Fine Record Of South Africa In International Rugby

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7280, 6 October 1933, Page 5

Fine Record Of South Africa In International Rugby

A SUMMARY OF ITS TEST MATCHES SINCE THEIR START IN 1891

lIE announcement, made concurrently with the ending of the Australian OJniliOl Rugby team’s tour of Soul -b Africa, that a special Rugby conference in Cape Town decided to recommend the South African Rugby Board to accept an invitation to tour New Zealand and Australia in 1937, directs attention again to South Africa’s very fine record in international matches in this game. It was in 1891 that South Africa played its first Rugby matches with a team of players of another country. A British team which was captained by W. E. MacLagen, a famous Scottish threequarter, toured South Africa in _ that year.' Naturally, this side, containing seven internationals, was too strong for the inexperienced South Africans, and it won all of its matches. In those days an unconverted try counted only one point, a goal try two points, a drop-kicked goal from play three points, a penalty goal two points, and a goal

increased to the winning of 29 matches, the drawing of five, and the losing of 12, out of 46, and the points are increased to 504 for South Africa and 252 against it. The following list sets out* South Africa’s record in international Rugby, the location of Test matches in South Africa and New Zealand being stated, and the points for South Africa being given first in each case: — BRITISH TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1891.

from a mark three points. That method of scoring should be kept in mind in any consideration of the scores in Soutli Africa’s international games. The turning-point of South Africa’s fortunes in international Rugby came early, in the last of four. Tests arranged with the next British team to visit the country, in 1896. South Africa won that fourth Test. The third British team to visit South Africa, seven years later, had to he content with drawing two of the three Tests and losing the last. From then on South Africa has been very successful in its international matches.

Including the matches played. with New South Wales by the Springbok team which came to that State and New Zealand in 1921, when there was no Rugby Union team named Australia, as Queensland was then lost temporarily to the Rugby Union code, South Africa has played, at home and abroad, 44 matches that may be ranked as Rugby Tests, as being with other Rugby “nations” of the British Empire. Of the 44 she lias won 27, drawn five, and lost 12. Six of South Africa’s 12 defeats were administered by the first two British teams in Soutli Africa. In the first visit made by a South African team to the British Isles, in the 1906-07 season there, one international match, .that with Scotland, was lost. Since then only New Zealand (thrice), and Australia (twice), have beaten the Springboks in Tests. In the 44 international matches South Africa has scored 411 points, and has had 241 scored against it. Outside the British Empire, two matches which rank as internationals have been played by South Africa. These were with France, at the end of the 1906-07 and 1912-13 tours of the British Isles. The Springboks won the two matches with France by 55 points to six and 38 to five. So South Africans record in all international Rugby is

S.A. G.B. At Port Elizabeth .... 0 4 At Kimberlev 0 2 At Cape Town 0 4 0 10 BRITISH TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1896. S.A. G.B. At Port Elizabeth .. .. 0 8 At Johannesburg .. .. 8 17 At Kimberley 3 9 At Cape Town 5 0 16 34 BRITISH TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1903. S.A. G.B. At Johannesburg .. .. 10 10 At Kimberley 0 0 At Cape Town 8 0 18 10 SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM IN BRITISH ISLES, 1906-07, S.A Opp. v. Scotland 0 6 v. Ireland 15 12 v. Wales 11 ft v. England 3 3 39 21 BRITISH TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1910. S.A. G.B. At Johannesburg .. .. 14 10 At Port Elizabeth .. .. 3 At Cape Town .. .. 31 8 3S 23 SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM IN BRITISH ISLES, 1912-13. S.A. Opp. v. Scotland 10 0 v. Ireland 38 0 v. Wales 3 v. England 9 0 66 3 SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM IN AUSTRALIA, 1921. S.A.N.S.W. v. New Soulh Wales .. 35 10 v. New Soulh Wales .. 10 11 v. New South Wales ' .. 38 9 69 30 SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM IN NEW ZEALAND, 1921. S.A. N.Z. At Dunedin 5 13 At Auckland 9 5 At Wellington .. .. .. 0 0 11 18 BRITISH TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1924. S.A. G.B. At Durban 7 3 At Johannesburg .. .. 17 0 . At Port Elizabeth 3 At Cape Town 10 9 43 15 NEW ZEALAND TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1928. S.A. N.Z. At Durban 1" 0 At Johannesburg .... 0 7 At Port Elizabeth .. .. 11 0 At Cape Town 5 13 39 20 SOUTH AFRICAN TEAM IN BRITISH ISLES, 1931-32. S.A. Opp. y. Wales 8 v. Ireland .. .. .. .. 8 3 v. England 7 0 v. Scotland 0 o 29 9 AUSTRALIAN TEAM IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1933. S.A. Aust. At Cape Town .. .. .. 17 At Durban 0 3 21 At Johannesburg .... 1~ At Port Elizabeth .. .. H 3 0 At Bloemfontein .. .. 4 15 50 42