The Qantas Airways 747 left Johannesburg for Sydney late on Friday but after takeoff, one of the four engines experienced an increase in vibration and temperature.
The pilots shut down the engine as a safety precaution and returned to Johannesburg, where it had a safe landing.
“The pilots manually shut down the engine and returned to South Africa,” an airline spokesman told Reuters on Saturday.
Qantas have since sent another plane, which departed from Sydney at 2 p.m. (0400 GMT), to pick up the South African rugby team, the Australian Associated Press reported.
“We are going to send a new plane to get the special cargo on board,” a Qantas spokesman told AAP prior to the aircraft’s departure.
The Springboks were flying to Sydney to take part in the Tri-Nations tournament between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
“The Qantas flight on which the team was traveling was forced to return to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg less than two hours after takeoff following the overheating and failure of engine No 3 on their Boeing 747,” the South African Rugby Union said in a statement.
“The aircraft returned safely to Johannesburg. The Springboks will remain in Johannesburg for the night.”
