The 2015 edition of the South African Rugby Annul goes on sale nationwide today after being launched at Sunday’s South African Rugby Union Awards in Johannesburg.
In keeping with tradition, the 44th edition of the ‘bible’ of the game once again features South Africa’s player of the year on the cover, with the newly-crowned Duane Vermeulen following in the footsteps of the likes of Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana and Schalk Burger in recent years.
“Even in this digital age, it’s vitally important to retain a physical document of record for future generations,” said SARU CEO, Jurie Roux. “SARU strives to be a world leader in the game both on and off the field and when it comes to the Annual, we are immensely proud of the quality of the book we continue to produce year in and year out.
“We like to believe that we have an outstanding yearbook but that hasn’t stopped us from raising the bar even further with this new-look, Rugby World Cup-themed edition. We’ve made it a more user-friendly size, refreshed the layout and added a depth to the statistical records that surpasses anything we’ve done before,” Roux added.
At 640 pages, the 2015 edition is also the biggest ever, and includes, for the first time:
- A list of all 108 players to have played for the Springboks at the Rugby World Cup from 1995 – 2011.
- Biographical info on all 866 Springboks since 1891, from #1 Ben Duff to #866 Julian Redelinghuys.
- Results of all 780 matches (441 Tests, 339 tour matches) played by South Africa since 1891.
- Results of all International matches played across the world in 2014.
- Results of all 224 First-Class matches played by South African teams in 2014.
- Complete biographical info on all 864 players to have appeared in those 224 first-class matches.
- List of all 950 players to have played in a Currie Cup Final.
- List of all 71 players who have captained a team in a Currie Cup Final.
For lovers of sporting trivia, the Annual also doubles for the first time as a Springbok handbook, with hundreds of “bite-sized” facts and statistics appearing throughout the book.
Trivia apart, the Annual is also the official and definitive resource for the forthcoming 2015 Rugby World Cup, with a dedicated section providing every stat imaginable for Springbok fans, as well as feature articles by some of the country’s finest rugby authors and journalists.
With its unrivalled mix of Springbok trivia, cutting-edge research and every record imaginable, the Annual will continue to settle arguments at braais across the land, while continuing to be the perfect gift for rugby fans of all ages.
The South African Rugby Annual 2015 (ISBN: 978-0-620-62087-1) is edited by Duane Heath & Eddie Grieb and published by SARU & MWP Media. It is on sale at all leading retailers as well as online, at R 195.00.