1968 — The Springboks, 1-0 up in the four-match series, draw the second Test against the British and Irish Lions in Port Elizabeth 6-6, the match being decided by penalties.

1974 — Down 0-1 in the series against the British and Irish Lions, the Springbok selectors bring in seven debutants for the second Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. It’s a disaster as the tourists run in five tries, two of them by flyer JJ Williams, to win 28-9. Among the new faces for SA is flyer Gerrie Germishuys, who, though dropped for the next Test, would star against the Lions on their next tour to SA six years later.    

2010 — Bafana Bafana beat France 2-1 at the Free State stadium in Bloemfontein, but it’s not enough to prevent South African from becoming the first host nation to fail to advance to the knockout stages of a World Cup. With Uruguay beating Mexico 1-0 in the other Group A match, Bafana had needed to beat the French by four goals to get through. And for a while it seemed possible after they were 2-0 up through goals by Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela, and France had been reduced to 10 men when Yoann Gourcuff was red-carded...