Date formed 1889 Re-constituted as SARFU 1992
IRB membership 1949
Rugby was introduced to South Africa in the 1860s and an important step was taken in 1875 when a team representing Cape Town took on the British garrison based in the city. The South African Rugby Board (SARB) was formed in 1889.
The basis of the game in South Africa has been the club and provincial structure, and the mainstay of the latter has been the Currie Cup. The Cup was first presented by Sir Donald Currie in 1891 to the province that performed the best against Bill McLagan's touring British side that year. But the Inter-Union competition which now bears the same name had actually begun two years earlier in 1889 and has evolved into an annual contest that is held dear among South Africa's rugby followers.
Western Province, the first of the provincial unions to be founded, won the Currie Cup 21 times out of their first 29 attempts. It took the emergence of Northern Transvaal (now the Blue Bulls) to break that dominance, notably in the period between 1968 and 1981 when Northern Transvaal won or shared the Currie Cup 11 times.
It is fair to say that provincial rugby would not have gained the foothold it has without the early influence of clubs like Hamilton and Villagers, and two of the southern colleges, South African College and Victoria College, better know since as the universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Both these seats of learning harboured men with a passion for rugby, who would innvovate and experiment with the game. Boy de Villiers in Cape Town and AF Markotter in Stellenbosch carried their influence through their students out to Kimberley, to the Orange Free State, to Transvaal and to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). By the time of the second Springboks' tour to the British Isles, in 1912, rugby was South Africa's number one sport.
Such was the strength of the national team, the Springboks, that South Africa were unbeaten in a rubber of matches for 60 years until 1956, 1-3 against New Zealand. A home Test defeat, the first since 1896, soon followed at the hands of France. The hardening of the outside world's attitudes towards apartheid, while not preventing many incoming tours, led to a policy statement from the South African Rugby Board in 1979 outlining plans to create a multi-racial environment for South African rugby. Thirteen long years were to pass before, in 1992, and with Nelson Mandela free from jail for more than a year, the South Africans' isolation was truly at an end. The new era was signalled by a re-constitution of South African rugby, with SARFU born out of the old SARB and the mainly black South African Rugby Union (SARU). In 1995, South Africa won the Rugby World Cup. In 1998, South Africa won 17 Tests in a row.
BOK SQUAD FOR CANADIAN TEST AND THE TWO ENGLISH TESTS Springbok squad:
Backs: Percy Montgomery (Stormers), Thinus Delport (Cats), Pieter Rossouw (Stormers), Deon Kayser (Sharks), Breyton Paulse (Stormers), Chester Williams (Cats), Japie Mulder (Cats), De Wet Barry (Stormers), Grant Esterhuizen (Cats), Robbie Fleck (Stormers), Louis Koen (Cats), Braam van Straaten (Stormers), Werner Swanepoel (Cats), Joost van der Westhuizen (Bulls).
Forwards: Andre Vos (Cats, capt), Warren Brosnihan (Sharks), Andre Venter (Cats), Johan Erasmus (Cats), Corne Krige (Stormers), Krynauw Otto (Northern Bulls), Albert van den Berg (Sharks), Selborne Boome(Stormers), Cobus Visagie (Stormers), Rob Kempson (Stormers), Ollie le Roux (Sharks), Willie Meyer (Cats), John Smit (Sharks), Charl Marais (Stormers).
TEST FIXTURES
Date Opposition Venue
10 Jun Canada East London
17 Jun England Pretoria
24 Jun England Bloemfontein-Free State
08 Jul Australia Melbourne
22 Jul New Zealand Christchurch-Jade Stadium
29 Jul Australia Sydney-Stadium Australia
19 Aug New Zealand Johannesburg-Ellis Pk
26 Aug Australia Durban-King's Pk
11 Nov Argentina Buenos Aires-FC Oeste
18 Nov Ireland Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
25 Nov Wales Cardiff-Millennium Stadium
02 Dec England Twickenham
Gritty Springboks beat England
Strong defence: De Wet Barry
17/06/2000
Pretoria - It was desperately close, but the Springboks resolutely defended a slender lead in the second half of their Vodacom International against England to triumph 18-13 at Minolta Loftus on Saturday. The Boks led 15-10 at halftime in the first of their two-Test series.
