From the Springboks to sheep shearing: SA’s world champions to celebrate this Heritage Day

This Heritage Day, South Africans have plenty of sporting success to celebrate.

From the Springboks and Proteas to rugby sevens, tug-of-war and even sheep shearing, South African athletes and teams currently hold an extraordinary collection of international titles.

Some are household names. Others compete in sports that rarely command the same headlines. But together they tell a distinctly South African sporting story.

So, who are South Africa’s reigning world champions in 2026?

Here are some of the teams and athletes currently flying the flag at the top of their sports.

Springboks: Rugby World Cup champions

The Springboks remain the reigning men’s Rugby World Cup champions after beating New Zealand 12-11 in the 2023 final in Paris.

It was South Africa’s second consecutive Rugby World Cup victory following the 2019 triumph and its fourth title overall, after previous wins in 1995 and 2007.

That made South Africa the first nation to win the men’s Rugby World Cup four times.

The Springboks will defend their title at the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Proteas: ICC World Test Champions

South Africa’s men’s cricket team are the reigning ICC World Test Champions.

The Proteas defeated Australia by five wickets at Lord’s in June 2025 to win the World Test Championship Final and lift the mace for the first time.

The victory also ended a 27-year wait for a senior ICC men’s trophy.

Aiden Markram scored 136 in the successful fourth-innings chase, while captain Temba Bavuma contributed 66.

Blitzboks: HSBC SVNS World Champions

South Africa also sits at the top of the men’s international rugby sevens game.

The Blitzboks were crowned 2026 HSBC SVNS World Champions after building an unassailable lead during the World Championship finale in Bordeaux.

Their success followed a dominant season in which South Africa also secured the overall HSBC SVNS Series title in New York after defeating Fiji 10-7 in the final.

It means South Africa currently holds world championship honours in both 15-a-side men’s rugby and men’s sevens.

South Africa are also university rugby sevens world champions

There is even more rugby silverware in South African hands.

South Africa’s men’s university rugby sevens team won the 2026 FISU World University Championship Rugby Sevens title in Stellenbosch in September.

The hosts defeated Uganda 34-7 in the men’s gold-medal match at Danie Craven Stadium.

South Africa Champions: World Championship of Legends winners

Some of South Africa’s retired cricket stars are world champions too.

South Africa Champions won the 2025 World Championship of Legends after beating Pakistan Champions by nine wickets in the final at Edgbaston.

AB de Villiers produced an unbeaten 120 from 60 balls as South Africa chased 196, reaching 197/1 in 16.5 overs. He was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Series.

The 2026 edition of the competition is scheduled for October, meaning South Africa enters it as the defending champion.

South Africa wins four national team titles at Tug-of-War World Championships

One of South Africa’s freshest batches of world titles arrived on home soil in September 2026.

South Africa won four national-team gold medals at the 30th Tug-of-War World Championships in Hartenbos, Mossel Bay.

The country took world championship gold in Junior Men 560kg, Under-23 Men 600kg, Under-23 Mixed 560kg and Senior Men 600kg.

South Africa’s national teams also secured two silver and two bronze medals.

When the preceding World Open Club Championships are included, South African teams finished the championship week with nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals.

Bonile Rabela: World hand-shearing champion

Yes, sheep shearing has a world championship, and a South African sits at the top.

Bonile Rabela successfully defended his title as the world’s best hand shearer at the 2026 Golden Shears World Shearing and Wool Handling Championships in Masterton, New Zealand.

His victory marked the sixth consecutive time South Africa had produced the world champion in hand shearing.

Fellow South African Teboho Nyatsa finished second individually, while the pair took silver in the hand-shearing team competition. Nyatsa also won gold in the All Nations hand-shearing category.

Mamelodi Sundowns: FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup champions

Mamelodi Sundowns added another international trophy to South Africa’s sporting collection just days before Heritage Day.

Sundowns beat Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli 2-1 at Loftus Versfeld on 19 September 2026 to win the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup.

Nuno Santos scored both Sundowns goals in the victory.

There is an important distinction here: the African-Asian-Pacific Cup is an international FIFA title, but it does not make Sundowns club world champions.

The victory instead advanced the South African club to the next stage of the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the FIFA Challenger Cup. The eventual Challenger Cup winner progresses to the Intercontinental Cup final.

More than the sports that make the headlines

South Africa’s sporting heritage has never belonged to one code.

The Springboks’ four Rugby World Cups might dominate the headlines, while the Proteas’ victory at Lord’s ended one of South African cricket’s longest waits for major ICC silverware.

But look beyond the biggest stadiums and there are South Africans becoming world champions on tug-of-war ropes, university rugby fields and sheep-shearing floors too.

That might be the most fitting sporting message this Heritage Day.

South Africa doesn’t have only one sporting story. It has many.

And right now, quite a few of them end with South Africans standing on top of the world.

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