Second part of a series by McLook, a blogger with a passion that we share, Springbok History. McLook is also a blogger right here on R-T. We thank him for the generosity to post his articles here.
1970 All Black tour – Arrival and first three tour matches.
On their way to South Africa the AB’s played two matches (apparently directly after each other, on the same day) in Perth against a President XV and a team from Western Australia. Western Australia struggled to find enough players for two teams due to a lack of quality players -the WARFU apologised afterward to the AB manager for the quality of the teams.
A record number of spectators (for Western Australia) namely 7000 watched the AB’s won both games (52-3 and 50-3) with ease. Lochore got injured in one match which prevented him from playing for the first three weeks in South Africa.
On Monday, June 15, 1970, the AB’s arrived at Jan Smuts and the team was welcomed by a crowd of 4000 people. David described the arrival as follows:
The crowd roared and Dr. Danie Craven unashamedly let a tear slip from his eye and Kobus Louw gave one of those beaming smiles that would match the width and breath of the Indian ocean. The All Blacks were moved too.
Bruce McLeod gave a gasp and muttered: “Hell, let’s get down to training, we’re in rugby country!” Now, it would be untrue to label the All Black coach, Ivan Vodanovich, as anything but serious about rugby.
Yet, this extremely dedicated rugby man was so moved by the fantastic Johannesburg welcome to the All Blacks that he allowed himself the luxury of a whimsical comment. Fixing his dark, brooding eyes on me he quipped: “Fancy being dead, and missing all this!”
Painting of Dr. Danie Craven
Leaving Johannesburg the AB’s travelled to East London where they had three days before their first match against Border. One of the primary things that David refers too was the team’s observations during these three days regarding the white and black apartheid situation. He wrote about an incident on the first day in East London:
Some of the players had their first brush with apartheid last night. Young Bantu beggars are badgering the players and, normally, they are ignored. However, Chris Laidlaw conversed with one of them outside the hotel door and was immediately abused by a white who had reeled from the bar. “What the hell are you doing man?” Said, the drunk. “I thought you were one of us?” Laidlaw mildly requested a more general description of “one of us” and quite an ugly situation was brewing when another white, a sober one, intervened and dragged the drunk away. Laidlaw was a little shocked.
The type of remarks and incidents was probably to be expected given the vastly different cultural and developmental histories of South Africa and NZ and the fact that the apartheid issue received so much limelight before the tour. Reading between the lines one get the distinct impression that the Kiwi’s had a “chip” on the shoulder superiority attitude, especially, at the beginning of the tour. An attitude of we are the better educated, more sophisticated, intelligent and clear-headed group with a more ethically correct or moral society.
On the third day in East London, Brain Lochore and Chris Laidlaw went on a Helicopter day trip into the Transkei. Laidlaw obviously had his doubts about apartheid and wanted to see more of the black man in his natural environment; most likely to convince himself of the correctness of his theoretical and moral stance on the issue. David writes as follows about Laidlaw’s trip to the Transkei:
Laidlaw was motivated by a strong desire to study the environment and the problems of the South African natives. This deep-thinking Rhodes Scholar who is an introspective, even brooding young man makes no secret of his suspicions of apartheid. I had the feeling, however, that he was a little shaken by his experience today and could appreciate, to a greater degree than before at least, that the merging of the Bantu and white societies is perhaps an impossible ideal.
First tour match – AB 28, Border 3
The AB’s were a little rusty and even “scrappy” for the first 57 minutes of the match, after which they noticeably clicked and started to play like a team; the forwards and backs combined splendidly to score 7 tries. McCormick struggled with his place kicking and could add only two conversions and one penalty.
The game will mainly be remembered for a brilliant try scored by Colin Meads in the 80th minute. Thorne started it when he broke brilliantly, side-stepping, jinking his way through the opposition before handing it to Meads who set-off like a wing next to the sideline with Thorne on his inside calling for the ball as the cross defence closed in. The opposition angled in on Thorne fully expecting him to receive the ball. Meads holding the ball in one hand made a one-handed dummy pass fooling everyone and slipped on the outside past the cross defence. Near the corner he in-and-out and then swerved like a classy winger past another cross defender before crossing the try line and running up behind the goal line to score under the cross bar.
