-
21 August 2010 - The All Blacks beat the Springboks 22-29 to win the Tri-Nations and complete a hat-trick of wins over the Boks.
The Boks played well but ultimately defensive lapses let them down in the dying minutes as they conceded two tries after leading the game for 70 minutes.
Schalk Burger was awarded the man of the match with some ferocious tackling and a gargantuan workrate, however Richie McCaw, Juan Smith and Francois Hougaard were equally as deserving.
The villain of the match woul
-
14 August 2010 - Peter de Villiers was in the dock for the second time for comments that upset SANZAR as he was accused of making defamatory comments about the referees in an interview for Fox Sports. It was perceived that he Claimed they lacked fairness and consistency and were biased.
He was brought before a SANZAR hearing but was cleared of all charges.
(Tertius Pickard / Gallo)
-
24 July 2010 - The Wallabies were smarter and played at a faster pace than the Boks with David Pocock the chief architect of Bok misery as he wreaked utter havoc at the breakdown.
The Springboks rhythm was disrupted by two yellow cards in the course of the match. One for Jaque Fourie for a tip-tackle early on and another to BJ Botha for slowing down the ball. Quade Cooper was also sent to the sinbin for a spear tackle.
Springbok team: 15. Zane Kirchner, 14. Gio Aplon, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Wyn
-
17 July 2010 - The Boks lost the Freedom Cup and the number 1 world ranking as they crashed to a second consecutive defeat against the All Blacks in Wellington.
The All Black ran the Boks rampant, kicking cleverly and producing an all round effort to overwhelm the Boks.
The Springbok brains trust had shown that they had been behind in their reaction to the rule changes and paid the price.
The moment of the match was an Israel Dagg try where he scythed through the woeful Bok defence.
The vill
-
10 July 2010 - Four unanswered tries knocked the Boks off their pedestal as the All Blacks bullied the Boks at the breakdown to send them crashing to a humiliating 32-12 defeat at Eden Park, a place where the All Blacks have been undefeated by the Boks since 1937.
The Tri-Nations opener did have a few notable absentees Fourie du Preez and Heinrich Brussouw due to injury. The moment of the match was when the Ma Nonu scored a try just after the break to effectively end the game as a contest.
The
-
26 June 2010 - A far more convincing performance by the Springboks as they romped to a 55-11 performance over the Azzurri.
The
Duif du Toit / Gallo Images
-
19 June 2010 - It wasn't pretty, but the Springboks beat the Azzurri 29-13 at Puma stadium, despite a disjointed performance by the Boks, especially in the second half, where they were outscored by the Italians.
The Springbok pack struggled a bit against the Italians although there was a destinct improvement when Chilliboy Ralepelle came on for John Smit.
The Springbok rolling maul was at its destructive best, as the Italians struggled to stop it.
The moment of the match was when Zane Kirchne
-
12 June 2010 - The Springboks recovered from their patchy form of a week prior to utterly demolish Six Nations Champions France 42-17 in a try-fest at Newlands.
There were many highlights in a fantastic match, however the two that stood out was a fantastic long range try form Pierre Spies after a trademark Habana intercept, and a Gio Aplon try where he gathered a stray ball, to leave the French defenders in his dust.
Gio Aplon was the man of the match with his brace of tries.
(Luke Walker / G
-
5 June 2010 - Springboks overcame early setbacks to defeat the Welsh 34-31 in Cardiff.
The largely experimental side, relied heavily on overseas players, resulting in the Welsh press saying that the Boks were 'there for the taking' it was also ten years since the Welsh won their first ever match against the Springboks at the Millenium stadium.
The side fell 16-3 in the first 20 minutes, but managed to battle back to 16-14 at the break, before breaking away, and conceding a late try to hold o
-
The Northern Hemisphere tour saw the end of John Smit's tighthead prop experiment as the Bok management was forced to concede that he did not have the requisite skills to be an tighthead at Test level, an embarassing turnaround after they had persisted in picking him in the position. (Gallo Images)
-
28 November 2009 - Although the match at Croke Park against Ireland was billed as the best of the North (Ireland having won the Six Nations) v Best of the South (Springboks who won the Tri-Nations) this was laughable given the Springboks woeful tour thus far.
True to form the Springboks slumped to Ireland in misty and extremely cold conditions by 15-10 extending their winless record in Ireland to 9 years.
Poor decision-making and poor discipline blooted the Bok copy-book and turned one of the
-
21 November 2009 - Although the Springboks broke their duck with a 32-10 win. They played against Italy, whom they have never lost to.
Although the Springboks romped easily enough to their win their scrum and Gurthro Steenkamp in particular were woefully outgunned. Jaque Fourie put in a man of the match performance.
