In 1910, James Megson and William Mart became the first native-born South Africans to sign for British rugby league clubs. Since then, South African players have made a significant contribution to rugby league.

This book is the first comprehensive study of their contribution to rugby league. It covers players who played in Great Britain and Australia. Some were very successful, such as Attie van Heerden and George van Rooyen in the 1920s, Tom van Vollenhoven in the 1950s and 1960s, and Mark Johnson and Jamie Bloem in the Super League era. But there were also players who never made it after switching codes to play rugby league, and their stories are also told here. 

It also includes the players involved in the development of rugby league in South Africa in the early 1960s, the Rugby League Springboks tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1963, and South Africa’s participation in the 1995 and 2000 World Cups.

It will be of interest to all rugby followers of both codes, and readers interested in the international development of sport.