Colin Meads turning behind the try line on his way to score a stunning try against Border
The Border captain and fullback for this match was Ray Carlson who would become a Springbok in 1972 playing for the Springboks in one test against John Pullin’s English team.
Ray Carlson with his Springbok jersey in 1972. He was the Border fullback and captain against the 1970 AB.
From East London the AB’s travelled to Bethlehem where they played their second tour match. Here they were warmly welcomed and had their first experience of a typical South African braai. The highlight of the evening was Min Shaw who was brought in from Johannesburg to sing for the AB’s.
Picture of Min Shaw and Graeme Thorne singing together in Bethlehem. Thorne impressed everyone with his singing. Collin Meads slipped into the crowd when he saw Min Shaw is going to pick an All Black to sing with her and his only comment afterwards: “She can be glad she picked an All Black who knew the words”.
Second tour match – AB 43, Paul Roos XV 9.
The AB’s scored 9 tries in the match and it was the game where the South African public first became aware of the brilliant “baby” of the team, Bryan Williams.
Bryan Williams at his brilliant best in 1970
Williams, Wylie and Thorne all scored two tries with McCormick and Muller also contributing with one try each. McCormick missed with two fairly simple penalty attempts and four conversions leaving the NZ camp with obvious concern about McCormick’s place kicking.
This match had the danger light flickering for the South African rugby critics; it was abundantly clear for everyone that this was an outstanding All Black rugby team. David writes as follows about the contest:
…. The All Blacks did not play to their full capacity for (the full) 80 minutes of this match but showed tremendous capacity….. We saw some of the most imaginative yet sound constructively attacking movements in the history of All Black rugby. The sudden change of thrust from one side to the other was incredible. Some of the tries were masterpieces. The tight, disciplined drive of the forwards was complemented by the rare mood of the attacking backs.
According to David it was clear for the New Zealanders that South Africa rugby was kick obsessed and terminally ill in terms of ability to play phase rugby. He writes as follows about the President XV:
The Paul Roos XV had a great kicker in their flyhalf Froneman but that’s all he did on the day. His outside backs must have wondered if they were unemployed for the match.
Terry McLean had the following on the Paul Roos XV:
Paul Roos XV was, bluntly, a nothing team. Dannhauser and Fourie had good stances as locks in the scrummage. Lyell at No 8 had bags of pace which he used much too little and Burger, a hooker of some note, took a heel from Urlich, though he lost five in the process. But behind the scrum Froneman was an obsessive kicker and Kotze at fullback defended principally by making meaningful gestures from a distance. Once the Border team had won possession, which was seldom, the All Blacks had no worries-McCormick knew he had to run and catch and the All Blacks knew they could wait until the ball was put back into touch.
I get heart burn (sooibrand) just reading remarks like this; it has always been one of the most irritating and frustrating things for me about South African rugby. As a provincial player you get one opportunity in your life to play against an international team so why would you waste the opportunity by constantly kicking the ball away. Secondly, it totally eludes me why selectors would pick individuals for a team if that individual does nothing else than kicking. If you want to kick a ball go play soccer.
After this match the AB’s travelled to Kimberley for their third tour match against Griqualand West.
Third tour match – AB 27, Griqualand West 3.
This was a game that the AB’s wanted to win at all cost; it was seen by the AB’s as a unofficial test match. Griqualand West had an unbeaten record against the provincial teams in South Africa for the last 7 years (probably at their home ground) and was seen as the third best provincial side in SA.
Griquas surely had an outstanding team with several Springboks and future Springboks in the team. Players like Mannetjies Roux, Piet Visage, Joggie Viljoen, Piet van Deventer and Jannie van Aswegen; this team were also the winners of the Currie Cup in 1970.
The Griqualand West team who won the Currie Cup in 1970. Except for two players this was the exact team who played against the 1970 All Blacks.
