It’s in the genes! The Venters join the iconic list of 16 father-son Springboks

Andre Hugo Venter looks set to become the 16th player to follow in his father’s footsteps by representing the Springboks in a Test match.

The Stormers hooker has been named in Rassie Erasmus’ matchday squad to take on Portugal, the first-ever meeting between the two nations.

When he does make his Test debut off the bench, he and his father, the legendary Andre Venter, will join the illustrious list of 15 father-son to have represented the Springboks.

Venter snr played 66 Test matches for the Springboks between 1996 and 2001 and is widely regarded as one of the country’s finest flankers.

Andre also formed a memorable back-row partnership with current head coach Erasmus, starting 23 Tests together, 14 of which with Gary Teichmann at number eight.

Ahead of the pair potentially joining the exclusive club, we run through the other 15 father-son Springboks.

Alf and Harry Walker

The Walkers became the first father-son duo to represent the Springboks when son Harry trotted out for his Test debut against Australia in 1953.

He followed in his father’s footsteps, who represented the Boks in six Test matches, starting on the flank against the All Blacks twice in 1921 and featured four times at lock against the British and Irish Lions in 1924.

Son Harry packed down in the front-row for the Boks playing against Australia in 1953 and 1956, featuring twice against the All Blacks in the latter year, too.

Mauritz and Derek van den Berg

It would take nearly 20 years for the second father-son combination to play for the Springboks with tighthead prop Derek van den Berg earning the first of his four Test caps against France in 1975. He won two caps against Les Bleus that year and a further two against New Zealand in 1976.

Derek’s father, Mauritz, played lock for the Springboks in 1937, facing both Australia and New Zealand twice that year.

CB and Mike Jennings

While Mike Jennings did not play a Test match for the Springboks, he did represent the side in eight tour matches in 1969 following his father, Cecil Bruce Jennings, who played in one Test match against New Zealand in 1937.

Felix and Morné du Plessis

The Du Plessis’s have an extraordinary history with the Springboks, with Felix and Morne becoming the fourth father-son combination to represent the team and the first father-son combination to captain the Green and Gold. Felix captained the Springboks in three Test match victories over the All Blacks under head coach Danie Craven in 1949.

22 years after his four appearances for the Springboks, Felix’s son Morne du Plessis made his Test debut in the number eight jersey against Australia, claiming a 19-11 win in 1971.

Morne would first skipper South Africa in his eighth Test match, leading the side for the first time against France, and would retain the captaincy until his 22nd and final cap in 1980, winning a remarkable 13 Tests as captain, losing just twice.

Following his sudden retirement, many expected Morne to step into the coaching box and while he initially resisted, he did link up with the Springboks as their manager for the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Louis and Uli Schmidt

Louis Schmidt earned his two Test caps for the Springboks four years apart, debuting at flank against France in 1958 and featured against the British Lions in the same position in 1962.

His son, Uli Schmidt, is highly regarded as one of the greatest Springbok hookers despite playing just 17 Tests and scoring twice. The multi-skilled front-rower debuted in 1986 at the age of 24 with his final cap coming in 1994 against Wales.

Joggie and Joggie (jnr) Viljoen

Joggie Viljoen snr played six Test matches at scrum-half for the Springboks between 1971 and 1972 with his son featuring on the 1996 tour to Argentina.

Interestingly, Joggie jnr’s son Jordie Viljoen has represented New Zealand at U20s level, also as a scrum-half, and could turn out for the All Blacks in the future.

Moaner and Wikus van Heerden

Lock Moaner van Heerden played 17 Test matches between 1974 and 1980 for the Springboks, including wins over the British Lions and the All Blacks.

Moaner’s son, Wikus would make his Test debut for the Springboks in the 2003 victory over Scotland and while he would make 14 appearances for his country throughout this career, he did win a World Cup with the Boks in 2007. In fact, nine of his Test caps came in 2007 including his final cap, which saw him come off the bench in the 15-6 final victory over England.

Hennie and Andries Bekker

Possibly the tallest father-son Springboks with Hennie Bekker standing at 2,01 metres tall in his two Test caps for the Springboks in 1981.

His son, Andries Bekker is the tallest man ever to represent the Springboks standing 2,08 metres tall. He played 29 times for the Boks between 2008 and 2012 and probably would have earned far more had he been in a different era, with Bakkies Botha and Victor Matfield dominating the starting Bok second-row.

Gysie and Ruan Pienaar

A wonderfully gifted player, Gysi Pienaar played 13 times for the Springboks between 1980 and 1981 with all but one of his caps being in the starting line-up and at full-back.

His son, Ruan Pienaar, debuted for the Springboks in 2006 and while he played most of his career at scrum-half, he represented South Africa at fly-half and full-back too. Pienaar found himself behind the legendary Fourie du Preez as the starting Bok number nine but still managed a massive 88 internationals including eight tries and a World Cup title.

While he earnt his final Test cap in 2015, Ruan played beyond his 40th birthday in 2024 before hanging up his boots at the Cheetahs.

Quiz: Can you name the 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks?

Schalk (snr) and Schalk (jnr) Burger

Schalk Burger snr played six times for the Springboks between 1984 and 1986 with all of his caps coming in the second-row for South Africa. He featured twice against England and four times against the New Zealand Cavaliers and is a Western Province legend.

Meanwhile, his son Schalk Burger jnr is regarded as one of the greatest Springboks of all time, representing the side 86 times between 2003 and 2015, winning a World Cup and a British and Irish Lions series. The flanker also won the World Rugby Player of the Year award in 2004.

Flippie and Flip van der Merwe

Phillip Rudolph van der Merwe, aka Flippie, played six Test matches for the Springboks at tighthead prop between 1981 and 1989 while representing the SWD, Leopards and Griquas.

His son, also Phillip Rudolph aka ‘Flip’, played 37 times at lock for the Springboks between 2010 and 2015 during his time with the Bulls before becoming a legend at French club Clermont.

Jaco and Cobus Reinach

The speed is certainly in the genes as many will know that double World Cup-winning scrum-half Cobus Reinach is absolutely rapid but so was his late father Jaco Reinach.

Jaco played four times on the wing for the Springboks in 1986 against the New Zealand Cavaliers but also represented his country in athletics, and at the time of his passing, he still held the record for the 400m that he set in 1983.

Meanwhile, Cobus has racked up over 30 Test caps for the Springboks, winning two World Cups, where he scored the two quickest hat-tricks in the tournament’s history and has won a British and Irish Lions series.

Robert, Robert (jnr), Jean-Luc du Preez and Dan du Preez

Robert du Preez snr played seven times for the Springboks between 1992 and 1993 and is often remembered for forming a mighty partnership at the Bulls with ex-Bok fly-half Naas Botha.

However, the former scrum-half also holds the honour of having three of his sons represent the Springboks.

His eldest son Robert du Preez jnr was the last to do so when he made his Test debut off the bench against Wales in Washington DC.

Jean-Luc was the first Du Preez brother to earn his debut, doing so against Wales in 2016, with his twin brother Dan debuting against France in 2017.

READ MORE: Quiz: Can you name every Springboks coach in the professional era?