Olympic Games of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott to force them to ban South Africa and Rhodesia, because of their segregationist regimes. New Zealand was also one of the African boycott targets, because its national rugby union team had toured apartheid-ruled South Africa. The IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused to ban New Zealand on the grounds that rugby was not an Olympic sport. Fulfilling their threat, twenty African countries were joined by Guyana and Iraq in a withdrawal from the Montreal Games, after a few of their athletes had already competed. Taiwan was excluded from
2012 England rugby union tour of South Africa 2012 England rugby union tour of South Africa In June 2012, the England national rugby union team went on a three-test tour against the South Africa national rugby union team, known colloquially and referred to hereafter as the "Springboks". This was one of a series of mid-year tours in 2012 by northern teams to be hosted by southern hemisphere nations. The series was among the first to mark a return to the format of traditional tours, after the International Rugby Board (IRB) decided in 2010 to revive the concept, which could include mid-week matches against representative or club sides. This