Springboks – 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Adi Jacobs, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Heinrich Br
-
17 November 2009 - The Springbok's nightmare tour gets worse after they are humbled 24-23 by Saracens to slump to their third defeat of the tour, made worse by the fact that the Saracens team was filled with South African players, many of whom were not chosen to represent the Boks.
The Springboks were crushed in the scrums and played an error-riddled game.
South Africa: Rose; Ndungane, de Jongh, Olivier (Bosman, 68), Nokwe; Pienaar (Viljoen, 68), Adams (Hougaard, 40); van der Merwe, Strauss (M
-
13 November 2009 The French send the Boks crashing to a 20-13 defeat in windy slippery conditions.
The defeat of the Springboks by France means they haven't beaten France in France since 1997.
Despite star performances from Victor Matfield, who bossed the lineouts, Heinrich Brussouw who was big at the breakdown, and Fourie du Preez, the French aggression was too much for the Boks, who were forced into mistakes and giving away unnecessary penalties.
The highlight of the match was John Smit's d
-
6 November 2009 - The Springboks, filled with new caps and developing players slumped to an historic and humiliating 22-17 defeat at the hand of the Leceister Tigers.
Gurthro Steenkamp was eaten alive by Castrogiovanni as the Bok scrum crumbled in spectacular fashion.
15 Earl Rose
14 Odwa Ndungane
13 Juan de Jongh
12 Wynand Olivier
11 Jongi Nokwe
10 Ruan Pienaar
1 Gurthro Steenkamp, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle (captain), 3 Jannie du Plessis, 4 Danie Rossouw, 5 Andries Bekker, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 7 D
-
The Springboks had soared to new heights, winning the Tri-Nations Cup, the Freedom Cup, the Mandela Challenge Plate, The British and Irish Lions Series and were still holders of the World Cup, to complete a haul of all major silverware on offer.
(Tertius Pickard / Gallo Images)
-
12 September 2009 - South Africa celebrate with the Tri Nations and Freedom Cup after beating New Zealand 32-29 at Waikato Stadium to seal an historic year for the Springboks.
It was the first time since 1949 that the Boks had beaten the All Blacks three times in a row.
Victor Matfield provided the impetus for the win, single-handedly dismantling the All-Black lineout, while Frans Steyn kicked two penalties from over 60 metres en-route to the historic win. Jean de Villiers scored a trademark i
-
5 September 2009 - The Springboks were beaten at their own game by the Wallabies who put them under pressure with a superior tactical kicking game and at the breakdown, where David Pocock huge.
But the Boks weren't about to lose any sleep over it, having wrapped up the Mandela shield and being on the verge of winning the Tri-Nations.
South Africa:
1 Tendai Mtawarira (17)
2 Bismarck du Plessis (28)
3 John Smit – Captain (88)
4 Bakkies Botha (61)
5 Victor Matfield (87)
6 Heinrich Brüssow (8)
7
-
29 August 2009 - Mission accomplished by the Springboks as they triumphed over the Wallabies 32-25 in Perth, by playing attacking rugby, although a late flurry by the Wallabies took the shine off the win.
This left the Boks only needing a bonus point against New Zealand to win the Tri-Nations.
The Boks struggled in the scrums but won the breakdown battles.
The man of the match was Bryan Habana, who scored a brace.
15 Ruan Pienaar (33), 14 JP Pietersen (29), 13 Jaque Fourie (48), 12 Jean de V
-
8 August 2009 - The Springboks made in three victories in a row in the Tri-Nations when they defeated the Wallabies by 29-17. The Bok pack provided the platform by dominating upfront especially by Heinrich Brussouw.
The moment of the match was when John Smit put through a grubber for Victor Matfield on the wing, fueling after-match banter about the forwards showing how they could be as silky skilled as the backs.
Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha celebrated their 50th Test match as a lock pair
-
1 August 2009 - Springboks take the All-Blacks apart in Durban, romping to a 31-19 victory.
The Boks peppered the All-Blacks with high balls and dominated in the set-phases. Morne Steyn put the cherry on his fairytale season by converting eight penalties and mounting a record-high tally of points against the All Blacks, the most ever by a player in the Tri-Nations in a single match.
John Smit celebrated his 60th Test as a captain, and Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana celebrated their 50th ca
-
25 - June 2009 - The Springboks played better and more accurate rugby to win 28-19 against the All Blacks in Bloemfontein in the Bok's Tri-Nations opener. The highlight of the match was Jaque Fourie's sublime try, and Heinrich Brussouw's man of the match performance, where he dominated Richie McCaw at the breakdown. South Africa also reclaimed the number 1 ranking in world rugby.
