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In 1891, ten years after the First Anglo-Boer War and eight years before the Second Boer War, a British rugby team docked in Cape Town harbour to tour the relatively peaceful Cape Province, whose prime minister was Cecil Rhodes.
Little did they know that they were about to embark on a journey that would lead to the birth of the Springboks.
They brought a gift, a gold cup from Sir Donald Currie, to give to the local union that gave the British the best match (that ended up being Griqualand, who bequeathed it to South Africa, as we all know).
The Cape Province funded the tour, which was certain to mirror the result of both Boer Wars: physically taxing for the British, but ultimately a Royal win.
In retrospect, this was a Lions team: 10 players were or went on to be either English or Scottish internationals. The majority were Cambridge rugby Blues.
There were three “Test” matches; all won by the British visitors, with a cumulative score of Britain 10 – South Africa 0. The locals wore white and the British wore hoops.
South Africa needed to work on their menacing nicknames. One of their players was “Fairy” Heatlie. Another was “Oupa” Versfeld.
But a funny thing happened; South Africa fell in love with the game, and in the next few years the calibre of rugby in the Cape, learning the lessons learnt by losing, improved dramatically.
When the British came back in 1896, they lost their fourth Test to the white-clad South Africans, at Newlands (5-0), in front of a massive crowd of 3,500 fans. The fantastically-named Percy Twentyman-Jones (take a seat, Halfpenny) played for South Africa in this Test, which must have been enthralling.
In 1903, after the Second Boer War ended, the British toured again, but they came as equals, not superiors.
The touring side won only half of it’s matches.
Western Province teams (all three) beat the British. In the Tests, South Africa, still wearing white, drew 10-10, then 0-0 (in Kimberly, where evidently it’s easier to find diamonds than tries), and at Newlands, in front of 6,000 fans, won 8-0.
From that time until 1974, South Africa did not lose a home Test series.
It was at Newlands, in 1903, that the South Africans wore green. The Old Diocesan’s Club was defunct, and had a pile of unused, clean green jerseys. That’s the tale.
South Africa had not sent a team abroad before that. It was in 1905 that New Zealand toured Britain. The banner success of the All Blacks’ tour created the impetus for South Africa’s tour of 1906.
In 1906, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lived in Johannesburg. It was there that he chaired a meeting of more than 3,000 people and advanced his non-violent “passive resistance” doctrine.
Paul Roos led the 1906 tour of the British Isles. He and his “Springbokken” (a nickname that was almost a joke to the tourists at first, but became a deep symbol to an entire nation – complex, disputed, contentious, beloved, and in the end, unifying) wore “myrtle green jerseys with gold collars” and “dark blue shorts and stockings.”
“Embroidered in mouse-coloured silk on the left breast: a springbok, a small African antelope,” said the programme.
The Boks played an unbelievable 28 matches on tour and scored 533 points to 79 from the opposition. The Tests were tight.
Scotland beat South Africa. The overall series though was two wins, one draw, one loss to South Africa. The British public, especially the Welsh (who had been certain they would easily subdue the South African provincials), were awestruck by the speed, strength, and skill of the tourists. (The “big” guys were only 6 foot 3 or so, 175-195 pounds).
From that point on, South Africa always believed it would win at home, and in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
From 1906 to 1956, the Boks won or drew all series they played, anywhere.
There you go; some dusty old history, for those Roar folk who like that sort of thing.
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