It was a match full of drama, passion and tension. The last 20 minutes were nail-biting stuff and the Boks had to pull out all the stops to stem the England tide. The English, desperately looking for what would have been their third Test victory in South Africa, went for broke in those dying moments.
They got three penalties and each time they went for the try. But, as for most of the match, the South African defensive lines were too strong. That the home team came up trumps is testimony to their character - something they will need plenty of in this demanding season.
They already had to dig deep in their reserves in the first half when they were severely disrupted by injuries. The Boks had to make do with a midfield combination of Pieter Rossouw and Percy Montgomery after Robbie Fleck and De Wet Barry spent quite a considerable period of time in the blood bin.
Fleck got an England boot on the head in the first minutes and was left groggy. The stretcher was sent on but the player got up and continued. He was eventually forced to leave the field in the 17th minute. Flank Johan Erasmus left the field simultaneously after sustaining an ankle injury and was replaced by Corne Krige.
Thinus Delport replaced Fleck and went to fullback, with Percy Montgomery moving to centre. In the 22th minute, disaster struck again when inside centre Barry had to leave the field injured. The youngster was replaced by Chester Williams, who went to wing with Rossouw moving to centre.
Minutes later the crowd was shocked when captain Andre Vos was stretchered off, but he returned after receiving treatment for a cut. Albert van den Berg temporarily replaced him.
After halftime, Fleck as well as Barry returned. To make matters worse, tighthead prop Willie Meyer was yellow-carded by referee Colin Hawke for using his boot on an England player in a ruck late in the first half. Luckily, a minute later he was followed to the sin bin by England hooker Phil Greening, also for stomping.
England received a hammer blow before the kick-off when ace flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson had to withdraw due to a stomach ailment. Austin Healey, who was originally selected at right wing, moved to the No 10 slot and Tim Stimpson was promoted from the substitutes?nch to wing.
Healey, who has also represented England at scrumhalf, plays flyhalf for his club Leicester. It was the first time he had to don the No 10 jersey for England and could not really dictate the game in the way manager Clive Woodward would have liked him to do.
Little of the flamboyance that characterised the Boks?rformance against Canada was on display on Saturday. The Boks played a much more structured game and kicked considerably more than last week. They did, however, run the ball whenever the opportunity arose, but England's defence proved impenetrable.
A highly aggressive England pack tried to subdue the Boks with their driving play in the first half, but gave the ball a lot of air in the second stanza and fullback Matt Perry was a constant threat.
The deadly boot of flyhalf Braam van Straaten gave the home team the early ascendancy. The Stormers pivot kicked two penalties before Stimpson?etort for England in the 10th minute. The deadly Van Straaten extended the Boks?ad with three more penalties to 15-3 before wing Dan Luger scored the first try of the match in the 25th minute after some great team work.
Greening was first stopped just short of the line before a great tackle by Breyton Paulse on centre Mike Tindall kept the English at bay. But there was no stopping Luger from the ensuing ruck. Stimpson converted to give England a new lease of life at 10-15.
In the second half, the English raised their game a couple of notches and had the Springboks on the retreat for long spells. England supporters, of course, would feel aggrieved that they weren't awarded a penalty try when Stimpson was tackled by Vos in the in-goal area after a kick-and-chase. The TV referee, however, didn't agree because Stimpson had appeared to knock the ball forward.
This seemed to spur on the English and their bulldog spirit came to the fore as they attacked the Springbok line relentlessly. In the 54th minute, Stimpson reduced the deficit to 13-15 with a penalty.
In the second half, Van Straaten's usual accuracy deserted him on two occasions - first in the 65th minute. Before this game Van Straaten had a proud kicking record of 38 out of 38 at Minolta Loftus, having not missed a kick since 1996 when he played for the Blue Bulls.
But Van Straaten made amends, though, when he slotted home a crucial penalty in the 74th minute after replacement centre Leon Lloyd was penalised for punching Barry. This gave the Boks a five-point cushion at 18-13. Still, the English refused to give up - but nor did Vos's super-Boks.
The stage is now set for another humdinger in Bloemfontein next week. Visiting loose forward Neil Back was named Vodacom Man of the Match.
