Vast crowds of ecstatic fans cheered on their heroes as Bok’s Rugby World Cup winners, led by captain Siya Kolisi, began an open-top bus parade through the streets of Johannesburg on Thursday following their sensational victory over New Zealand.

The streets of Johannesburg have turned black, green, and gold as up to a million flag-waving fans gather in the province to welcome home the nation’s World Cup-winning Springboks.

Bok’s national side flew in from Stade de France, where they beat New Zealand 12-11 on Saturday night to secure their fourth championship.

The All Blacks played most of the Test with 14 men after a red card to captain Sam Cane, and while the New Zealanders had opportunities to snatch the crown, it wasn’t to be.

The bok celebrations included meeting with the president at the union building before taking an open-top bus ride through the streets of the province, where rows and rows of well-wishers—expected to number more than a million—had been waiting for hours to cheer the team on from the pavements and roads.

Boarding an open-top bus emblazoned Rugby World Cup Champions 2023, the team threaded its way through Johannesburg city along roads lined with tens of thousands of cheering fans.

The players, dressed in yellow t-shirts, each bearing “stronger together”, and proudly displaying their winners’ medals, waved to those below, who held aloft cardboard signs proclaiming “We are all world champions!”