Burglars broke into South Africa Rugby Union’s headquarters on Monday, but decided to leave the World Cup trophy behind in favour of stealing several other luxury items instead.
The Springboks won a record fourth World Cup last month when they beat New Zealand 12-11 in the final in Paris, and a replica of the Webb Ellis Trophy is now being stored at their headquarters in Cape Town.
On Monday night shortly after 9pm, two men got into the building in an office park and one was shown on CCTV to have put his gloved hands on the trophy before lifting it slightly.
However, rather than taking the prized possession with them, they opted to steal whisky, five signed Springbok jerseys and eight laptops before leaving.
A spokesperson for South Africa Rugby Union later confirmed to the BBC that the nation’s trophies were all safe.
A burglar put their gloved hand on the Webb Ellis Trophy after breaking into South Africa Rugby’s headquarters on Monday night
Rather than taking the World Cup trophy, they stole whisky, signed shirts and laptops
South Africa won the World Cup less than a month ago, but nearly had the trophy stolen earlier this week
Two cases of business burglary have now been recorded by police following two incidents at the Tygerberg Office Park in Plattekloof.
Local media have also reported that 60 laptops were stolen from another company in the same park.
The burglary comes just weeks after the nation partied in the streets after their rugby heroes retained the World Cup.
Siya Kolisi’s men won their three knockout matches in France by a single point as they proved their champion qualities on the biggest stage.
They were greeted by tens of thousands of fans in Pretoria in the days after their triumph as they took part in an open-top bus parade.
South Africa’s rugby heroes were greeted by thousands of fans after their World Cup triumph