South Africa national rugby league team

Südafrika

Team information
Nickname	The Rhinos
Governing body	South African Rugby League
Region	Middle East-Africa
Head coach	Darryl Fisher
Captain	Shane Gillham
Home stadium	Brakpan Stadium
IRL ranking	28th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
Great Britain 49 – 30 Südafrika (Durban, South Africa; 23 August 1962)
Biggest win
Brasilien 0 – 82 Südafrika (Noosa, Australia; 5 June 2022)
Biggest defeat
Australien 86 – 6 Südafrika (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 to date have competed at two Rugby League World Cups in 1995 and 2000.

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.

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. 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. Though rugby league was only seriously played in South Africa beginning in the 1950s, the sport was not unknown to South Africans prior to that decade; for example, a number of notable black and Coloured rugby union players, such as David Barends, Green Vigo, and Enslin Dlambulo, code-switched from union to league and moved overseas, in part because of the allure of professionalism, while also escaping the apartheid regime.

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 for a national side to 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 lost again 54–21. South Africa left 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 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.

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. 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.

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. After initial optimism leading into the competition the South Africans faced Tonga in their first world cup fixture and be comprehensively beaten 66–18. The following world cup matches added further disappointment and diminish all optimism the South Africans originally had with further heavy losses to both Papua New Guinea and the French.

After a second disappointing World Cup the side again began playing irregularly with one off fixtures over the next several years and it was not until 2006 when they again undertook another tour. A tour to Italy was undertaken in June 2006, which 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 entered 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 US 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, South Africa nevertheless lost to USA 40–4 in the opening match of the tournament.

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 the leader of UAE rugby league who was in charge of organizing the initial match at the Dubai Sports City complex.

Competitive Record

• Below is a list of test matches played by the South Africa XIII up until 13 November 2023.

Land	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win%	For	Aga	Diff
Australien	3	0	0	3	0%	33	174	–141
Brasilien	1	1	0	0	100%	82	0	+82
Kanada	1	1	0	0	100%	36	22	+14
Cook Inseln	1	0	0	1	0%	6	66	–60
England	1	0	0	1	0%	0	46	–46
Fidschi	1	0	0	1	0%	6	52	–46
Frankreich	2	0	0	2	0%	23	86	–63
Great Britain	3	0	0	3	0%	86	133	–47
Italien	4	2	0	2	50%	164	94	+70
Jamaika	2	0	0	2	0%	28	70	–42
Kenia	2	2	0	0	100%	138	14	+124
Libanon	2	0	0	2	0%	28	90	–62
Malta	1	1	0	0	100%	30	24	+6
Neuseeland	1	1	0	0	100%	4	3	+1
Niue	3	0	0	3	0%	26	142	–116
Papua-Neuguinea	1	0	0	1	0%	0	16	–16
Philippinen	2	2	0	0	100%	104	42	+62
Polen	1	1	0	0	100%	38	16	+22
Russland	2	0	0	2	0%	45	52	–7
Tonga	1	0	0	1	0%	18	66	–48
Vereinigte Staaten	1	0	0	1	0%	4	40	–36
Wales	1	0	0	1	0%	12	40	–28
Total	37	11	0	26	29.73%	911	1288	–377

Results

Source:
Matches marked with a † are not full internationals test match and thus do not count towards international statistics and ranking points.
Common reasons for games not classifying as test matches are because the opponent is not a member of the IRL or is not the senior first team of a member nation, or the game was played with modified rules.

