apartheid . In 1992 the non-racial South African Rugby Union and
2856-695: The Tri Nations was renamed The Rugby Championship . The involvement of the Pumas caused the competition to revert to a pure home-and-away series. The Freedom Cup (against New Zealand) and the Mandela Challenge Plate (against Australia) are competed for as part of The Rugby Championship. The Africa Cup is an annual competition involving ten African nations. South Africa sent its top amateurs to this competition up until 2007 . South African rand The South African rand , or simply
2940-541: The Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR), to join a new revised Four Nations tournament in 2012. This long-anticipated move was generally met with great approval from all parties involved. The invitation was however subject to certain conditions, like the guaranteed availability of the top Puma players, most of whom play highly paid professional club rugby in Europe at present. With Argentina's entry ultimately confirmed,
3024-751: The Varsity Cup and the Varsity Shield. The national championship is superseded by the international championship United Rugby Championship, which is played together with teams from Ireland and Wales, as well as two franchises each from Italy and Scotland. South Africa is represented by four franchises, which are managed by the SARU: the Bulls from Pretoria, the Lions from Johannesburg, the Sharks from Durban and
3108-450: The advent of professional rugby, but in 1996, a new competition – the Bankfin Nite Series – was launched. That lasted for two seasons before being replaced by the Vodacom Cup . The Vodacom Cup was held between 1998 and 2015 and included teams from Argentina , Namibia , Kenya and the South African Limpopo province in addition to the fourteen South African provincial sides. The Vodacom Cup was discontinued in 2015 and replaced for 2016 with
3192-472: The ball, is seen as the beginnings of rugby in South Africa. Soon, the young gentlemen of Cape Town joined in and the first match in South Africa took place between the "Officers of the Army" and the "Gentlemen of the Civil Service" at Green Point in Cape Town on 23 August 1862 and ended as a 0–0 draw. The local press reported a series of football matches between scratch sides "Town v Suburbs" or "Home v Colonial-born". Around 1875, rugby began to be played in
3276-401: The better-known previous Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan , would instead be appointed to the post. Zuma's surprise sacking of Nene damaged international confidence in the rand, and the exchange rate was volatile throughout much of January 2016 and reached an all-time low of R17.9169 to the US dollar on 9 January 2016 before rebounding to R16.57 later the same day. The January drop in value
3360-440: The biggest annual events on the South African sporting calendar, attracting numerous local and international visitors over the course of the weekend on which it is held. South Africa's national team, known as Springbok Sevens, and also nicknamed "Blitzbokke", have become one of the sport's top national sides, as evidenced by their victory in the 2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series and recently in both 2016–2017 and 2017–18 . Cape Town
3444-417: The contemporary pronunciation in South African English is / r æ n d / . One rand was worth US$ 1.40 (R0.72 per dollar) from the time of its inception in 1961 until late 1971, and the U.S. dollar became stronger than South African currency for the first time on 15 March 1982. Its value thereafter fluctuated as various exchange rate dispensations were implemented by the South African authorities. By
South African Rugby Union - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-506: The correct colour and were 1mm short. On 11 February 2012, President Jacob Zuma announced that the country would be issuing a new set of banknotes bearing Nelson Mandela 's image. They were entered into circulation on 6 November 2012. These contained the same denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 rand. In 2013, the 2012 series was updated with the addition of the EURion constellation to all five denominations. They were entered into circulation on 6 November 2013. On 18 July 2018,
3612-437: The country's first professional team in 2023. The Women's First Division is the second tier competition. South Africa did not take part in the first two World Cups, held in 1987 and 1991, as they were still under an international boycott due to apartheid . South Africa however did play an important role in the first World Cup; despite knowing that they would not be able to participate, the delegates voted in favor and provided
3696-487: The currency after that, most notably the 1994 general election , which had it weaken to over R3.60 to the dollar, the election of Tito Mboweni as the governor of the South African Reserve Bank , and the inauguration of President Thabo Mbeki in 1999, which had it quickly slide to over R6 to the dollar. The controversial land reform programme that was initiated in Zimbabwe , followed by the September 11, 2001 attacks , propelled it to its weakest historical level of R13.84 to
3780-471: The current South African Rugby Union . The national team are known as the Springboks. The jersey is a dark myrtle green with a gold collar and a logo of a leaping springbuck and a protea. The "Springbok" nickname and logo dates from the 1906/7 tour of Britain. The logo was not restricted to the white team alone though, the first coloured national team used the springbok in 1939 and the first black team in 1950. South Africa also occupies an important place in
