Sporting boycott of South Africa during the apartheid era earliest days with the coloured cricketer Krom Hendricks excluded from provincial and national teams from the 1890s. However, the cricketing boycott was prompted by the reaction of the South African authorities to the selection of Basil D'Oliveira, a "Cape Coloured" South African, for the England national cricket team in 1968; see the D'Oliveira affair. The 1970 South African tour of England was called off and replaced by a "Rest of the World" tour featuring several South African players. The International Cricket Conference (ICC) imposed a moratorium on tours in 1970. There were several private tours in the 1970s and "rebel"
2012 England rugby union tour of South Africa was first such tour since South Africa had hosted New Zealand in 1996. England last toured South Africa in 2007 and played two test matches, losing both 58 – 10 and 55 – 22. The last time the two sides met was in 2010 at Twickenham, when the Springboks won 21 – 11, marking their seventh straight win against England. Leading up to this series, both nations had played each other 32 times. The Springboks had won 19 games, England 12, and one had been drawn. England's last win against the Springboks was in 2006, when they won 23 –