Players on the picture are from left to right. Before: Piet Visagie, Charlie Marias (President Griqualand West Union), Mannetjies Roux (captain), Ian Kirkpatrick (coach), Denys Vorster (o / Capt). Middle row: David Waldeck, Buddy Swartz, Piet van Deventer, Peet Smith, Tos Smith, James Combrinck and Joggie Viljoen. Rear: Braam Fourie, Jannie van Aswegen Gert Scheepers and Soon Nel. Kat Myburg was absent when the photo was taken.
David writes as follows about the contest:
We need not have worried. The All Blacks in the second spell of this game played some of the greatest rugby I have witnessed. The triumph of the match was the awesome power of the forwards. They surged, rucked, scrummaged and set up secondary play as a tight, closely-knit unit. The percentage of possession to the All Blacks were astonishing – about 90 percent. And the tourists always did something with the ball. It was constructive, controlled rugby. Nothing more, nothing less.
The backs were opposed by some of the best defence one could imagine in the first half but after constant hammering this ultimately crumbled. Then four glorious tries were posted on the board each bearing the hallmark of team effort. Colin Meads has become indefinable. He showed today that he is emphatically the greatest forward in world rugby.
About Griquas he wrote simply that Piet Visagie kicked the 10 percent possession they had, away.
New Zealand scored a total of 6 tries, 3 of which McCormick converted. There was hope that the problem with McCormick’s place kicking was also sorted when the coach -during the lead up to the match- recommended that he follow the example of the South African kickers and place the ball on a pile of sand rather than directly in the grass. McCormick tried it and there was some marked improvement in accuracy.
Piet Visagie in his Griqualand-west jumper
Clearly the concept phase rugby, namely to maintain and protect your possession had not yet taken hold in South Africa and was not understood by the Griqualand-west team. It also seems that phase rugby was already high priority in NZ in 1970 while the South Africans apparently were not even thinking along those lines.
The game against Griqualand-west will also be remembered for one of the ugliest incidents during the entire tour. It happened after the game when there were racial riots consisting of fighting and bottle throwing. It apparently originated after one of the coloureds tried to chair Bryan Williams on his shoulders from the field. A white police constable clubbed the coloured who fell to the ground; another white man then started kicking the coloured while he was lying helplessly on the ground. A second coloured the entered the scuffle by hitting -an unforgivable act for a black or coloured man at the time- the the white man who did the kicking. That was the spark that started the chain reaction of racial rioting and hateful violence.
Gabriel David, however had a slightly different take on this, he writes:
…I consider that the All Blacks caused the situation – simply by handing out such a thrashing to the locals. The white population did not like that, and the drunken element – of which there was a substantial crowd – needed only the flimsiest excuse to show their disappointment.
McLook
Trying to catch up on the articles , today we will have 2, think Pietman played in these areas, maybe team mates of him. Enjoy and many thanks to McLook.
The perspective from the NZ point of view certainly paints a bit of a somber picture of our Country’s past, does’nt it?
I will not dwell on it, except say that we have indeed come a long way.
Thanks Super, Enjoyed reading that. Shame about our past must say. Pleased we have moved on from there.
Would be nice to put all the articles together as one.
I have saved all of them and will put it together for myself. Great read Super and once again it brings back memories.
Wish Pietman as blogging now with these articles. Think he is older than me and would remember even more.
as = was
Puma i think Pietman will enjoy it , we must get him here i will phone him quickly, not sure what connection he has now.
5 – Super, If you don’t get Piet, when he does finally blog again mentione to him to look at the All Black tour of 1970 articles you have put up. Tell him to go back to the first one from last week and read them all.
Must say really enjoyed reading it and especially seeing those old photo’s again.
Okay that is me out of here. Have to be up and out of here by 6am tomorrow morning. A very busy day for me and this Joburg traffic is not fun.
Catch up tomorrow afternoon.
sorry typo there. meant meantion.
My 5702 posts half of them must be my corrections of my typing mistakes…….hahahaha 😉
HAHAHAHAHAHAH DAMN WRONG AGAIN…………LOL.
mention. Phew!!!!!!!!!!! finally got it right.
Far too tired tonight. Such a hectic day today.
Now I have to Google Dr. Dannie Craven…He has a stand named after him I think but don’t have a clue who he is!
