The first Springbok colours were created in 1906 during the 1906–07 South Africa rugby union tour of the Northern Hemisphere as none had been provided for them and the captain Paul Roos decided that the team need to create their own emblem and nickname to prevent the British press creating one for them.
Using the guidelines that the director of the South African Rugby Board (SARB) had given for the playing kit of myrtle green jerseys and a gold collar, Roos instructed that a green blazer with gold piping and a Springbok emblem on the breast pocket would be made for the team in Richmond.
Despite this, not many colours were made as they were not standard issue at the time.
Later on they became standard issue for all sportsmen representing South Africa internationally but primarily was used by rugby union as the creators.

The first dispute over Springbok colours came from the rise of rugby league in South Africa in the 1950s.
SARB felt it was their duty as members of the International Rugby Football Board to defend amateur rugby union against professional rugby league after several Springboks had defected to rugby league.
In 1959, the SARB declared that all players that represented South Africa in rugby union had to sign a declaration they would not turn professional for two years.
Any player who refused this was obliged to return his Springbok colours and was not permitted to purchase a replacement.

In 1963, the SARB took the step of copyrighting the Springbok emblem and Springbok colours as a badge under the Heraldry Act  to pre-empt any other sporting body copyrighting it.
The board initially declared, it was happy to share the Springbok colours providing that they were only awarded to white amateur sportspeople representing South Africa internationally.
It was also an attempt to try and stop the South Africa national rugby league team from using the colours, though Rugby League South Africa circumvented this by developing their own version of the Springbok colours.
Later legislation in 1971 was passed in order to enforce apartheid so that only white South Africans could be awarded Springbok colours though this later extended to those deemed as "honorary whites".
This came after three black Africans were awarded Springbok colours for competing in the World Paraplegic Games.
Later as a result of the legislation, Glen Popham was not awarded Springbok colours following winning a gold medal in Karate in the 1969 South African Games alongside his white team, as his race was officially classified as Coloured which the South African National Olympic Committee were not aware of prior.
As non-whites were not eligible to be selected for South African national sports teams, the Springbok colours came to be viewed as a symbol of white supremacy in apartheid South Africa because they were only awarded to white sportspeople.
The first Springbok colours were created in 1906 during the 1906–07 South Africa rugby union tour of the Northern Hemisphere as none had been provided for them and the captain Paul Roos decided that the team need to create their own emblem and nickname to prevent the British press creating one for them. Using the guidelines that the director of the South African Rugby Board (SARB) had given for the playing kit of myrtle green jerseys and a gold collar, Roos instructed that a green blazer with gold piping and a Springbok emblem on the breast pocket would be made for the team in Richmond. Despite this, not many colours were made as they were not standard issue at the time. Later on they became standard issue for all sportsmen representing South Africa internationally but primarily was used by rugby union as the creators.
The first dispute over Springbok colours came from the rise of rugby league in South Africa in the 1950s. SARB felt it was their duty as members of the International Rugby Football Board to defend amateur rugby union against professional rugby league after several Springboks had defected to rugby league. In 1959, the SARB declared that all players that represented South Africa in rugby union had to sign a declaration they would not turn professional for two years. Any player who refused this was obliged to return his Springbok colours and was not permitted to purchase a replacement.
In 1963, the SARB took the step of copyrighting the Springbok emblem and Springbok colours as a badge under the Heraldry Act  to pre-empt any other sporting body copyrighting it. The board initially declared, it was happy to share the Springbok colours providing that they were only awarded to white amateur sportspeople representing South Africa internationally. It was also an attempt to try and stop the South Africa national rugby league team from using the colours, though Rugby League South Africa circumvented this by developing their own version of the Springbok colours. Later legislation in 1971 was passed in order to enforce apartheid so that only white South Africans could be awarded Springbok colours though this later extended to those deemed as "honorary whites". This came after three black Africans were awarded Springbok colours for competing in the World Paraplegic Games. Later as a result of the legislation, Glen Popham was not awarded Springbok colours following winning a gold medal in Karate in the 1969 South African Games alongside his white team, as his race was officially classified as Coloured which the South African National Olympic Committee were not aware of prior. As non-whites were not eligible to be selected for South African national sports teams, the Springbok colours came to be viewed as a symbol of white supremacy in apartheid South Africa because they were only awarded to white sportspeople.
Springbok colours