South Africa national rugby league team

South Africa
Nickname Die renosters (The Rhinos)
Governing body South African Rugby League
Region Europe
Head coach Brian Greige
Garry Schofield (Technical Director)[1]
Captain Andre Loader
RLIF ranking 31st
Colours
First international
 Great Britain 49 – 30 South Africa 
(Durban, South Africa; 23 August 1962)
Biggest win
 Italy 6 – 42 South Africa 
(Venice, Italy; 17 June 2006)
Biggest defeat
 Australia 86 – 6 South Africa 
(Gateshead, England; 10 October 1995)
World Cup
Appearances 2 (first time in 1995)
Best result Group stage, 1995, 2000

The South Africa national rugby league team are a rugby league football team that represents South Africa. South Africa to date have competed at two Rugby League World Cups in 1995 and 2000 but have failed to win a game in the competition.

Rugby league was originally introduced to South Africa in the 1950s with the staging of several series tournaments within the country that saw fixtures between the English and the French however this concept failed to generate the needed interest and was not upheld. The South Africans would not see further international rugby league until the 1960s where the first national side undertook fixtures against the visiting British and a tour to Australia. From the 1960s onwards the international fixture list for the South Africans would be minimal and it would not be until the early 1990s when they would begin to play with some lasting regularity.

Since they began playing international rugby league South Africa have always found it difficult to compete against the more established nations and so progress and improvement have been slow. Possibly their greatest achievement to date has been the qualification and participation in two World Cups in both 1995 and 2000 where South Africa would unfortunately fail to win a fixture after being seeded in tough groups at both tournaments where they would have to play world champions Australia along with England, Fiji, France, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

South Africa traditionally play in a predominately green uniform with black shorts, they have commonly been referred to as The Rhinos since the early 1990s. The South African emblem is a red and yellow King Protea plant which is the national flower of South Africa. South African internationals are played at a variety of venues throughout the country with no singular home ground being used.

It has often been said that South Africa has great potential for League, but with the preference and South Africa national rugby union team and South Africa national rugby sevens team being way more popular in the country, there is not a large enough player base as Rugby union and Rugby sevens are considered of more importance and being a better career option.

History

Rugby league first gained attention in South Africa when the English and French attempted expansion in the 1950s for the purpose of creating further international opposition.[2] Three games were then played between the two nations on the continent but both sides viewed the matches as nothing more than friendly fixtures so never undertook the games in a serious manner and the public never subsequently took to the three exhibition games.

Over the next several years, rugby league lay dormant in South Africa and it was not until the 1960s when talks of creating a national side began. After much discussion within South Africa, it was eventually agreed that a national side would play a touring Great Britain and then undertake a tour of Australasia. The first South African national side played their first competitive fixture on 23 August 1962 and put on a good showing against the much stronger British but eventually lost by nineteen points 49–30. The following two fixtures turned out to be much the same with the South Africans being defeated on another two occasions but putting in good performances whilst never being comprehensively beaten. The South Africans embarked on their first tour eleven months later with a twenty-four-man squad that included several former Springboks. The tour started with several friendly fixtures against various minor representative sides where they gained two comfortable victories; the first international fixture of the tour took place in Brisbane against the world champion Australians and the South Africans performed with courage but eventually lost the match 34–6. The following test was played a week later in Sydney that again saw the team put in a tough effort but would lose again 54–21. South Africa would leave Australia without an international win and be low on confidence heading to New Zealand to play a sole fixture against the New Zealand national side whom were expected to win comfortably. However, the match turned out to be a tough encounter and surprisingly saw the team gain its first international victory 4–3[3] The South Africans featured several Australian players bought in to cover injuries and improve the quality of the side and so the match against New Zealand is not counted as a test match.[4]

Official Rankings as of November 2016[5]
RankChangeTeamPoints
1 Increase  Australia
2 Decrease  New Zealand
3 Steady  England
4 Increase  Scotland
5 Decrease  Samoa
6  France
7  Fiji
8  Ireland
9  Wales
10 Steady  United States
11  Serbia
12 Increase  Canada
13  Italy
14 Decrease  Tonga
15  Papua New Guinea
16 Increase  Russia
17 Decrease  Jamaica
18  Belgium
19 Steady  Spain
20  Malta
21  Lebanon
22 Increase  Ukraine
23  Germany
24  Czech Republic
25 Decrease  Cook Islands
26 Steady  Norway
27  Denmark
28  Greece
29  Sweden
30  Netherlands
31  South Africa
32 Increase  Niue
33 Decrease  Philippines
34 Steady  Chile
35  Vanuatu
36  Latvia
37  Solomon Islands
38  Hungary
39  El Salvador
40  Morocco

After this first string of international fixtures the South Africans became disheartened after only winning four of the thirteen tour matches and rugby league again lay dormant for decades.

The Rugby League World Cup tournament had been scheduled to be held in France in 1965, this time with the inclusion of the South African team.[6] However the tournament was abandoned.

The early 1990s saw new South African administrators begin to rebuild the international facet of South African rugby. During 1992, the South African national side again played for the first time in years against several combined African representative teams and the following years saw things look more promising for the Africans with their qualification into the 1995 World Cup and more regularity in international fixtures. Their first World Cup saw the South Africans seeded into the toughest group of the competition containing Australia, England and Fiji. The South Africans found their three group matches extremely difficult and failed to win a match during the tournament.

