Thieves broke into the South Africa Rugby Union’s headquarters, but the World Cup trophy remained untouched.
On Monday, the burglary occurred at an office park located in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.
CCTV footage depicts two individuals entering a room where multiple team trophies are kept, and they interacted with one of them.
Instead of taking the trophy, they chose to leave it and stole whisky, five autographed Springbok jerseys, eight laptops, and additional items from other offices.
In shared footage presented on X by South African journalist Yusuf Abramjee, one of the burglars is seen placing a gloved hand on a memorial trophy, raising it slightly, and subsequently moving towards the cupboards beneath it.
A spokesperson from the South Africa Rugby Union assured the BBC that all of their trophies remained secure.
On October 28, South Africa emerged victorious in the Rugby World Cup by defeating New Zealand in Paris, marking the first time a nation has won the tournament four times.
The country commemorated the victory with a four-day celebratory tour, during which the team participated in parades across various locations in South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared December 15 as a public holiday to honor and celebrate the Springboks’ significant achievement.
The burglary occurred at approximately 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT), and the Western Cape police were alerted due to suspicions that the trophy might have been stolen.
Two cases of business burglary were officially recorded by the police following two separate incidents at the Tygerberg Office Park in Plattekloof.
As reported by local media, police indicated that two men, attired in formal clothing, entered the business park driving a white Toyota Corolla.
Subsequently, they forcibly opened a ground-floor window to gain access to the building and proceeded to search for various items.
Reports from local media also indicated that another company within the same park had 60 laptops stolen.