FILE - The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie, front, celebrates with the Springboks after they won the Rugby Championship. FILE - The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mckenzie, front, celebrates with the Springboks after they won the Rugby Championship.
Image: Phill Magakoe / AFP
The Springboks' trophy cabinet is bulging after a magnificent year for Rassie Erasmus' charges, who continue to dominate the rugby world.
After defending their Rugby World Cup in 2023, the Springboks finished the year at the top of rugby tree, with only two defeats in 2024, while claiming the Rugby Championship trophy (last won in 2019) and the Freedom Cup by beating New Zealand twice on home soil.
The Boks also retained the Prince William Cup (against Wales), the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate (against Australia) and the Qatar Airways Cup. The Springboks also finished their November Tour unbeaten, after dispatching of Scotland, England and Wales.
Erasmus also managed to build capacity and depth, using an incredible 50 players in 2024 with one eye already on the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.
IOL Sport's John Goliath breaks down some of the significant numbers that made the Springboks great in 2024.
Springboks by the numbers in 2024 ...
1 - The Springboks top the World Rugby rankings at the end of the year for a second year in a row.
2 - The number of Test matches the Springboks lost (Ireland and Argentina).
2 - Pieter-Steph du Toit was crowned World Rugby Player of the year for a second time in 2024.
3 - Du Toit was nominated for the award with two other Springboks - Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth
4 - The Springboks used captains in 2024, with Siya Kolisi, Salmaan Moerat, Du Toit and Etzebeth leading the team at different times
11 - The Springboks played 13 Tests in 2024, winning 11 of them to end with a win record of 84.6%.
12 - No less than 12 players made their debuts for the Springboks in 2024, with Jordan Hendrikse, Edwill van der Merwe, Ben-Jason Dixon, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbelaar, Phepsi Buthelezi, Morne van den Berg, Andre-Hugo Venter, Ruan Venter, Quan Horn and Cameron Hanekom all wearing the green and gold for the first time.
50 - Rassie Erasmus spread the Bok net widely and used 50 players in 2024
57 - The Springboks scored 57 tries and conceded just 23. They kept three "clean-sheets" against the Wallanbies, All Blacks and Scotland. This is the third highest number of tries scored by the Boks in a season since 1992.
450 - The Springboks scored 450 points in 2024, while conceding only 220 points.
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