Puma, donte change yore tipos, it wood jurst not be thur same… 😀
Have you all stopping blogging for lent or something? 😐
Carol Danie Craven was for years the President of SA rugby , he played for the Boks and was hated by many Bulls. In Bulls country he is not loved as much as by the WP guys.
Danie Craven
Full names: Daniël Hartman
Date of birth: 11 Oct 1910
Place of birth: Lindley, South Africa
School: Lindley
Debut test province: Western Province
Physical: 1.78m, 79.83kg
Date of death: 4 Jan 1994 (Age 83)
Test summary: Tests: 16 Tries: 3
First Test: 5 Dec 1931 Age:21 Scrumhalf against Wales at St. Helens, Swansea
Last Test: 10 Sep 1938 Age:27 Scrumhalf against Britain at Newlands, Cape Town
Test history:
Date Age Position Opponent Result Score Venue Prov
05 Dec 1931 21 Scrumhalf Wales Win: 8-3 St. Helens, Swansea WP
19 Dec 1931 21 Scrumhalf Ireland Win: 8-3 Aviva Stadium (Lansdowne Road), Dublin WP
16 Jan 1932 21 Scrumhalf Scotland Win: 6-3 1 try Murrayfield, Edinburgh WP
08 Jul 1933 22 Scrumhalf Australia Win: 17-3 1 try Newlands, Cape Town WP
22 Jul 1933 22 Scrumhalf Australia Lose: 6-21 Kingsmead, Durban WP
12 Aug 1933 22 Scrumhalf Australia Win: 12-3 Ellispark, Johannesburg WP
26 Aug 1933 22 Inside Centre Australia Win: 11-0 1 try Crusaders (St George’s Park), Port Elizabeth WP
02 Sep 1933 22 Scrumhalf Australia Lose: 4-15 Springbokpark, Bloemfontein WP
26 Jun 1937 26 Flyhalf Australia Win: 9-5 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney EP
17 Jul 1937 26 Eighthman Australia Win: 26-17 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney EP
14 Aug 1937 26 Flyhalf (C) New Zealand Lose: 7-13 Athletic Park, Wellington EP
04 Sep 1937 26 Scrumhalf New Zealand Win: 13-6 AMI Stadium (Lancaster Park), Christchurch EP
25 Sep 1937 26 Scrumhalf New Zealand Win: 17-6 Eden Park, Auckland EP
06 Aug 1938 27 Scrumhalf (C) Britain Win: 26-12 Ellispark, Johannesburg N-Tvl
03 Sep 1938 27 Scrumhalf (C) Britain Win: 19-3 Crusaders (St George’s Park), Port Elizabeth N-Tvl
10 Sep 1938 27 Scrumhalf (C) Britain Lose: 16-21 Newlands, Cape Town N-Tvl
2007 IRB Hall of Fame Inductee: Dr Danie Craven by IRB Hall of Fame
IRB Hall of Fame – Induction No 3 – Dr. Daniel Hartman Craven (1910-1993), South Africa
Personal Details
Born: October 11, 1910, Steeton’ Farm, Lindley, Orange Free State, South Africa
Died: January 4th, 1993, at Stellenbosch
Family: He was the third of seven children, six boys and one girl, his sister Myra, the youngest of the seven. (His paternal grandfather was hailing from Steeton in Yorkshire – hence the name of the farm “Steeton” – name he later on gave it to his house in Stellenbosch).
He married Beyera Hayward of Steytlerville (daughter of George Hayward MP) in 1938. They had three sons George, Daniel and James Craven and a daughter Joan married Roux – a mathematician at Stellenbosch University. His second wife was Merle Vermeulen.
Education – Lindley High School, Stellenbosch University, 3 PhDs in Psychology, Physical education and Social Anthropology plus an Honorary Doctorate.
Nickname – ‘Mr Rugby’
Sports: He was a fine track and field athlete, played cricket, tennis and represented Stellenbosch University at rugby (captain), swimming (captain), water polo and baseball. He played a lot of soccer at school and for the SA Army in 1939.
One of his younger brothers Marius played scrum-half for Eastern Province.
