1956 — Winger Roy Dryburgh and flank Daan Retief score tries as the Springboks beat Australia 9-0 in the first of two Tests in Brisbane. Tom van Vollenhoven, playing on the wing, kicked a drop.
1972 — Frew McMillan and Bob Hewitt win the French Open men’s doubles crown, beating Chile’s Patricio Cornejo and Jaime Fillol 6-3 8-6 3-6 6-1. This was the only triumph for the South African duo at Roland Garros, though they both won mixed doubles titles there. Hewitt was decades later found guilty of sexually abusing underage girls he coached.
1979 — Kallie Knoetze takes on John Tate in the first of two elimination semifinals to determine the successor to Muhammad Ali, who had retired as WBA heavyweight champion. Gerrie Coetzee and Leon Spinks would fight in the other showdown later in the month. Knoetze, beaten on points by Coetzee in 1976, had become a top contender after knocking out American Duane Bobick in early 1978. He took on unbeaten Tate, a bronze medallist at the 1976 Olympics, at the Independence stadium in Mmabatho, but the American stopped him in the eighth round.
1984 — Winger Avril Williams becomes the second player of colour to win a Springbok cap, playing in the first of a two-Test series against England in Port Elizabeth. Carel du Plessis, Danie Gerber and Rob Louw score tries as SA win 33-15. Other debutants that day included locks Schalk Burger and Rudi Visagie and centre John Villet.
1990 — Welcome Ncita makes the first defence of his IBF junior-featherweight crown, stopping Ramon Cruz of Puerto Rico in the seventh round of their bout in Rome. Ncita would go on to make six successful defences in total.
2000 — Zolani Petelo makes the fifth and final defence of his IBF strawweight title when he stops Mickey Cantwell of England in the eighth round in Ashford. Petelo vacated the belt to move up a division.
2001 — Jan Bergman wins the marginal WBU’s vacant welterweight title when he stops Guillermo Mosquera of Venezuela in the seventh round at Carnival City.
2002 — Quinton Fortune scores his first international goal in dramatic fashion, nailing a last-minute penalty to earn a 2-2 draw against Paraguay in Bafana Bafana’s opening Group B World Cup match in Busan. SA had trailed 0-2 with 44 minutes remaining, but Tebogo Mokoena pulled one back in the 63rd minute, before Fortune converted the penalty awarded after the Paraguay goalkeeper had fouled Sibusiso Zuma.
2007 — Winger Bryan Habana and eighthman Pierre Spies score two tries each as the Springboks run in eight tries to down England 55-22 in Pretoria to win the two match series 2-0.
2007 — Bafana Bafana score their biggest victory when they trounce Chad 4-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Kings Park in Durban. Sibusiso Zuma scored two of the goals, with the others coming from Nasief Morris and Siyabonga Nomvethe. The win secured SA’s participation at the continental showpiece in Ghana the following year.
2012 — Vusi Malinga is outpointed by Leo Santa Cruz of Mexico in their clash for the vacant IBF bantamweight title in Carson, California,
2013 — Tlou Segolela scores two goals as Bafana Bafana beat Lesotho, boasting just two professional players in their team, 2-0 in a friendly in Maseru.
2018 — Makazole Mapimpi, one of 13 debutants, scores a try as a below-strength Springbok side loses 20-22 to Wales in a one-off Test in Washington DC.
2019 — Bafana Bafana, made up of SA under-23 players, blow a 2-0 lead against Botswana before losing this Cosafa Cup quarterfinal 4-5 on penalties. Luther Singh and Grant Margeman scored for SA. In the shoot-out, Teboho Mokoena’s spot kick failed to beat the opposition goalkeeper.
2019 — The Proteas are humbled by Bangladesh in a World Cup group match at The Oval, losing by 21 runs. Chasing a target of 331, SA ended on 309/8 after 50 overs, captain Faf du Plessis top-scoring with 62.
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