As today is exactly one month since the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in Japan, we take a look back at some of these notable moments from the men in green and gold:
The Springboks became the first team to win the Rugby World Cup and Castle Lager Rugby Championship (albeit an abbreviated version of the Southern Hemisphere competition) in the same season.
Siya Kolisi and his men were also the first team to lift the Webb Ellis Cup after losing one of their pool games – in this case their tournament opener against the defending champion All Blacks by 23-13 at the International Stadium Yokohama.
This year was also the first time a team ranked fifth in the world during the Rugby World Cup went on to take the gold medal – the Boks dropped to fifth in the World Rugby rankings after their opening round defeat, but steadily climbed the ladder and finished the year as the #1-ranked team on the planet.
It was the first time the Springboks faced Italy in the history of the Rugby World Cup, with the South Africans clinching the match 49-3 – their biggest win over the Azzurri since 2001.
Host nation Japan progressed to the Rugby World Cup playoffs for the first time, but their charge was halted by the Boks, who beat them by 26-3 in Tokyo Stadium.
1ā£ month since we lifted the Webb Ellis Cup
— Springboks (@Springboks) December 2, 2019
š A first-person view at what it was like to receive a winner's medal#StrongerTogether #ChampionsTogether pic.twitter.com/qq1suEBhl3
This year saw four Springboks play their first Tests – Herschel Jantjies, who was in the final Rugby World Cup squad, as well as Rynhardt Elstadt, Lizo Gqoboka and Scarra Ntubeni.
Four players scored their first Test tries in 2019 – Jantjies, Frans Malherbe, RG Snyman and Damian Willemse.
And finally, the Springboks lost only one of their 12 Tests for their third-best season return since South Africa was re-admitted to international rugby in 1992: in 1998, the Boks lost one of their 12 Tests, and in 1995, they won all 10.