Professional career
Teacher at St Andrew’s College, Grahamstown
Director of PE at the Military College in Pretoria then commander of the PTB
Physical Training Brigade 1938-1948 (with one year interruption 1947)
Lector at Stellenbosch Union Education Department Stellenbosch University 1947
The first professor of Physical Education (now Sports Science) at Stellenbosch University 1949-1975
Director of Sport and Recreation at Stellenbosch University (1976-1981)
Director of Sport Institute at Stellenbosch University (1982-1984)
Academic Degrees
BA in Social Sciences and Social Anthropology 1931-32
Master of Arts (cum laude) Ethnology 1933
Doctorate (PhD) in Ethnology University of Stellenbosch 1935
Psychology II and III 1960-1961
Honours in psychology, (cum laude) 1962
Master’s degree in Psychology 1964
Doctorate (PhD) in Psychology University of Pretoria 1973
Doctorate (PhD) in Physical Education University of Stellenbosch 1978
Doctorate in Literature and Philosophy, honoris causa, University of Stellenbosch
Rugby Career
Main position – Scrum half, hailed as one of the greatest dive-passers of all-time – also capped as centre, fly half and No 8. He played once as a full-back in a non-test match in Australia.
Influences: The legendary A.F.Markotter was his mentor at Stellenbosch. He once said: “Remember Craven. I only shout at people I like.”
Clubs: Stellenbosch University, Albany (Grahamstown), Garrison (Pretoria), He played one match for Steytlerville.
Provinces: Western Province, Eastern Province, Northern Transvaal.
National Selector 1938-1949
Coaching: Stellenbosch University, South Africa 1949-1956. With Craven as coach the Springboks played 23 tests, winning 17.
He became President of the South African Rugby Board in 1956 and stayed in the chair until 1992, when he became co-president, with Ebrahim Patel, of the newly formed SARFU.
He became a member of the IRB council in 1957 and chaired it in 1962, 1973 and 1979.
Craven was the coach of the 1950-51 Springboks
Rugby Statistics
International debut – 5 December 1931 (aged 21 yrs 55 days) v Wales at Swansea. By that time he had not yet played provincial rugby.
Final test – 10 September 1938 (as captain) v Lions at Cape Town.
International appearances -28 appearances of which 16 tests (four as captain) with 12 wins and four losses 1931-1938.
Other tour matches for the Springboks 22.
He played in five positions: scrumhalf, flyhalf, centre and No.8 in test matches and at fullback in a provincial tour match (against Queensland)
After his appointment as national coach in 1949, the Springboks won 10 matches in a row (undefeated until 1953), including a 4-0 whitewash of the visiting New Zealand.
Rugby Highlights
Craven skippered South Africa in the first test against New Zealand at Wellington in 1937 and in all three tests against the 1938 Lions. He won the toss in the latter three tests with a ‘lucky’ gold ten-shilling piece given to him by the Mayor of Johannesburg.
“Who were the best touring side to leave New Zealand?” they used to ask tongue in cheek in New Zealand. The reply is edifying “The 1937 Springboks”.
When Second World War broke out, Craven was only 27 and his playing career was over. The next test SA played was 11 year later, with Craven as coach and selector.
South Africa lost only one match during the 1931-32 tour when Craven was a player. Similarly the Springboks lost only one match during their 1951-52 tour when he was coach.
In 1988, he defied the SA government and travelled to Harare to meet leaders of the ANC (which was a criminal offence at the time) and brokered an agreement to form a single rugby association fielding an integrated team for overseas tournaments. This first step paved the way for the formation of the unified body, SARFU in 1992 with Craven as one of its co-presidents, until his death the following year, having served for an unbroken 37 years at the helm of the sport.
He was instrumental in launching the first non-racial rugby competition in South African sport, called the Craven week, in 1964, involving school children of all races and creeds, a truly visionary concept in the apartheid ridden South Africa.
The title of his autobiography was ‘Ek Speel vir Suid-Afrika.’ He wrote several books, including ‘Danie Craven on Rugby’, ‘Springbok Story 1949-53’.
What he said
“I have never heard such a speech as Bennie Osler’s before my debut against Wales. Silently we listened to every word. Every word gives us more strength and courage. We will live! We will die for South Africa!”
