Rugby is a bit like football, but with an oval ball you can throw and carry. Two teams of fifteen players try to score 'tries' by running the ball over the other team's line, or to kick it through tall H-shaped goalposts. A match lasts 80 minutes and is famously tough.
The Springboks play in green and gold, with a small leaping springbok stitched on the front of every shirt. The team has won the World Cup, the biggest trophy in rugby, four times - in 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023 - more than any other country.
When the Springboks win, the whole country celebrates. Streets fill with people in green shirts, cars honk their horns, and schools the next day are full of children re-telling every try. Winning the World Cup is one of the biggest things that can happen in South African sport.
The team captain, Siya Kolisi, became famous around the world when he lifted the World Cup trophy in 2019 and again in 2023. Many South African children grew up playing rugby in school playgrounds, hoping to one day play for the Springboks themselves.