If you were born in THIS city, with THIS surname and attended THIS school, you've got the best chance of becoming a Springbok
Heading into the 2025 international season, 945 players have been capped at Springbok level.
Springbok No 1 was Benjamin Duff back in 1891, while Cameron Hanekom in late 2024 became the 945th and most recent player to have donned the famed green and gold colours of the reigning world champions.
For the record, Duff was born in Swellendam, while Hanekom hails from Ceres. Rank City Players 1 Cape Town 71 2 Pretoria 46 3 Johannesburg 43 4 Paarl 36 T5 Bloemfontein 27 T5 Port Elizabeth 27 T7 Durban 26 T7 Kimberley 26 9 Stellenbosch 17 10 King William's Town 15 11 Potchefstroom 14 12 Somerset West 13 T13 Ceres 11 T13 Krugersdorp 11
Meanwhile, no fewer than 15 schools can count 10 or more Springboks as Old Boys.
Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch has produced the most Springboks – including Paul Roos himself. Rank School Players 1 Paul Roos Gymnasium 56 2 Grey College 48 3 Bishops 43 4 SACS 32 5 Paarl Gimnasium 31 6 Paarl Boys' High 26 7 Kimberley Boys' High 23 8 Rondebosch 21 T9 Grey High School 17 T9 Maritzburg College 17 11 Wynberg Boys High 16 12 Dale College 13 13 St Andrew's (Grahamstown) 12 T14 Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool 11 T14 Hottentots-Holland 11
Meanwhile, among those 945 Springboks, any guesses as to which SURNAME has been the most common?
The answer is no 'Van der Merwe' joke!
Top 13 most common Springbok surnames: Rank Surname Number 1 Van der Merwe 13 2 Du Plessis 11 T3 Louw 10 T3 Morkel 10 T5 Botha 9 T5 Du Preez 9 T5 Du Toit 9 T8 Smith 8 T8 Van Zyl 8 T8 Venter 8 T11 De Villiers 7 T11 Le Roux 7 T11 Muller 7
These are the 13 Van der Merwe's to have represented the Springboks (in alphabetical order): Name Springbok # Akker van der Merwe 902 Alvi van der Merwe 221 Bertus van der Merwe 323 Carel van der Merwe 703 Edwill van der Merwe 935 Fiks van der Merwe 273 Flip van der Merwe 818 Flippie van der Merwe 526 Franco van der Merwe 846 Heinke van der Merwe 790 Johann van der Merwe 433 Marcel van der Merwe 858 Stompie van der Merwe 365
So there you have it.
Incredibly, not a single one of the 945 Springboks to date can lay claim to ticking all three boxes.
The closest anyone comes is Springbok #935 Edwill van der Merwe who did attend Paul Roos, but was born in Stellenbosch.
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
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