In the largest image it won’t matter the place they were born, but it surely’s nonetheless attention-grabbing to study in which South African city extra Springboks took their first breath than any other.
As of the conclusion of final yr’s Rugby World Cup in France, 933 players have been capped at Springbok stage.
Springbok No 1 was Benjamin Duff again in 1891, whereas Gerhard Steenekamp is the 933rd and most up-to-date participant to have donned the famed inexperienced and gold colors of the reigning world champions.
No fewer than 15 faculties can depend 10 or extra Springboks as Old Boys.
As reported by The South African web site, Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch has produced the most Springboks – together with Paul Roos himself.
| Rank | School | Players |
| 1 | Paul Roos Gymnasium | 54 |
| 2 | Grey College | 46 |
| 3 | Bishops | 42 |
| 4 | SACS | 32 |
| 5 | Paarl Gimnasium | 30 |
| T6 | Kimberley Boys’ High | 23 |
| T6 | Paarl 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 |
Click here for the total record of colleges
Below, a take a look at the Top 14 cities in South Africa in which future Springboks were born.
Any surprises?
| Rank | City | Players |
| 1 | Cape Town | 68 |
| 2 | Pretoria | 46 |
| 3 | Johannesburg | 42 |
| 4 | Paarl | 35 |
| T5 | Kimberley | 27 |
| T5 | Port Elizabeth | 27 |
| 7 | Durban | 26 |
| 8 | Bloemfontein | 25 |
| 9 | Stellenbosch | 16 |
| T10 | King William’s Town | 14 |
| T10 | Potchefstroom | 14 |
| 12 | Somerset West | 13 |
| 13 | Krugersdorp | 11 |
| 14 | Ceres | 10 |
Meanwhile, amongst these 933 Springboks, any guesses as to which SURNAME has been the commonest?
The reply isn’t any ‘Van der Merwe’ joke!
Top 12 commonest Springbok surnames:
| Rank | Surname | Number |
| 1 | Van der Merwe | 12 |
| 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 |
| T10 | De Villiers | 7 |
| T10 | Le Roux | 7 |
| T10 | Muller | 7 |
These are the 12 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 |
| 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 |
Does your faculty function on the record?
Let us know by clicking on the remark tab under this text or by emailing information@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
You may also comply with @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the most recent rugby information.
