- It's been two years since the Springboks hoisted the Webb Ellis Cup.
- Since then, their journey from rugby wilderness owing to Covid-19 has had its uphill battles.
- Sport24 looks at some key moments over the last 24 months.
It's been two years since the bubbly of 2019 was popped, ushering in rugby's world champions, the Springboks, after a 32-12 demolition job of England in the final in Yokohama, Japan.
2 November remains a day of majesty for the Springboks, and a lot has happened between then and now.
Sport24 takes a look at some key events that have shaped the Springboks' world since then.
A day after the win, the Springboks attended World Rugby's awards ceremony, collecting the world rugby team of the year award with then coach and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus named coach of the year, while Pieter-Steph du Toit was named player of the year.
After touching down from Japan, the Springboks players and management began the traditional bus trophy ride, stretching through the length and breadth of the country, sharing World Cup anecdotes and putting smiles on the faces of South Africans who were revelling in the national team's success.
It was seen as the kind of omen that should have meant South African Super Rugby franchises (at the time) would give a better account of themselves in the 2020 Super Rugby instalment and things may have been going well for some of the teams (particularly the Sharks and to a lesser extent the Stormers), however, the emergence of Covid-19 put paid to that.
January 2020: The worst kept secret was finally out: Jacques Nienaber would take over the coaching of the national team from Erasmus.
March 2020: Sanzaar confirms that Super Rugby is suspended for the "foreseeable future", casting doubt on when rugby would return.
July 2020: It emerges that New Zealand had hatched a plan to unceremoniously dump South African teams from Super Rugby - along with the Argentinian team.
By September, the South African teams (Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions), through mother body SA Rugby, had committed their futures to the north.
October saw South African teams battle it out in what was the Super Rugby Unlocked competition as domestic rugby grappled with a pandemic-run competition, following in the footsteps of the New Zealand (Aotearoa) and Australia (Super Rugby AU) events (June and July respectively).
Also happening in October was final confirmation that the Springboks would not participate in that year's Rugby Championship, with SA Rugby citing player welfare.
October also saw the premier of 'Chasing the Sun' - the award-winning documentary that chronicled the Springboks' Japan job.
The Springboks' thrilling Chasing the Sun documentary detailing how they won the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan has been honoured at the 2021 Loeries Creative Week, hosted in Cape Townhttps://t.co/IUp02Zw5Jv
— Sport24 (@Sport24news) October 25, 2021
November through to January, domestic teams played in the Currie Cup.
While the Super Rugby Unlocked and Currie Cup tournaments were on the go, one eye was being cast at the British & Irish Lions tour of 2021: would/should it happen? Would fans be able to grace stadiums? Will it even be played in South Africa?
Many possibilities were floated about, until it finally happened: after having last played rugby on 2 November 2019, the Boks were back on the international playing stage: a game against Georgia on 2 July in preparation for the Lions tour.
It wasn't without its speedbumps: the second Test had to be cancelled following a Covid-19 outbreak; leaving precious time for preparation as the Lions were running rampant against domestic sides in their tour games.
That game, and a lone SA 'A' game would be the only preparation the Boks would have going into the tour.
As history has well recorded, a loss in the first game; a thrilling comeback in the second and a tense third Test won by Morne Steyn meant the Boks could be given the breathing room they needed after three gruelling weeks of on, and off-field snafus.
The rugby wasn't over for the Boks as they immediately went into their Rugby Championship title defence, which looked promising before it started falling apart on tour. The biggest takeaway being the grand occasion of the 100th Test between the All Blacks and the Springboks and the last-gasp win in the final tour game (against the same opposition).
Quite a journey? It continues from this weekend as the Boks embark on their end of year tour: something they missed in 2020 as well.
In his latest Rucking with Rob newsletter, @RobHouwing explains why the Boks need to make a statement on their year-end tour. https://t.co/XJ6SrUbnTr
— Sport24 (@Sport24news) October 25, 2021
Rugby, and indeed the Springboks have come along way since then (exchanging World No 1 rankings in between), but still hold rugby's primed assets: a World Cup trophy and a British & Irish Lions trophy.
You can watch the highlights here:
