When Canon George Ogilvie became headmaster of Diocesan College in Cape Town in 1861, he introduced the game of football, as played at Winchester School. This version of football, which included handling, 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 in 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".
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Rugby In South Africa The Springboks, Bokke or amaBokoboko are the South African national rugby union team. The Springboks (or Springbokke in Afrikaans), as they are commonly referred to, compete in the Tri Nations alongside the New Zealand All Blacks and Australia's Wallabies, as well as competitions such as the Rugby World Cup. Although they did not compete in the first two World Cups in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to sports boycotts of South Africa, they did make their debut in the 1995 World Cup, hosting it as well. They defeated the All Blacks in the final, which is now remembered as one of the greatest moments in South Africa's sporting history. |
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The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys and have been playing international rugby since 1891, when a British Isles side toured the nation, playing South Africa in their first test on July 30. Today the Springboks are regarded as one of the best rugby nations in the world. The current head coach is Jake White, and the captain, John Smit. |
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