“Send Them to the World Cup”: Springboks Team Playing Soccer in Training Has Mzansi Losing It

• A training video of the Springboks playing a soccer-style game went viral, and South Africans immediately started calling for them to replace Bafana Bafana
• Vincent Tshituka pulled off a no-look back-heel kick that had his teammates erupting
• Riley Norton and Zach Porthen also caught everyone's attention with their skills

The Springboks were supposed to be training for rugby, but a video posted by @supersportrugby on Instagram on 19 June 2026 had South Africa convinced they had been playing the wrong sport all along. The caption read:

"Riley Norton and Zach Porthen 🥶 The no-look skills from Vincent Tshituka 🥵 The celebrations from the winning team 👏 The best Springboks training video you'll see all week!"

The clip showed the squad at a stadium, split into groups with some watching from the sidelines, and others locked into a very friendly but competitive soccer-derived game.

Players kept the ball moving with clean passes, but it was Vincent Tshituka who stole the show. When the ball came his way, he leaned forward, kicked backwards and flicked the ball upwards without even looking. The move had the squad going wild. Eventually, one team won, and teammates piled on top of the winner in celebration.

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Hugo Broos reveals why Bafana Bafana were held by Czech Republic

Springboks vs Bafana Bafana at the 2026 World Cup

The video dropped at a very interesting time. Bafana Bafana are sitting fourth in Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with just one point from two matches. They lost their opener 2-0 to Mexico and managed a 1-1 draw against Czechia thanks to a late Teboho Mokoena penalty. South Africa needs a win against South Korea on 25 June 2026 to have any chance of advancing. A draw or a loss means they go home.

With that in mind, watching the Springboks casually pull off no-look back-heel kicks in training was a lot for Mzansi to handle.

What makes the Springboks video so funny

Rugby and soccer are very different sports, which made watching World Cup winners juggling a football with this much skill all the more entertaining.

Watch the Instagram clip here.

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What Bafana must do to survive group stage? Broos receives crucial guidance

Mzansi praises the Springboks playing soccer

The comments did not disappoint on the Instagram @supersportrugby page:

@thelewiez said:

"We sent the wrong team to the FIFA WC 😂"

@nelis_engelbrecht_lightlounge wrote:

"Bafana Bafana fever 🔥🔥🔥🙌🙌"

@francois_cloete said:

"Riley's effort to get there! 🔥 Great signs 🙌"

@_dillonvn wrote:

"Of course Norton is also good at football 🤣"

@mceeky said:

"We need one weekend with Proteas, Springboks and Bafana each and every year."

@prins_comedian wrote:

"Everything the Springboks do with aura."

@bongi_mt wrote:

"I've seen enough, send them to the soccer World Cup."

More on the Springboks

• Briefly News recently reported on former Proteas U19 cricket star Riley Norton being named in the Springbok starting line-up.
• Springbok veteran Trevor Nyakane opened up about his future after a serious injury.
• Cheslin Kolbe also made headlines after landing a major brand deal on his return to South Africa.

Source: Briefly News