“We must do more than play open rugby in the sense that the term means merely feeding the wings. The ball must come back to the inside backs and forwards in driving, penetrative movements. We will need close support all the time and backing up must be one of our constant objectives. If we play rugby in this manner, it will not matter what the results are,” his speech to the team before the 1951-52 tour when he coached the Springboks.
What they said about him
Hennie Muller: “Danie’s biggest asset in his relationship with players, perhaps, is the fact that he understands them so well – their foibles, fears, hopes, their innermost thoughts. He is able to put himself in the player’s boots.”
Joan Roux (his daughter, on his induction in the IRB Hall of Fame) : “Mesdames Messieurs, I thank you for this most incredible award. My father was an amazing man. He had integrity. He knew the game. He was innovative. He was a raconteur. He was a coach. He was often impatient with journalists and referees! But he could inspire. Above all he loved the game of rugby. He said it brought people together. It brought and brings our nation together. We need the game of rugby. It gives us hope for the future. Thank You.”
Oh, and Danie Craven had a dog called “Bliksem”
SperBul – If I died at 83 with a string of credits like that to my name I think I would R.I.P.
Each sport has individuals who stand head and shoulders over other men and women, they are the sports lifeblood.
He had to be a good bloke if he had a dog too!! 😉
Danie Craven was one of our great South Africans. I always remember when we toured NZ he used to go and spend an evening with an ordinary Maori family who he had known for years and years, having met a member of the family amongst the spectators. He was a man for the people, able to mix with the most lofty and most common of folk. Wish we had more like him. he was a credit to South Africa. There are many more stories about this remarkable man…I have one of his biographies amongst my treasured posessions in my large library.
For me whenever we play NZ it is like the world championship…this is the oldest and friendliest rivalry in rugby. the people come from similar backgrounds are lovers of the outdoor life and have developed through a hard pioneering existence. With the global village today, it is all getting a bit more blurred.
Does anyone know…the Thorne on this tour, is it any relation of Brad Thorne, the current All Black?
@13 Carol…do you know what his dogs name was? 😉
Oh…I see GBS has already given it away…nice one Cappie!!!
Hi 4man, remember when you met me you said ‘I knew you were ok as yhou have dogs’!!
Do I get a prize if I tell you Dannie Cravens dog was called Bliksem!! (Post 12) How blonde do I look? 😯
Is bliksem like ‘moer’? Sort of getting bashed up?
4 man, I think the sun must have got to you today!! 😳
@17 Carol…you are right, I did say that and I meant it….I have never been wrong. What do you mean how blonde do you look….are you a genuine blonde?…..I might require proof!!
@18 bliksem is “lightning” literally, but in the vernacular…I will bliksem you…means I will beat you up, if a guy is a “bliksem” it means a mixture of smart and difficult, to be the “bliksem in” means you are angry….so there is a patois that goes with it.
14@ Sammajoor – No relation, Graham Thorne had a son here in SA, Bruce if I remember correctly, who also played for the Lions here in Joburg. Brad Thorn (note the difference in spelling ) is no relation, well not that I know of anyway.
4man, sometimes you render me speechless…..!!!
That is between me and my hairdresser!
ok…suppertime
aufwedersehn
@23…can I apply for the position 🙂
So if you were going to ‘moer’ me you would do what?
See you 4man…. btw as you like ‘creatures’ did you see the white loins….They looked amazing!
Enjoy supper..
4man 14
GBS is correct (yes, it really does happen occasionally :shock:)Grahame Stuart Thorne is no relation to Brad Carnegie Thorn.
Grahame lost his eldest son, Bruce 37, in 2009 at Christmas in a car accident in South Africa – this after David, his younger son, was paralysed at the age of 21 by a stroke he suffered as a result of an injury sustained in a tackle while playing rugby in 2006. The poor man has had a touch decade !
28@ R_P – Hey, I am ALWAYS right… except when I’m wrong of course…. hehehehe
With me, there are only 2 rules:
No 1: GBS is ALWAYS right
No 2: In cases where GBS is wrong, refer to rule No 1.
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