Sport in South Africa - Rugby League

Rugby League

Rugby league is a popular sport in South Africa. It has a long history, and consisting of no less than three and possibly four different administrative boards, committee or interests over 40 odd years that attempted to establish the game of rugby league in South Africa. None of the earlier attempts were very successful.

The first attempted expansion of the code into South Africa was primarily put together by the English and encouraged by the French for the purpose of expanding the game into new nations that would inevitably bring more tests to the English and French shores, ensuring a lucrative future. At least, that was the plan—however, it was not to be; the South African public did not take to the sport and the expansion plans were stopped prematurely, causing the cancellation of a third scheduled match in London.

The second attempted expansion was a strange double act in the 1960s consisting of two separate factions, known as the National Rugby League and South African Rugby League. Each fought for their own survival until the RLIF laid down the law that saw the NRL effectively shut down and its clubs moved to the SARL. All was looking good for SARL until a South African representative team toured Australia and were embarrassingly beaten, enough to discourage South African fans from supporting their national team and thus it never caught on.

The 1990s brought forth a more committed band of entrepreneurs. The foundation left by the 1990s administration still lives on today, albeit a former shadow of itself.

The rugby league competition in South Africa is the Tom van Vollenhoven Cup.