3864-411: The decision, South African Friends of Israel said the South Africa Rugby Union "bent the knee to appease political extremists in South Africa who threatened to harm and incite violence should an Israeli team participate in the sport," and the South African Zionist Federation called the decision "an attack on our sportsmen and women in South Africa." The San Clemente Rhinos, which replaced Tel Aviv, issued
3948-434: The dollar in December 2001. This sudden depreciation in 2001 led to a formal investigation and a dramatic recovery. By the end of 2002, the currency was trading under R9 to the dollar again, and by the end of 2004, it was trading under R5.70. The currency softened somewhat in 2005, trading around R6.35 to the dollar at the end of the year. At the start of 2006, however, the currency resumed its rally and, as of 19 January 2006,
4032-431: The early 1980s, high inflation and mounting political pressure combined with sanctions placed against the country due to international opposition to the apartheid system had started to erode its value. The currency broke above parity with the dollar for the first time in March 1982. It continued to trade between R1 and R1.30 to the dollar until June 1984, when the currency's depreciation gained momentum. By February 1985, it
4116-457: The exclusion of George Nēpia and Jimmy Mill from the 1928 All Blacks tour, and the dropping of "Ranji" Wilson from the New Zealand Army team nine years before that, had attracted little comment at the time. From 1960, international criticism of apartheid in particular grew in the wake of "The Wind of Change " speech by the British Prime Minister, Macmillan , and the Sharpeville massacre near Johannesburg in South Africa. From then onward,
4200-439: The first VOC administrator of Cape Town . It was later discovered that the original portrait was not, in fact, Van Riebeeck at all, but a portrait of Bartholomew Vermuyden had been mistaken for Van Riebeeck. In 1966, a second series with designs that moved away from the previous pound notes was released. Notes with 1, 5, and 10 rand denominations were produced with predominantly one colour per note. A smaller 1 rand note with
4284-498: The first ever mixed-race team on tour in South Africa. From 1990 to 1994 the legal apparatus of apartheid was abolished , and in 1992 the Springboks were readmitted to international rugby. On 23 March 1992 the non-racial South African Rugby Union and the South African Rugby Board were merged to form the South African Rugby Football Union. The unified body changed its name in 2005 to the current South African Rugby Union . SA Rugby celebrated 100 years of test rugby in 2006 and unveiled
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#17327905400674368-430: The first quarter of 2008. This downward slide could be attributed to a range of factors: South Africa's worsening current account deficit, which widened to a 36‑year high of 7.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007; inflation at a five-year high of just under 9%; escalating global risk aversion as investors' concerns over the spreading impact of the sub-prime crisis grew; and a general flight to "safe havens", away from
4452-412: The fourth time, the Springboks became the only team to have held 4 World Cup titles and only the second team to win back-to-back championships. The Tri Nations was an annual competition involving New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Previously this involved each country playing one home and one away game against both other countries. From 2006 the competition was expanded with each nation playing both
4536-433: The game through the Eastern Cape , Natal and along the gold and diamond routes to Kimberley and Johannesburg . British troops would also play a key role in spreading the game throughout the country. Rugby union was introduced to South Africa by British colonists, including miners from rugby union stronghold Cornwall Rugby union in Cornwall (before 1900) , and began to be played in the Cape colony around 1875. In 1883,
4620-455: The other nations three times (except in Rugby World Cup years). Since Argentina 's strong performances in the 2007 World Cup a number of commentators believed they should join the Tri-Nations. This was firstly proposed for the 2008 tournament, then for 2010, but eventually this prospect came much closer to reality after the 2009 Tri Nations tournament, when SANZAR (South Africa, New Zealand and Australian Rugby) extended an official invitation to
4704-471: The perceived risks of emerging markets. The rand depreciation was exacerbated by the Eskom electricity crisis, which arose from the utility's inability to meet the country's rapidly growing energy demands. A stalled mining industry in late 2012 led to new lows in early 2013. In late January 2014, the rand slid to R11.25 to the dollar, with analysts attributing the shift to "word from the US Federal Reserve that it would trim back stimulus spending, which led to
4788-462: The previous five months, exchanging at a rate of R14.16 to the United States dollar. Following the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union, the rand dropped in value over 8% against the US$ on 24 June 2016, the currency's largest single-day decline since the 2008 economic crash. This was partly due to a general global financial retreat from currencies seen as risky to the US dollar and partly due to concerns over how British withdrawal from
4872-452: The previous series, mainly because of the severe wear and tear experienced with low-denomination notes in circulation. In 1994, 100 and 200 rand notes were introduced. The 2005 series has the same principal design but with additional security features, such as colour-shifting ink on the 50 rand and higher and the EURion constellation . The obverses of all denominations were printed in English, while two other official languages were printed on
