South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984 by England. South Africa toured New Zealand in 1981. South Africa were excluded from the first two Rugby World Cups, in 1987 and 1991.
No other issue, political or otherwise has divided the rugby community so much, at least not since the great schism with rugby league over professionalism. While many rugby fans and commentators would try and body swerve politics, at least politics of a certain kind, the apartheid issue brought it right into the heart of the game, in a very direct, and often physical way.
South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984 by England. South Africa toured New Zealand in 1981. South Africa were excluded from the first two Rugby World Cups, in 1987 and 1991.
The famous Scottish rugby commentator, Bill McLaren, devotes an entire chapter to the subject in his autobiography, Talking of Rugby, called "Barred from the International Feast". Like many other rugby fans, he expresses contempt for South Africa's "unacceptable racist policy", but adds "it has been a disgrace that a world Rugby Union power has been eliminated from world competition for all those years." [1] McLaren had had personal experience of some of the demonstrations and believed that:
Ian Robertson, documented how the Springboks' position slowly deteriorated over the decades, but suggested that the fault lay outwith the rugby fraternity:
Like most other institutions in South Africa, the South African rugby bodies were divided along racial lines:
There was also the South African Rugby Union (SARU), which was a non-racial body, with a considerable membership. [4] However, only the SARB had any say in international tours, and they alone chose the national team.
At the end of the 1970s, the SARB took over the SARF and SARA, but Abdul Abbas, leader of SARU refused to co-operate with the new board until the game was integrated at club level and certain political laws scrapped. [4]
In September 1981, South Africa was due to play the Mid-West in Chicago. To avoid protestors, they drove 77 miles to [{Racine]] and played in front of 247 spectators, winning 46-12. By the time they returned to Chicago, none of the spectators knew that thye game had happened.
In April 2010 it was revealed by Muru Walters that in 1956 Ernest Corbett, Minister of Māori Affairs, had told the Māori All Blacks to deliberately lose to the Springboks "for the future of rugby". The Māori team lost 37-0. This was followed by Walters calling for the government to apologise for the way it treated Māori rugby players. [6]
Foreign complaints about South Africa's bigoted sports brought more isolation. In 1960, Verwoerd barred a Māori rugby player from touring South Africa with the All Blacks, and the tour was cancelled. New Zealand made a decision not to convey an authorised rugby team to South Africa again.
B. J. Vorster took Verwoerd's place as PM in 1966 and declared that South Africa would no longer dictate to other countries what their teams should look like. Although this reopened the gate for sporting meets, it did not signal the end of South Africa's racist sporting policies. In 1968, Vorster went against his policy by refusing to permit Basil D'Oliveira, a Coloured South African-born cricketer, to join the English cricket team on its tour to South Africa. Vorster said that the side had been chosen only to prove a point, and not on merit. After protests, however, "Dolly" was eventually included in the team. Protests against certain tours brought about the cancellation of a number of other visits, like that of an England rugby team in 1969/70.
Ian Robertson describes the scene at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in 1969:
In February, 1977, Danie Craven flew to London to plead for South African rugby's reintegration into the international scene, and to make a last ditch atttempt to save the Springboks' scheduled tour of the British Isles in 1978, and the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1980.
However, some, such as Chris Laidlaw, later a Labour MP in New Zealand, had had enough, and believed that rugby's failure to engage with the issue properly was harming the sport:
The Soviet Union supposedly turned down its invitation to the 1987 Rugby World Cup, because of its distaste for the apartheid regime of South Africa. However, South Africa was not invited in the end. While the Great Soviet Encyclopedia states that rugby is popular in Great Britain, New Zealand, France, Romania and Australia, it tellingly makes no mention of South Africa. [9] Chris Thau says that France approached the USSR before 1987 on the issue, and that the Soviets said that they would be happy to participate if South Africa was not invited. [10] In the end, South Africa was not invited, but the USSR did not attend either. It has been said that:
The Soviets leaned on other nations heavily:
In September 1981, South Africa was due to play the Mid-West in Chicago. To avoid protestors, they drove 77 miles to [{Racine]] and played in front of 247 spectators, winning 46-12. By the time they returned to Chicago, none of the spectators knew that thye game had happened. [5]
The 1981 Springboks tour of New Zealand was compromised by demonstrations, and the tourists had to be kept under strict security throughout their visit. [13]
Two games had to be cancelled. [13] The game at Hamilton in the first week of the tour saw 200 protestors rip down a chain fence, sprinkle tacks all over the pitch and then staged a sit-in on the half way line. At the time, a crowd of 25,000 was watching them playing Waikato. Subsequent matches saw the arrival of barbed wire, and police with batons. The match against South Canterbury at Timaru was cancelled because the authorities thought that they would not be able to control the demonstrations there. [13]
The final test of the tour was buzzed by a Cessna aircraft - some in fact nicknamed it the "Crazy Biggles Test". The plane continually strafed the pitch, and dropped flour bombs, flares and leaflets. [13] All-Black prop Gary Knight was temporarily stunned by a flour bomb. [13]
It was a tight game, with Allan Hewson, the New Zealand full-back kicking a long range penalty to win the game 25-22. [13] As Rod Chester and Nev McMillan described the scene:
[[Category:History of rugby union]] [[category:Rugby union in South Africa]] [[Category:Civil rights protests]] [[Category:Politics and race]] [[Category:Racism]] [[Category:Rugby union controversies]] [[Category:International opposition to apartheid in South Africa]]
Rugby a Way of Life, p112
Ian Robertson
Murrayfield in 1969
p112-113
The Complete Book of Rugby
p59 Danie Craven supposedly said a black player would play for the Springboks over his dead body.
p219 1981 nicknamed "the Barbed Wire Tour"
South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984 by England. South Africa toured New Zealand in 1981. South Africa were excluded from the first two Rugby World Cups, in 1987 and 1991.
