Many will be forgiven for thinking that Frans Steyn is the youngest ever Springbok. But you’d be wrong. Here’s the Top XV list
Many will be forgiven for thinking that Frans Steyn is the youngest ever Springbok – or perhaps Canan Moodie for that matter.
While both do feature among the 15 youngest players to ever make their debuts in the famed green and gold jerseys, neither are the youngest to have done so.
As many as 14 teenagers feature in the Top 15 youngest Springboks of all time.
One has to go back 133 years to find the youngest.
That was Jack Hartley on 5 September 1891 on the tour of Britain.
Hartley was just 18 years and 18 days when he made his debut for South Africa.
TOP 15 YOUNGEST SPRINGBOKS OF ALL TIME
| Rank | Players | Opponent | Age |
| 1 | Jack Hartley | Britain | 18 years, 18 days |
| 2 | Davey Cope | Britain | 19 years, 8 days |
| 3 | Bob Loubser | Britain | 19 years, 37 days |
| 4 | Clive van Ryneveld | Britain | 19 years, 51 days |
| 5 | Wally Mills | Britain | 19 years, 72 days |
| 6 | Freddy Turner | Australia | 19 years, 112 days |
| 7 | Fairy Heatlie | Britain | 19 years, 126 days |
| 8 | Syd de Melker | Britain | 19 years, 158 days |
| 9 | Frans Steyn | Ireland | 19 years, 181 days |
| 10 | Stevie Joubert | Ireland | 19 years, 230 days |
| 11 | Jackie Powell | Britain | 19 years, 260 days |
| 12 | Canan Moodie | Australia | 19 years, 302 days |
| 13 | Percy Jones | Britain | 19 years, 321 days |
| 14 | Chilliboy Ralepelle | New Zealand | 19 years, 349 days |
| 15 | Pat Lambie | Ireland | 20 years, 20 days |
Meanwhile, as previously reported by The South African website, 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 South African website, Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch has produced the most Springboks – including 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 |
Meanwhile, a look at the Top 14 cities in South Africa in which future Springboks were born also throws up a couple of 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 |
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:
| 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 first-name 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 SCHOOL FEATURE ON THE LIST?