Springboks:
15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar,
-
The Springbok series win was tainted by the infamous 'Justice 4Bakkies' white armband protest, in which the Springboks protested what they viewed as unfair treatment by the citing commission towards South African rugby.
The protest got the Springboks into trouble with the IRB, who gave them a warning for 'bringing the game into disrepute'. The protest, orchestrated by John Smit and SAPA was given the green light by Peter de Villiers in a show of solidarity.
The international press took a dim v
-
But the disappointment of the team was short-lived as they lifted the trophy and celebrated their series win.
South Africa: Zane Kirchner, Odwa Ndungane, Jaque Fourie, Wynand Olivier, Jongikhaya Nokwe, More Steyn, Fourie du Preez; Tendai Mtawarira, Chilliboy Ralepelle, John Smit (capt), Johann Muller, Victor Matfield, Heinrich Brussow, Juan Smith, Ryan Kankowski.
Replacements: Bismarck du Plessis (for Ralepelle), Gurthro Steenkamp (for Smit, 68), Deon Carstens, Steven Sykes, Pierre Spies (for
-
4 July 2009 - The British and Irish Lions managed to avoid a series whitewash and restore their wounded pride with a 28-9 victory over the Springboks in what was essentially a dead rubber Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The Springbok management used the match as an opportunity to give lesser Springboks a dream chance to play in an historic Test against the Lions. With more than nine changes to the Bok lineup, the Boks succumbed to a Lions team that was also weakened by numerous injuries.
(
-
Peter de Villiers controversial statements get him in hot-water with the IRB.
After the second test between the Boks and the Lions, flanker Schalk Burger received an eight-week ban for eye-gouging Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald. De Villiers responded to the incident by reminding the press that “rugby is a contact sport, and so is dancing”. He went on further by saying:
"Why don't we go to the nearest ballet shop, get some tutus and get a dancing shop going? (Then there will be) no eye-gouging, no
-
27 June 2009 - Jubilation as the Springboks avenged their Series defeat of 1997 winning the second game in a nail-biting thriller in Pretoria.
It was a game of two halves as the Boks managed to turn the game from an 18-5 deficit to win the match 28-25. The moment of the match was when Morne Steyn, in only his second game for the Springboks, cooly slotted a 60m penalty to seal the match after Ronan 'o Gara was penalised for tackling Fourie du Preez in the air.
Jaque Fourie also scored a min-b
-
20 June 2009 - The Springboks victorious in the first test against the British and Irish Lions, beating them by 26 points to 21. Although the Springboks tasted victory they were 26-7 up with half an hour to go a raft of bizarre substitutions by the Springbok management allowed the Lions back into the game forcing a nailbiting climax. These substitutions included taking the captain off in the 67th minute, replacing Heinrich Brussouw for Danie Rossouw, Andries Bekker for Bakkies Botha, Ricky Janua
-
22 November 2008 - The Springboks smash England by 42-6 with great running rugby and a brilliant defensive effort. Ricky Januarie, JP Pietersen and Victor Matfield were the stars of Twickenham to cap the end of an undefeated overseas tour.
South Africa: Jantjes; Pietersen, Jacobs, de Villiers, Habana; Pienaar, Januarie; Mtawarira, Smit, du Plessis, Botha, Matfield, Burger, Rossouw, Spies.
Replacements: Fourie for Jacobs (58), Steyn for Pienaar (64), Mujati for du Plessis (67), Ralepelle for R
-
15 November 2008 - The Springboks eke out an unconvincing win against Scotland at Murrayfield as Scotland fluffed four attempts at poles to gift the Boks victory. Jaque Fourie's try was a shining light in an otherwise uninspiring performance by the Boks.
Springboks: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismar
-
30 August 2008 - The Springboks came back with a vengance as they decimated Australia in a record breaking 53-8 win. Jonghi Nokwe scored a hat-trick of tries before suffering an ankle injury in the 48th minute and Fourie du Preez and Conrad Janjes played a starring role in the win. It was Percy Montgomery's last game as a Springbok and he was hoisted up before an adoring crowd at Ellis Park.
15. Conrad Jantjes, 14. Odwa Ndungane, 13. Adrian Jacobs, 12. Jean de Villiers, 11. Jongi Nokwe, 10. Bu
-
23 August 2008 - The Springboks slumped to a dismal 29-17 defeat against the Wallabies at the Absa Stadium in Durban. Again the Springboks were unable to dominate at the contact point and Matt Giteau's superb display with the boot had them in bits and pieces as the Springboks were booed off the park by the Durban crowd.
