The World Cup-winning Springboks team will kick off their massive five-day celebrations with ordinary South Africans on Thursday in the streets of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto.

The team will arrive on a number of flights between tomorrow and Wednesday and immediately embark on a "Champions Tour" of SA's major cities to parade the Webb Ellis trophy, the South African Rugby Union (Saru) announced yesterday.

A big welcome party was, however, expected to take place tomorrow at the OR Tambo International Airport when captain Siya Kolisi, vice-captain Handre Pollard, coach Rassie Erasmus and some of the members of the team arrive from Japan in the afternoon.

Sport department's spokesperson Mickey Modisane said a meeting between the department, the Gauteng provincial government and Saru will take place today to finalise details around a "big welcome" for the team.

"We will be finalising all the details but one thing for sure [is that] the Springboks cannot arrive on a low-key... their victory is a big instrument for social cohesion and nation building," Modisane said.

The first flight carrying the Springboks is expected to land around 4.30-4.45 tomorrow.

After the Gauteng leg of the tour on Thursday, the Springboks will then move on to Durban on Friday before hitting East London on Saturday and Port Elizabeth, the home town of Kolisi, on Sunday.

Kolisi was raised in Port Elizabeth's Zwide township in the Eastern Cape.

The celebration tour will then wrap up in the Mother City on Monday.