No other issue, political or otherwise has divided the rugby community so much, at least not since the great schism with rugby league over professionalism. While many rugby fans and commentators would try and body swerve politics, at least politics of a certain kind, the apartheid issue brought it right into the heart of the game, in a very direct, and often physical way.
South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984 by England. South Africa toured New Zealand in 1981. South Africa were excluded from the first two Rugby World Cups, in 1987 and 1991.
The famous Scottish rugby commentator, Bill McLaren, devotes an entire chapter to the subject in his autobiography, Talking of Rugby, called "Barred from the International Feast". Like many other rugby fans, he expresses contempt for South Africa's "unacceptable racist policy", but adds "it has been a disgrace that a world Rugby Union power has been eliminated from world competition for all those years." [1] McLaren had had personal experience of some of the demonstrations and believed that:
Ian Robertson, documented how the Springboks' position slowly deteriorated over the decades, but suggested that the fault lay outwith the rugby fraternity:
Like most other institutions in South Africa, the South African rugby bodies were divided along racial lines:
There was also the South African Rugby Union (SARU), which was a non-racial body, with a considerable membership. [4] However, only the SARB had any say in international tours, and they alone chose the national team.
At the end of the 1970s, the SARB took over the SARF and SARA, but Abdul Abbas, leader of SARU refused to co-operate with the new board until the game was integrated at club level and certain political laws scrapped. [4]
In September 1981, South Africa was due to play the Mid-West in Chicago. To avoid protestors, they drove 77 miles to [{Racine]] and played in front of 247 spectators, winning 46-12. By the time they returned to Chicago, none of the spectators knew that thye game had happened.
In April 2010 it was revealed by Muru Walters that in 1956 Ernest Corbett, Minister of Māori Affairs, had told the Māori All Blacks to deliberately lose to the Springboks "for the future of rugby". The Māori team lost 37-0. This was followed by Walters calling for the government to apologise for the way it treated Māori rugby players. [6]
Foreign complaints about South Africa's bigoted sports brought more isolation. In 1960, Verwoerd barred a Māori rugby player from touring South Africa with the All Blacks, and the tour was cancelled. New Zealand made a decision not to convey an authorised rugby team to South Africa again.
B. J. Vorster took Verwoerd's place as PM in 1966 and declared that South Africa would no longer dictate to other countries what their teams should look like. Although this reopened the gate for sporting meets, it did not signal the end of South Africa's racist sporting policies. In 1968, Vorster went against his policy by refusing to permit Basil D'Oliveira, a Coloured South African-born cricketer, to join the English cricket team on its tour to South Africa. Vorster said that the side had been chosen only to prove a point, and not on merit. After protests, however, "Dolly" was eventually included in the team. Protests against certain tours brought about the cancellation of a number of other visits, like that of an England rugby team in 1969/70.
Ian Robertson describes the scene at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in 1969:
In February, 1977, Danie Craven flew to London to plead for South African rugby's reintegration into the international scene, and to make a last ditch atttempt to save the Springboks' scheduled tour of the British Isles in 1978, and the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1980.
However, some, such as Chris Laidlaw, later a Labour MP in New Zealand, had had enough, and believed that rugby's failure to engage with the issue properly was harming the sport:
The Soviet Union supposedly turned down its invitation to the 1987 Rugby World Cup, because of its distaste for the apartheid regime of South Africa. However, South Africa was not invited in the end. While the Great Soviet Encyclopedia states that rugby is popular in Great Britain, New Zealand, France, Romania and Australia, it tellingly makes no mention of South Africa. [9] Chris Thau says that France approached the USSR before 1987 on the issue, and that the Soviets said that they would be happy to participate if South Africa was not invited. [10] In the end, South Africa was not invited, but the USSR did not attend either. It has been said that:
The Soviets leaned on other nations heavily:
In September 1981, South Africa was due to play the Mid-West in Chicago. To avoid protestors, they drove 77 miles to [{Racine]] and played in front of 247 spectators, winning 46-12. By the time they returned to Chicago, none of the spectators knew that thye game had happened. [5]
The 1981 Springboks tour of New Zealand was compromised by demonstrations, and the tourists had to be kept under strict security throughout their visit. [13]
Two games had to be cancelled. [13] The game at Hamilton in the first week of the tour saw 200 protestors rip down a chain fence, sprinkle tacks all over the pitch and then staged a sit-in on the half way line. At the time, a crowd of 25,000 was watching them playing Waikato. Subsequent matches saw the arrival of barbed wire, and police with batons. The match against South Canterbury at Timaru was cancelled because the authorities thought that they would not be able to control the demonstrations there. [13]
The final test of the tour was buzzed by a Cessna aircraft - some in fact nicknamed it the "Crazy Biggles Test". The plane continually strafed the pitch, and dropped flour bombs, flares and leaflets. [13] All-Black prop Gary Knight was temporarily stunned by a flour bomb. [13]
It was a tight game, with Allan Hewson, the New Zealand full-back kicking a long range penalty to win the game 25-22. [13] As Rod Chester and Nev McMillan described the scene:
[[Category:History of rugby union]] [[category:Rugby union in South Africa]] [[Category:Civil rights protests]] [[Category:Politics and race]] [[Category:Racism]] [[Category:Rugby union controversies]] [[Category:International opposition to apartheid in South Africa]]
Rugby a Way of Life, p112
Ian Robertson
Murrayfield in 1969
p112-113
The Complete Book of Rugby
p59 Danie Craven supposedly said a black player would play for the Springboks over his dead body.
p219 1981 nicknamed "the Barbed Wire Tour"