South Africa: Conrad Jantjes; JP Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Jongi Nokwe; Butch James, Fourie du Preez; Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, CJ van der Linde,
-
The Springboks have a bit of fun celebrating Percy Montgomery's 100th match as a Springbok, as he became the first South African to complete a century of test matches the highest points scorer in Springbok history and the most capped Springbok of all-time. (Gallo Images)
-
16 August 2008 - Outstanding performances from Daniel Carter and Richie McCaw as the All Blacks mastered the Boks at the breakdown in what would be Percy Montgomery's last game as a Bok at Newlands.
Springboks: Jantjes; Pietersen, Jacobs, de Villiers, Nokwe; James, Januarie; Mtawarira, Du Plessis, Van der Linde, Botha, Matfield, Watson, Smith, Spies.
Replacements: Strauss, Mtawarira, Mujati, Bekker, Kankowski, Pienaar, Grant. (Duif du Toit / Gallo Images)
-
9 August 2008 - South Africa romped to a record score against Argentina in their 63-9 victory. Bakkies Botha was subbed as early as the 30th minute. Jaque Fourie picked up a horrific cheekbone injury in a clash of heads and Conrad Jantjes injured his neck but was unable to come off as a result of the Springbok bench being cleared.
South Africa: Jantjes; Pietersen, Jacobs, de Villiers, Nokwe; James, Januarie; Mtawarira, Du Plessis, Van der Linde, Botha, Matfield, Watson, Smith, Spies.
Replaceme
-
19 July 2008 - The Wallabies frustrated the Boks at the breakdown in a scrappy game at the Subiaco Oval in Perth Lote Tuqiri scored the winning try, Stirling Mortlock went off dazed after being aggressively cleaned out in the ruck by Bakkies Botha and Adriaan Strauss earned his first Springbok cap.
Springboks:15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield
-
12 July 2008 - Jubilation as the Springboks beat the All-Blacks 30-28 for their first win in Dunedin and their first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand in ten years. The moments of the match were Victor matfield being given a yellow card for a high tackle and a gutsy Ricky Januarie with a moment of individual brilliance to score the game-winning try. The match also broke a run of 30 consecutive victories by the All Blacks.(Getty Images / Gallo Images)
-
5 July 2008 Peter de Villiers loses his first game against the All Blacks in Wellington. Dan Carter stars in a tightly fought 19-8 victory. The game was notable for a nasty spear-tackle off the ball on John Smit by Brad Thorne who was subsequently cited and banned for one week. Smit was injured and missed the next few games.
South Africa:
Conrad Jantjes, Odwa Ndungane, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Butch James, Ricky Januarie, Joe van Niekerk, Juan Smith, Schalk Burger, Victor
-
21 June 2008 - In a rainy day at Newlands the Springboks whitewashed Italy 26-0. Bismarcke du Plessis scored two tries. The match was notable for Schalk Burger replacing Luke Watson after coming back from injury, Beast Mtawarira and Schalk Brits getting their first cap and Francois Steyn playing his first game for the Springboks at flyhalf.
South Africa: Conrad Jantjes; Odwa Ndungane, Gcobani Bobo, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana; Francois Steyn, Ricky Januarie; Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck Du Pl
-
14 June 2008, The Springboks again beat the Welsh in Pretoria, this time by 37-21 with Jean de Villiers playing a starring role with a brace of tries and Butch James having a good game with the boot.
South Africa: Jantjes, Chavhanga, Jacobs, de Villiers, Habana, James, Januarie, Mtawarira, Smit, B. Botha, B. Botha, Matfield, Watson, Smith, Spies.
Replacements: Montgomery for Chavhanga (64), Steyn for Jacobs (59), Conradie for Januarie (77), Steenkamp for Mtawarira (60), du Plessis for Smit (59)
-
7 June 2008. Peter de Villiers first game in charge is an emphatic 43-17 win against Wales. He raised eyebrows with his selections of Brian Mujati at tighthead, Adi Jacobs in place of Jaque Fourie, Andries Bekker instead of Victor Matfield, Bolla Conradie at scrumhalf and Luke Watson at openside flank.
Springboks: Jantjes, Chavhanga, Jacobs, de Villiers, Habana, James, Conradie, Steenkamp, Smit, Mujati, Botha, Bekker, Watson, Smith, Spies.
Replacements:Montgomery for Jacobs (62), Grant for
-
9 January 2008, Oregon Hoskins and Johan Prinsloo announced Peter de Villiers as the new Springbok coach. Although Hoskins claimed it was a politically motivated appointment, Peter de Villiers, like Jake White had come through the system after a highly successful coaching stint with the Baby Boks. PDV quickly allays public fears by going overseas to bring Victor Matfield and John Smit to South Africa.
(Tertius Pickard / Gallo Images)
-
John Smit and Jake White celebrate winning the Webb Ellis Trophy with former President Nelson Mandela after the 2007 tournament (Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images)
Click on the thumbnail above to view the larger image.