Which rugby union team is known by the nickname the Springboks?

South Africa’s national rugby union team is known by the nickname the Springboks.

The name comes from the springbok, a gazelle native to southern Africa. The emblem and nickname became associated with South African sport during the early twentieth century and remain central to the team’s identity.

South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2023. Those four men’s titles made the Springboks the first team to win the tournament four times. Their 1995 victory, achieved on home soil, became especially famous after the final was attended by President Nelson Mandela.

The Springboks are sometimes confused with the South African national sevens team or other national sporting sides, but in rugby union the nickname conventionally identifies the senior men’s fifteen-a-side team.