4956-454: The rand at parity and still widely accepted as substitutes. The rand was also legal tender in Botswana until 1976 when the pula replaced the rand at par. The rand takes its name from the Witwatersrand ("white waters' ridge" in English, rand being the Afrikaans (and Dutch ) word for ' ridge '), the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. In English and Afrikaans (and Dutch),
5040-414: The rand continued to slide, dropping 1.7% that day. In September 2017, Goldman Sachs said that the debt and corruption of Eskom Holdings was the biggest risk to South Africa's economy and the exchange rate of the rand. At the time, it had no permanent CEO, and Colin Coleman of Goldman Sachs in Africa said the company was "having discussions on solutions" on finding credible management. In October 2017,
5124-411: The rand firmed against the US dollar as it recovered from a six-month low. Reuters noted, "South Africa is highly susceptible to global investor sentiment as the country relies on foreign money to cover its large budget and current account deficits." On 13 November 2017, the rand fell by over 1% when the budget chief, Michael Sachs, stood down from his position in Zuma's administration. In October 2022,
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#17327905400675208-459: The rand had weakened to R15.05 per dollar, partly due to South Africa's consistent trade account deficit with the rest of the world. From 9–13 December 2015, over four days, the rand dropped over 10% due to what some suspected was President Jacob Zuma's surprise announcement that he would be replacing the Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene with the little-known David van Rooyen . The rapid drop in value stemmed when Zuma backtracked and announced that
5292-492: The rand sank to its lowest point in two years, reaching R18.46 to the US dollar on 25 October 2022. Coins were introduced in 1961 in denominations of 1 ⁄ 2 , 1, 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 , 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents. In 1965, 2-cent coins replaced the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 cent coins. The 1 ⁄ 2 cent coin was last struck for circulation in 1973. The 1 rand coin for circulation was introduced in 1967, followed by 2 rand coins in 1989 and 5 rand coins in 1994. Production of
5376-426: The reverse, thus using all 11 official languages of South Africa . In 2010, the South African Reserve Bank and commercial banks withdrew all 1994 series 200-rand banknotes due to relatively high-quality counterfeit notes in circulation. In 2011, the South African Reserve Bank issued defective 100 rand banknotes which lacked fluorescent printing visible under UV light . In June, the printing of this denomination
5460-417: The rolling hills of the Eastern Cape , featuring Mandela's humble birthplace of Mvezo (10 rand); the home of Mandela in Soweto , where he defined his political life alongside other struggle icons (20 rand); the site where Mandela was captured near Howick , following 17 months in hiding, where a monument to him has been erected (50 rand); the place of Mandela's 27-year imprisonment at Robben Island , showing
5544-431: The same design was introduced in 1973, and a 2 rand note was introduced in 1974. The 20 rand denomination from the first series was dropped. The practice of having an English and an Afrikaans version of each note was continued in this series. The 1978 series began with denominations of 2, 5, 10, and 20 rand, with a 50 rand introduced in 1984. This series had only one language variant for each denomination of note. Afrikaans
5628-418: The senior national side, the Springboks . SARU consists of 14 regional associations, each of which sends its own team to the Currie Cup, the oldest and most important league title in South Africa. In addition, the SuperSport Rugby Challenge takes place annually. In addition to the actual national team, the SARU also puts together other teams. The Junior Springboks are the U-20 national team and take part in
5712-432: The singular and plural forms of the unit ("rand") are the same: one rand, ten rand, and two million rand. The rand was introduced in the Union of South Africa in 1961, three months before the country declared itself a republic . A Decimal Coinage Commission had been set up in 1956 to consider a move away from the denominations of pounds, shillings, and pence; it submitted its recommendations on 8 August 1958. It replaced
5796-403: The swing vote for the World Cup. Since then South Africa have won the World Cup four times, in 1995 in their first appearance when they also hosted the event, and again in 2007, 2019 and 2023. The 1995 tournament concluded with then President Nelson Mandela (at the time described as the world's most famous former political prisoner), wearing a Springbok jersey and matching baseball cap, presenting
5880-415: The trophy to the South Africa's captain François Pienaar (a young Afrikaner). Given the political history of South Africa, the moment is seen as one of the most emotional in the sport's history and symbolic of reconciliation and the birth of a new, free South Africa as a "rainbow nation". In 2007 the Springboks repeated their 1995 feat winning the 2007 World Cup by defeating England at Stade de France . In
5964-509: The two finalists, the Bulls and the Sharks. The Bulls scored a last-second win over the Sharks in the final. The Bulls went on to win the last two titles under the Super 14 format, handing the Chiefs of New Zealand a record 61–17 thrashing in the 2009 final and defeating the Stormers in the 2010 final. Four South African teams have been playing in the United Rugby Championship since the 2021–22 season , alongside teams from Ireland , Wales , Italy and Scotland . The teams are: Prior to that,
