In the grand scheme of things it might not matter where you were born, what your surname is or which school you attended, but history shows that these details may help your Springbok chances!
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.
Most common Springbok cities of birth
| 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 |
Top Springbok schools
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 |
Most common Springbok surname
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.
How many are true for you: Cape Town-born, Paul Roos educated, with the surname Van der Merwe?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
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