Springbok stats: Most common surname, city of birth and top schools

As of the Springboks‘ most recent Test – the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France – 933 players had represented South Africa on the international stage.

Springbok No 1 was Benjamin Duff back in 1891, while Gerhard Steenekamp is the 933rd and most recent player to have donned the famed green and gold colours of the reigning world champions.

In the bigger picture it might not matter where they were born, where they went to school and what their surname is, but it still makes for fascinating reading.

A look through the history books shows that no fewer than 15 schools can count 10 or more Springboks as Old Boys.

As reported by the SAPeople website, Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch has produced the most Springboks – including Paul Roos himself.

Click here for the full list of schools

Meanwhile, a look at the Top 14 cities in South Africa in which future Springboks were born also throws up a couple of surprises.

Finally, among those 933 Springboks, any guesses as to which SURNAME has been the most common?

The answer is no ‘Van der Merwe’ joke!

Top 12 most common Springbok surnames are:

These are the 12 Van der Merwe’s to have represented the Springboks (in first-name alphabetical order):