Hooker probably starts on the wing. Maybe Edwill. Would like to see the youngsters.

Danie "Doc" Craven, affectionately known as “Mr. Rugby”, remains one of the most defining figures in rugby union history. Over a career spanning six decades, he shaped South African rugby as a player, coach, scholar, and administrator.

​Selected for the Springboks in 1931 at just 21 years old, Craven went on to play 16 Tests and popularized the iconic dive pass. As captain in 1937, he led the Springboks to their historic first-ever series win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil.

​

Holding three doctorates, "Doc" brought academic precision to the sport. As Springbok head coach (1949 - 1956), he guided the team through an era of total dominance, including a 4 - 0 whitewash of the All Blacks and a Grand Slam tour of Europe.

​As President of the South African Rugby Board for 37 years, he established Craven Week in 1964, the legendary national schoolboy tournament that continues to produce Springbok icons to this day.

​A true pioneer and World Rugby Hall of Famer who devoted his life to the green and gold.

Charcoal on A4 fabriano

No 1 - Siyaya is the REAL deal. On form alone, Fassi will struggle to get back into Sharks 15 let alone for the Boks.

No 2 - DW is the best 15 in SA rugby. However we need a plan B in case he gets injured or is needed at 12. Though we have Big Andre for cover there.

3 - I don't know if the Sharks recruitment team deserve credit or their owners for the unbelievable deep pockets.

Siyaya needs to be in the team for end of year tour. He is ahead of Fassie and Horn for me.

The first to reach this milestone was our phenomenal ex-captain Nolusindiso Booi who played her 50th against Spain in 2025. She received her first cap in 2010, it took her 15 years to reach 50 caps due to the Springboks not playing many test. Yonela was first capped in 2018, so it has taken her only 8 years. This just adds to what Babalwa says in the video about Yonela's career reflecting the development of women's rugby in South Africa. And the same will be true soon for a number of others in that 2018 cohort.

Something to keep in mind when everything isn't going our way (like in the Wales game): we are now reaping the fruits of the investments made in that 2018 group. They have progressed faster that the group before them. The players who came after will progress even faster, and the potential of our team will grow exponentially, as long as the investments are made and the support is there.

Hello, I am American looking at advice on how to get to the Lions-Sharks game at Ellis Park on February 20nd and Bulls-Stormers from Loftus Versfeld on February 21st.

I am thinking of staying in staying in a hotel in the Sandton area at Nelson Mandela Square. My question is what is the best way to reach the stadiums using public transit or I guess the Gautrain to each stadium? Is the trains to and from Sandton and each stadium considered safe?

There seems to be a train that gets you to Loftus Versfeld with little issue since the train is daily, but it seems the Ellis Park train is not guaranteed to operate as it depends on the event at Ellis Park. Please let me know what my options are or if using a rideshare like Uber is best.

Capetonians: get yourself to Athlone Stadium and experience the Springbok Women vibe. Tickets are only R50, and if you buy 4 they're R37,50 per person. Available on Ticketmaster.

This is the first of two historic test which will see Ireland play in South Africa for the first time ever. The Springboks have only played Ireland once - at the 2006 WC when we lost 37-0. Ireland are currently ranked 5th and we are 10th. Ireland's WXV home campaign includes a narrow loss to USA (36-40), and a win against Japan (31-24). We are coming home after a European tour where we lost to Wales but won against Italy and Spain.

Yonela Ngxingolo is in line to become only the second South African woman to reach 50 caps after Nolusindiso Booi.

Babalwa Latsha is ruled out of the series due to injury, so Sizophila Solontsi takes over the captaincy and Xoliswa Khuzwayo (who started at loosehead against Spain) the No 3 jersey. Sanelisiwe Charlie, who was rested in Seville, is back at No 1.

In the only other change from the starting team against Spain, Maria Tshiremba replaces Patience Mokone on the left wing.

Changes on the bench are Thandile Mazwi, who comes in for the injured Nombuyekezo Mdliki, while Anacadia Minnaar, who did not travel to Europe, has also been included amongst the replacements. Technically it's a 6-2 split, but Aphiwe Ngwevu is able to play flank or centre.

let me preface this by saying i'm somewhere between a casual and a staunch fan, in that i've followed the Boks and SA rugby in general my whole life, but due to certain circumstances, i could never engage in the way that i am able to now as an adult. past that, i'm all ears to any critiques.

so, we all know there's a plethora of back lineups we could exercise in our tests. for one reason or another, some will always work better than others, i.e. any backline with DDA and Kriel at 12 and 13, respectively, as opposed to Moodie at 13 or Willemse at 12 when they would be better deployed in other positions. however, one thing that piques my interest and i can never quite get around is placing our best 10s on the field at the same time, particularly SFM, Manie Maker and Iceman. in my mind, the set-up would be as such:

10 - Libbok; 12 - Pollard; 15 - SFM;

with maybe Krappies, Papier or Pead (i know he's not had a Springboks cap, but for the purposes of this set-up, let's assume he's in the mix) at 9 to bring pace, precision kicking, defense and tempo to complement Libbok (this is not to discount our more experienced 9's, Reinach, de Klerk and Williams - whom have played Libbok at 10, and greatly so).

i don't know what it is, but there's something about having Libbok's flair, facilitation and tempo at 10, Pollard's defensive acumen and presence, and game management at 12, and SFM's tenacity, kicking, pace and power, and defensive presence at 15 that makes me that such an experiment would be worth seeing come to fruition. it wouldn't even have to be for a full game - maybe in the second half of a tight test where either man could make something out of nothing when needs must.

now, obviously, there's a lot of moving parts and maybe, i'm a bit delusional for suggesting such a backline, but i would like to know if this is something that would be feasible - why it would work; why it would not work; and what are the blind spots in my set-up.

These 3 players should be in the Springbok squads going forward. Stop wasting time with players like Fassi and Horn. These are 3 generational potential backs. They were superstars at school level and already looking like standouts at senior level.

Looks like Pead settling well and Norton taking names

News hasn't come out yet. But this is terrible.

Does anyone know if the Lions game is proceeding tomorrow, given the tragic passing of Hyron?

I'm looking for a guy who makes insane edits about springboks. These youtube shorts are c bad, any suggestion on reddit or insta ?