South African Rugby History
The game of rugby was “exported” from Britain to South Africa on 23 August 1861, and the first game played on Green Point Common. The rival teams were drawn from naval and military personnel who had learnt to play at Eton, Rugby, Winchester and other English schools. The Bishops School headmaster, Canon George Ogilvie introduced the game in the same year. The game was generally known as “gag’s football”, after Ogivie’s initials, and based on “Winchester rules”. The first rugby club, Hamiltons, was founded in 1875.

Transformation – The Rainbow Rugby Nation
For decades rugby in South Africa has been viewed as a white elitist game symbolically excluding the vast majority of people, emotionally and physically, in terms of opportunity and resources to participate.
Consequently, soccer was the real national game; that is until the Rugby World Cup!
High or low, there were few South Africans who were not caught up in the swell of patriotism following the victory. President Mandela wore a Springbok cap at a rally in rural KwaZulu-Natal on June 16, noting that it “does honour to our boys” and urging the country’s youth to “stand by them because they are our kind.”
Archbishop Tutu reversed an apparently intransigent stance and called on all and sundry to refer, with pride, to the national rugby team by the once-abhorred word Springboks.
The Sowetan newspaper which, like its readers by and large, would previously not have given a fig for rugby, identified a wider significance in the World Cup and gave the event prominent coverage. It hailed the home team with a triumphant AmaBokoboko!
Cries of “Viva AmaBokoboko Viva” rang through central Johannesburg when thousands of people turned out to celebrate South Africa’s Rugby World Cup win as the Springbok team paraded through the city on an open bus.
The city came to a near standstill as jubilant fans lined the streets for a celebration on the scale last seen when Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president.
“We honour our gladiators … We honour the AmaBokoboko.” PWV (Gauteng) premier Tokyo Sexwale told a huge crowd in the civic gardens.

And so it was that in 1995, the word "Amabokoboko" echoed through the streets of South Africa...

...a new Brand symbolizing Champions and Unity was born.

Our goal is to unify cultures and bring people together in the Amabokoboko way:

in Afrikaans they call it gees, in Xhosa it is moya.

We like to call that spirit "Amabokoboko"

Making Amabokoboko the Sports Brand of the People.

Amabokoboko® is a proud South African Brand, that strives to provide development and unity in sport, across the board, and supply team wear for clubs, colleges and schools right through to co-branded corporate wear, informal, independant and retail trade.

We are constantly developing our products from a technical and design aspect by listening to and developing our ranges with athletes and clubs.

We strive to supply a unique, affordable range of products that strikes a chord in the hearts of South Africans, made in South Africa!

Not only for the players on the fields or courts but for the supporters in the stands and on the street as well.

In the spirit of Mzansi and Amabokoboko® we have teamed with Goodsport to help sustain the sporting talent we have in our wonderful country.