There comes a point in every era of sporting dominance where neutrals stop politely clapping and start foaming at the mouth. With the Springboks, that point arrived somewhere between “four World Cups” and “we’re still not done.” And now the global rugby community has a question they keep throwing around like a half-baked conspiracy theory:
“Are Springbok fans the most unbearable supporters in rugby?”
To which the average South African replies:
“Unbearable? No man, we’re actually pretty chilled. Unless we’re defending the scrum, the anthem, or the fact that the World Cup trophy legally belongs to us now.”
But here’s the real question – the one nobody says out loud because it sounds like emotional damage in sentence form:
“Are Springbok fans insufferable?
Or is the world just tired of losing to us?”
Because if we’re being honest… the hate didn’t start when we were bad. It started when we got good. Then stayed good. Then won three World Cups in 16 years. Then went back-to-back. Then did it with a flyhalf who kicks like he’s allergic to missing and a scrum that treats other nations like folding chairs.
But to understand Springbok fans now, you have to understand where we were before. Because this confidence wasn’t gifted – it was forged. In pain. In Bryce Lawrence flashbacks. In watching Japan run through us like we were made of wet paper. In crying into our Castle Lager while the world laughed.
People see the arrogance.
What they never see is the trauma that built it.
🇿🇦 SECTION 1: THE WORLD DOESN’T HATE US BECAUSE WE’RE BAD.
THEY HATE US BECAUSE WE WIN.
Nobody complained about Springbok fans between 2016 and 2017 when we we plunged to levels of mediocrity (and worse) we never thought possible, though we had been through horrors before. Think of mid-2000 until the end of 2003, if you are old enough to have lived through THAT nightmare. Nobody wrote think-pieces about “South African rugby arrogance” when our record looked like a budget horror film in those two seasons towards the backend of the “2010s”: 11 won. 12 lost. 2 drawn. Shocking, historic and humiliating defeats along that highway to rugby hell.
But suddenly we win the 2019 World Cup?
And the volume gets turned up.
Suddenly we defend our title in 2023 with 1-point wins, 7-1 bench splits, tactical chaos, and a nation coaching through their TV screens?
Well now we’re “annoying.”
Now we’re “boastful.”
Now we’re “obsessed with the World Cup.”
Which is hilarious, because the only people who wouldn’t obsess over winning World Cups are the ones who don’t win them.
Springbok fans don’t talk trash – we present documented evidence. We have nothing to prove, we have things to remind you of. You think we’re loud now? Wait till we lift a fifth one.
💔 SECTION 2: THE TRAUMA ERA – WHY WE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE UNHINGED
2011: Referee Bryce Lawrence
We don’t even need to finish the sentence. Say “quarterfinal” around a Bok fan and watch them stiffen like a cat hearing a cucumber drop.
2015: Japan 34-32 South Africa
We don’t talk about that day. When Karne Hesketh dived in the corner, every Springbok fan entered a silent spiritual coma. We aged 14 years in 14 seconds. We became memes before memes were memes. It was our national baptism by fire. People call us arrogant – they forget we were a global joke.
2016-2018: The Wilderness Years
We lost to Italy. By nine points. We were conceding 50 to New Zealand for fun. We dropped to 7th in the world. Our scrum was less weapon, more suggestion. The jersey suddenly weighed a thousand kilograms.
That’s the part the world forgets.
We were broken. Properly. To the point of thinking that our rugby was officially condemned to what West Indies cricket is sadly experiencing now: irrelevance.
And then – just when we thought rugby might never feel right again…
🧠 SECTION 3: ENTER RASSIE, SIYA, AND THE REBIRTH OF A NATION
Rassie didn’t arrive with tactics.
He arrived with clarity.
Siya didn’t arrive with a fairytale.
He arrived with responsibility.
Suddenly everything made sense again. The jersey meant something again. Players weren’t just selected – they were accounted for. The scrum was reborn. The bomb squad became a global crisis. The Springboks became South Africa, not just a team.
2019 wasn’t just a trophy.
It was closure.
It was healing.
It was proof that we weren’t dead – we were loading.
People see the confidence now and think it’s arrogance.
But it’s actually relief.
The kind of relief that turns into belief that turns into certainty.
That’s why Bok fans behave like we do.
Because we’ve lived both ends of the spectrum – and winning still feels new.
📱 SECTION 4: THE INTERNET IS MAKING US LOOK WORSE THAN WE ARE
Real-life Springbok fan:
“Hey man, good game, respect to the opposition, let’s braai.”
Online Springbok fan:
“FRANCE IS OVERRATED. IRELAND PEAKED IN THE POOL STAGE. ENGLAND PLAYS BORING RUGBY. NEW ZEALAND IS OUR FAVOURITE TRAINING PARTNER. FOUR STARS. CRY MORE.”
Social media does not represent the real Springbok supporter.
It represents the version of us who hasn’t eaten, slept, or emotionally stabilised since Pollard slotted that penalty from Mars.
🧂 SECTION 5: “ARROGANCE” VS “EVIDENCE”
Here is why Springbok fans don’t buy the “humility lecture” the world keeps trying to give us:
| Country | World Cups Won | Last Won | Times Beaten in Finals by SA |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 4 | 2023 | N/A |
| New Zealand | 3 | 2015 | 2023 |
| England | 1 | 2003 | 2007, 2019 |
| France | 0 | ❌ | Never made it past us |
| Ireland | 0 | ❌ | Never made it past QF |
| Australia | 2 | 1999 | 1995 (the opening match) |
We don’t talk because we’re loud.
We talk because history backs every word.
If other nations had 4 World Cups, a 63% win rate, and a scrum that could shift tectonic plates, they’d be worse than us. They’d need international sanctions.
❤️ SECTION 6: SPRINGBOK RUGBY ISN’T JUST SPORT – IT’S IDENTITY
Other nations support rugby.
South Africa lives it.
It’s not just a team – it’s a mirror.
For unity. For hope. For proof that we work better together than apart.
Every Bok fan has cried at least once in green and gold – and not from losing.
And that’s why we defend the jersey online like it owes us money.
Because the Springboks aren’t entertainment.
They’re a lifeline.
🏆 SECTION 7: THE WORLD ISN’T TIRED OF US.
THEY’RE TIRED OF CHASING US. (WHILE OUR TEAM CHASES THE SUN. TWICE)
Rugby fans everywhere say the same thing:
“We just want someone else to win for once.”
Translation:
“We want the Springboks to stop being so good so we can feel something again.”
But we won’t.
We can’t.
We’ve tasted decline humiliatingly and on several occasions – and we refuse to go back. I can assure you, no All Blacks fan knows what the rest of the world has been through in terms of highs and low. Because the great New Zealand has never had to. However, that’s a story for another day.
🎤 FINAL WHISTLE
So are Springbok fans insufferable?
Maybe.
Sometimes.
Especially online.
Especially after a win.
Especially if you start the fight.
But here’s the truth they won’t admit:
They don’t hate the arrogance.
They hate the accuracy.
We don’t need the world to love us.
We’ll settle for them remembering us.
Which, to be fair, is hard to avoid.
We’re on the trophy.
Again.