Date	Team 1	Score	Team 2	Competition	Venue	Attendance	Ref.
23 August 1962	Südafrika	30–49	Great Britain	1962 Great Britain Lions tour	Pretoria	Unknown
25 August 1962	Südafrika	33–39	Great Britain		Durban	Unknown
31 August 1962	Südafrika	23–45	Great Britain		Johannesburg	Unknown
7 July 1963	Northern Division	20–10 †	Südafrika	1963 South Africa Rhinos tour	Tamworth	Unknown
10 July 1963	Monaro	2–41 †	Südafrika		Canberra	Unknown
13 July 1963	Sydney	49–5 †	Südafrika		Sydney	Unknown
16 July 1963	Queensland	32–18 †	Südafrika		Brisbane	Unknown
20 July 1963	Australien	34–6	Südafrika		Lang Park, Brisbane	10,210
24 July 1963	South Queensland	30–21 †	Südafrika		Brisbane	Unknown
27 July 1963	Australien	54–21	Südafrika		Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	16,995
28 July 1963	Newcastle Knights	27–17 †	Südafrika		Newcastle	Unknown
30 July 1963	Parramatta Eels	39–18 †	Südafrika		Sydney	Unknown
1 August 1963	Wellington	12–21 †	Südafrika		Wellington	Unknown
3 August 1963	South Island	12–8 †	Südafrika		Christchurch	Unknown
7 August 1963	Auckland	10–4 †	Südafrika		Auckland	Unknown
10 August 1963	Neuseeland	3–4 †	Südafrika		Carlaw Park, Auckland	Unknown
Rugby league banned in South Africa
13 November 1992	Südafrika	26–30	Commonwealth of Independent States	1992 CIS tour of South Africa	Johannesburg	Unknown
20 November 1992	Südafrika	19–22	Commonwealth of Independent States		Pretoria	Unknown
8 October 1995	Fidschi	52–6	Südafrika	1995 World Cup	Cougar Park, Keighley	4,845
10 October 1995	Australien	86–6	Südafrika		Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead	9,181
14 October 1995	England	46–0	Südafrika		Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds	14,041
6 December 1997	Frankreich	30–17	Südafrika	Friendly	Arles	Unknown
19 October 2000	Südafrika	12–40	Wales	Friendly	Pretoria	Unknown
28 October 2000	Tonga	66–18	Südafrika	2000 World Cup	Stade Sébastien Charléty, Paris	7,498
2 November 2000	Papua-Neuguinea	16–0	Südafrika		Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse	4,313
5 November 2000	Frankreich	56–6	Südafrika		Stadium Municipal d'Albi, Albi	7,969
9 October 2004	Südafrika	22–50	Jamaika	Friendly	London	Unknown
8 June 2006	Great Britain Amateurs	34–14 †	Südafrika	Friendly	Unknown	Unknown
12 June 2006	Italien	6–76	Südafrika	Two-match series friendly	Rome	Unknown
13 June 2006	Italien	20–60	Südafrika		Rome	Unknown
9 June 2007	Great Britain Amateurs	30–12 †	Südafrika	Two-match series friendly	Unknown	Unknown
16 June 2007	Great Britain Amateurs	42–10 †	Südafrika		Unknown	Unknown
17 October 2008	Great Britain Amateurs	42–4 †	Südafrika	Friendly	Unknown	Unknown
9 October 2011	Kanada	36–22	Südafrika	Friendly	Fletcher's Field, Markham, Ontario	1,005
15 October 2011	Vereinigte Staaten	40–4	Südafrika	2013 World Cup: Atlantic Qualifiers	Philadelphia	~300
19 October 2011	Jamaika	20–6	Südafrika			Unknown
2 May 2015	Niue	48–4	Südafrika	Friendly	Leumeah	Unknown
25 October 2015	Südafrika	12–40	Libanon	2017 World Cup: Middle East-Africa Qualifiers	Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria	Unknown
31 October 2015	Südafrika	16–50	Libanon			Unknown
29 October 2016	Südafrika	22–55	Niue	Two-match series friendly	Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria	Unknown
11 November 2016	Südafrika	0–44	Niue			Unknown
24 June 2018	Südafrika	30–24	Malta	Friendly	St Mary's Stadium, Sydney	Unknown
12 October 2018	Italien	18–8	Südafrika	Friendly	Kellyville Ridge Stadium, Sydney	Unknown
21 June 2019	Cook Inseln	66–6	Südafrika	2021 World Cup: Inter-regional Qualifiers	Wentworthville Ringrose park, NSW	78
5 June 2022	Brasilien	0–82	Südafrika	Friendly	Sunshine Coast Stadium, Noosa	Unknown
26 November 2022	Polen	16–38	Südafrika	Friendly	Southport Tigers, Queensland	Unknown
22 July 2023	Philippinen	14–72	Südafrika	Friendly	Skilled Park, Gold Coast, Queensland	Unknown
28 October 2023	Italien	50–20	Südafrika	Friendly	Lidcombe Oval, Sydney	Unknown
8 November 2023	Südafrika	56–12	Kenia	Two-match series friendly	Grizzlies Stadium, Pretoria	Unknown
11 November 2023	Südafrika	82–2	Kenia			Unknown
4 December 2024	Südafrika	-	Vereinigte Staaten	Two-match series friendly	Quins-Bobbies Rugby Club, Pretoria
7 December 2024	Südafrika	-	Vereinigte Staaten		Grizzlies Stadium, Pretoria

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank	Ändern Sie	Team	Pts %
1		Australien	100
2		Neuseeland	82
3		England	80
4		Samoa	67
5		Tonga	49
6	1	Fidschi	49
7	1	Papua-Neuguinea	47
8		Frankreich	28
9		Libanon	22
10		Cook Inseln	20
11		Serbien	19
12		Niederlande	17
13		Italien	15
14	1	Griechenland	15
15	1	Malta	14
16		Irland	14
17		Wales	13
18		Jamaika	10
19		Scotland	9
20		Ukraine	7
21		Tschechische Republik	7
22		Deutschland	6
23	3	Chile	6
24		Polen	6
25	3	Norwegen	6
26	1	Kenia	5
27	4	Philippinen	5
28	3	Südafrika	4
29		Nigeria	4
30		Ghana	4
31	2	Vereinigte Staaten	4
32	4	Montenegro	4
33	2	Brasilien	3
34	2	Türkei	3
35	7	North Macedonia	3
36	2	Bulgarien	3
37	2	Kamerun	2
38	1	Spanien	2
39	1	Japan	1
40	1	Albanien	1
41	5	Kanada	1
42	2	Kolumbien	1
43	2	El Salvador	1
44	1	Marokko	1
45		Russland	0
46	2	Schweden	0
47	2	Bosnien und Herzegowina	0
48	2	Ungarn	0
49	3	Argentinien	0
50		Hongkong	0
51	3	Salomonen	0
52	5	Niue	0
53	1	Lettland	0
54	1	Dänemark	0
55	6	Belgien	0
56	1	Estland	0
57	6	Vanuatu	0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

See also

• Rugby league in South Africa
• South African Rugby League
• Rugby league in Africa

External links

• Official website