6048-564: Was added to the schedule. Non-university club sides can also compete for national honours; they compete in the annual Gold Cup competition, which was launched in 2013. It was preceded by a similar competition called the National Club Championships. There are also several youth competitions; all the provincial sides compete annually in the Under-21 and Under-19 Provincial Championships. The premier schools competition
6132-463: Was alleged by Free State Rugby Union president Harold Verster that Van Rooyen had offered a bribe of ZAR 3 million (US$ 485,000) plus a Springboks test against France to the Free State union in exchange for the union changing its vote in the presidential election in his favour. Hoskins announced that a planned investigation into Van Rooyen's administration would go forward. In June 2006 Van Rooyen
6216-474: Was also partly caused by Japanese retail investors cutting their losses in the currency to look for higher-yield investments elsewhere and due to concerns over the impact of the economic slowdown in China , South Africa's largest export market. By mid-January, economists were speculating that the rand could expect to see further volatility for the rest of 2016. By 29 April, it reached its highest performance over
6300-493: Was at war with the Boer republics, and during the Boer war British troops would play a key role in entrenching the game throughout the country, and games amongst the Boer population in prisoner of war camps popularised the game further. From the early years the game had been enthusiastically and passionately adopted by coloured and black populations in the Cape colony, and the Eastern Cape in particular, but rugby organisation (under
6384-658: Was banned from serving in any capacity on the general council or committees of the South African Rugby Union. As for the Spears issue, the SARU Presidents' Council issued a recommendation on 24 March 2006 that SA Rugby revisit the decision to admit the Spears. On 19 April 2006, the decision to admit the Spears was officially overturned by SARU. South African Rugby Union disinvited the Israeli team
6468-408: Was generally opposed by the existing Super 12/14 sides. The South African government attempted to step in to address perceived problems within Van Rooyen's administration, but he survived two years of attempts to oust him. Finally, at the February 2006 SARU General Meeting, Van Rooyen was voted out. Oregan Hoskins, who promised a more decentralised management style, was voted in. After the election, it
6552-634: Was moved from the South African Bank Note Company to Crane Currency's Swedish division ( Tumba Bruk ), which reportedly produced 80 million 100 rand notes. The South African Reserve Bank shredded 3.6 million 100-rand banknotes printed by Crane Currency because they had the same serial numbers as a batch printed by the South African Bank Note Company. In addition, the notes printed in Sweden were not
6636-468: Was short-lived; by the end of 1989, the rand was trading at more than R2.50 per dollar. As it became clear in the early 1990s that the country was destined for Black majority rule and one reform after the other was announced, uncertainty about the country's future hastened the depreciation until the level of R3 to the dollar was breached in November 1992. A host of local and international events influenced
6720-727: Was stopped by the French government, which announced that it was inappropriate for South African teams to tour France, and after the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand went ahead in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement, South Africa was banned by the International Rugby Board from international competition until such time as apartheid ended. Despite the Gleneagles Agreement, in July 1982, Hong Kong Rugby Football Union Vice-President A. D. C "Tokkie" Smith brought
6804-630: Was the allocation of venues for the Springboks home test matches. The KwaZulu-Natal Union and the Free State Union did not receive a Tri Nations Test in 2005 or 2006. Both unions, vocal opponents of Van Rooyen, accused him of punishing them for their opposition. However, the biggest bone of contention surrounded the expansion of the Super Rugby competition. SANZAR , a consortium of the South African, Australian, and New Zealand governing bodies, expanded their Super 12 competition to 14 teams,
6888-457: Was the first language on the 2, 10, and 50 rand, while English was the first on the 5 and 20 rand. A coin replaced the 1 rand note. In the 1990s, the notes were redesigned with images of the Big Five wildlife species. 10, 20, and 50 rand notes were introduced in 1992 & 1993, retaining the colour scheme of the previous issue. Coins were introduced for the 2 and 5 rand, replacing the notes of
6972-435: Was trading at over R2 per dollar, and in July of that year, all foreign exchange trading was suspended for three days to try to stop the depreciation. By the time that State President P. W. Botha made his Rubicon speech on 15 August 1985, it had weakened to R2.40 per dollar. The currency recovered somewhat between 1986 and 1988, trading near the R2 level most of the time and breaking beneath it sporadically. The recovery
7056-399: Was trading under R6 to the dollar again. However, the rand weakened significantly during the second and third quarters of 2006 (i.e., April through September). In sterling terms, it fell from around 9.5% to just over 7%, losing some 25% of its international trade-weighted value in six months. In late 2007, the rand rallied modestly to just over 8%, only to experience a precipitous slide during
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