This archive report was first published on 8 November 2019.
On November 7, 2019, the World Cup-winning Springboks kicked off their homecoming tour in Pretoria, South Africa, amidst great fanfare and national pride.
Thousands of people gathered to cheer the team, who had just returned from Japan where they defeated England 32-12 in the Rugby World Cup final.
President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the team to the Union Buildings, thanking them on behalf of a grateful nation for their historic victory.
"They've been at war, they won and they brought the World Cup back to South Africa where it belongs," the president said, reflecting on the huge popularity of captain Siya Kolisi, the first black captain of a Springbok Test side.
"It's good we don't have an election, I would have to compete with Siya Kolisi... (he) could have been the president," Ramaphosa joked, highlighting the immense impact of the team's victory on the nation.
The Springboks' homecoming tour will continue in Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town, with the team set to visit Soweto, a township near Johannesburg where they were once hated as a symbol of apartheid aggression and oppression.