2000- present

The following years saw the South Africans play on an inconsistent basis against several touring sides and qualify for their second consecutive World Cup in 2000. Leading into the tournament they were hopeful of gaining their first Cup win after being drawn into an easier yet still competitive group with France, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.[7] After initial optimism leading into the competition the South Africans would face Tonga in their first world cup fixture and be comprehensively beaten 66–18.[8] The following world cup matches would add further disappointment and diminish all optimism the South Africans originally had with further heavy losses to both Papua New Guinea[9] and the French.[10]

After a second disappointing World Cup the side would again begin playing irregularly with one off fixtures over the next several years and it would not be until 2006 when they would again undertake another tour. A tour to Italy would be undertaken in June 2006 that saw the South Africans play in two tests and a nines competition in Montelanico.

In 2008, the South Africa Rhinos were scheduled to participate in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers in the Atlantic pool also featuring the USA, Japan and the West Indies. The winner of the tournament would enter into the repecharge round for the chance to qualify for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. South Africa withdrew alongside the West Indies due to financial reasons, leaving the tournament as a one off fixture between the USA and Japan. As a result of their withdrawal South Africa forfeited the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.

In 2011 however, the South Africa national rugby league team participated in the Atlantic Qualification Tournament as part of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers. The winner of the tournament qualified for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup that is to be held in England and Wales. Despite beating Canada 36–22 in a warm-up match before the beginning of the tournament,[11] South Africa nevertheless lost to USA 40–4 in the opening match of the tournament.[12]

In 2015 South Africa were confirmed to take on Lebanon in a one-off 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifier in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. However the match was shifted to a two match playoff in Pretoria, South Africa due to a controversial arrest of an illegal immigrant who was in charge of organizing the initial match at the Dubai Sports City complex.[13]

2011 squad

2011 South Africa Rhinos
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

  • Steven van Zyl


Legend:
  • (c) Captain
  • (vc) Vice captain

Notable players

Since rugby league has been known to the nation of South Africa since the 1950s many players of South African birth or heritage have gone on to attain notability in representing either South Africa, other nations or appearing in major domestic leagues around the world, some of the more notable South Africans have included:

Player Position Association to South Africa Distinctions
Fred Anderson Hooker Born Cape Town Former South African Captain
Played for Canterbury & South Sydney
Jamie Bloem Fullback / Wing Born Cape Town Former South African Captain
1995 & 2000 World Cup appearances
Tom van Vollenhoven Wing Born South Africa Debatably greatest South African player
Dual international
Jarrod Saffy Second Row Born Benoni Played in the NRL with the Wests Tigers and St. George Illawarra Dragons
Sean Rutgerson Prop/Second Row Played in the NRL with the Canberra Raiders and in the Super League with the Salford Red Devils. Played for South Africa in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.
Christiaan Roets Centre Born in Pretoria He represented South Africa in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup qualifying competition. He played for Wales in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. He has played his club rugby league with the South Wales Scorpions and the North Wales Crusaders in the Kingstone Press Championship 1.

Fixtures

2008

Opposition Venue Date Result
Lancashire Lancashire 5 October 55–12
Cumbria Cumbria 8 October 44–34
Yorkshire Leeds 12 October 66–6
BARLA Hull 17 October ---

2009

2011

Date Result Competition Venue Attendance
9 October 2011 South Africa South Africa def.  Canada 36–22 FriendlyCanadaFletcher's Field, Markham, Ontario Not known
15 October 2011  United States def. South Africa South Africa 40–4 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers United StatesPhiladelphia 300 approx
19 October 2011  Jamaica def. South Africa South Africa 20–6 Not known

2015

Date Result Competition Venue Attendance
2 May 2015  Niue def. South Africa South Africa 48–4 Friendly AustraliaLeumeah Not Known
25 October 2015  Lebanon def. South Africa South Africa 40–12 2017 Rugby League World Cup QualifierSouth AfricaBrakpan Stadium, Pretoria Not Known
31 October 2015 Lebanon Lebanon def. South Africa South Africa 50–16 Not Known

2016

Date Result Competition Venue Attendance
29 October 2016 South Africa South Africa v. Niue Niue Friendly South AfricaBrakpan Stadium, Pretoria TBC
11 November 2016 South Africa South Africa v. Lebanon Lebanon TBC

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Wilson, Andy (12 July 2010). "Garry Schofield makes surprise return to coaching with South Africa". The Guardian. London.
  2. ↑ History of rugby league in South Africa South African Rugby League Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  3. ↑ South African Tour of Australasia International Competitions Website Retrieved 18 May 2007.
  4. ↑ Coffey and Wood The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League ISBN 1-86971-090-8
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ AAP; Reuter (15 August 1962). "League Cup Year Fixed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Auckland. p. 18. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  7. ↑ Rhinos aim to break duck BBC Sport Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  8. ↑ Tonga too strong for Rhinos BBC Sport Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  9. ↑ Kumuls see off dogged Rhinos BBC Sport Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  10. ↑ French seal spot in last eight BBC Sport Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  11. ↑ RLEF
  12. ↑ RLEF
  13. ↑ "Venue changed for Middle East-Africa RLWC qualifier". Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation. 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2015-09-26.

References

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