South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

have played at 8 of the 10

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

tournaments, having been unable to compete in the first two tournaments due to a sports boycott during the apartheid era, and have won 50% of tournaments in which they participated. Following the end of apartheid, they hosted the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

and won the tournament, they were champions again at the 2007 tournament in France. The Springboks then made history when they beat England in the

Rugby World Cup 2019 The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

despite losing a pool stage match. They again made history in 2023 when both finalists lost pool matches. The Springboks have the most tournament wins at the

- having won 4 times - although they have participated in fewer tournaments. In addition to this, they are the only rugby team to have won every World Cup

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

they have played in.

By position

By matches

1995

;Pool A ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-final ---- ;Semi-final ---- ;Final ----

1999

;Pool A ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-final ---- ;Semi-final ---- ;Third place play-off ----

2003

;Pool C ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-final ----

2007

;Pool A ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-final ---- ;Semi-final ---- ;Final ----

2011

;Pool D ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-Final ----

2015

;Pool B ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-final ---- ;Semi-final ---- ;Bronze final ----

2019

;Pool B ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-final ---- ;Semi final ---- ;Final ----

Overall record

Overall record against all nations in the World Cup:

References

* Davies, Gerald (2004) ''The History of the Rugby World Cup'', Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, () * Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). ''Story of the Rugby World Cup'', Australian Post Corporation, () {{Rugby union in South Africa World Cup Rugby World Cup by nation