Scorers:
South Africa - Penalties: Braam van Straaten (6). England - Try: Dan Luger; Conversion: Tim Stimpson; Penalties: Stimpson (2)
By Andrew Koopman
Scoring sequence:
First half: 3-0 Van Straaten penalty (6th min); 6-0 Van Straaten penalty (9th); 6-3 Stimpson penalty (12th); 9-3 Van Straaten penalty (14th); 12-3 Van Straaten penalty (20th); 15-3 Van Straaten penalty (24th); 15-10 Luger try, Stimpson conversion (30th).
Second half: 15-13 Stimpson penalty (14th); 18-13 Van Straaten penalty (45th).
Teams at Minolta Loftus:
South Africa: Percy Montgomery; Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw; Braam van Straaten, Joost van der Westhuizen; Andre Vos (capt), Andre Venter, Johan Erasmus, Krynauw Otto, Selborne Boome, Willie Meyer, Charl Marais, Rob Kempson. Substitutes: John Smit, Ollie le Roux (Krige 44th-47th, Kempson 74th), Albert van den Berg (Vos 35th-39th, Boome 74th), Corne Krige (Erasmus 20th), Dan van Zyl, Chester Williams (Barry 31st-40th), Thinus Delport (Fleck 20th- 40th, 74th).
England: Matt Perry; Tim Stimpson, Mike Tindall, Mike Catt, Dan Luger; Austin Healey, Kyran Bracken; Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back, Richard Hill, Danny Grewcock, Martin Johnson (capt), Julian White, Phil Greening, Jason Leonard. Substitutes: Mark Regan (Greening 44th-49th), David Flatman (White 59th), Martin Wood, Simon Shaw (Johnson 73rd), Joe Worsley (Grewcock 77th), Leon Lloyd (Catt 74th), Ben Cohen.
Referee: Colin Hawke (New Zealand). Vodacom Man of the Match: Neil Back (England).
England get their result
A rock-solid England inspired by a faultless Jonny Wilkinson at fly-half dominated South Africa 27-22 at the Free State Stadium here Saturday to square the two-Test series 1-1.
A last-ditch effort sparked by a controversial Joost van der Westhuizen try could not see South Africa through a heroic England defence in the dying minutes, as the Springboks were left to rue their many infringements punished by penalties.
Twenty-one-year-old England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson was sublime, scoring all 27 his team's points, with a breathtaking kicking display that included eight penalties and a drop-goal.
Wilkinson who missed out on last week's Test, won 18-13 by the Springboks hardly put a foot wrong during the match, marshalling his backs brilliantly.
The Springboks, however, will have to go back to the drawing board. Their first-phase possession was woefully inadequate, with referee Stuart Dickenson of Australia warning the South Africans on numerous occasions for infringements on the deck.
The Boks, however, hardly heeded his calls and their indiscipline cost them dearly.
England employed a rock-solid defensive pattern, giving the Springboks very little chance of crossing the line.
The 37,000 strong crowd who braved a chilly Free State evening showed their disapproval of the Boks' display.
The Springboks scored their points through flyhalf Braam van Straaten, who slotted four penalties in the first-half, with Percy Montgomery adding a penalty and a conversion in the second half.
Up until the 80th minute, the Springboks were trailing the tourists 15-27, but former skipper Van der Westhuizen scored a controversial try after the television referee Andre Watson ruled that the scrumhalf had grounded the ball from a ruck on the England line.
Van der Westhuizen's try seemed to put the spark back in the Springboks, who attacked ferociously, but were let down by handling errors and their inability to breach the England defence.
The match was by no means a classic, but was characterised by tough battles among the forwards, with scythe-like defence from both sides.
The win sees England registering their third-only win on South African soil, and very fitting that they should beat the Springboks in Bloemfontein, known as South Africa's City of Roses.
The two-Test series, like the one in 1994, is shared 1-1.
South Africa - Try: Joost van der Westhuizen; Conversion: Percy Montgomery; Penalties: Braam van Straaten (4), Percy Montgomery. England - Penalties: Jonny Wilkinson (8); Drop goal: Wilkinson.
Scoring sequence:
First half: 3-0 Van Straaten penalty (4th minute); 6-0 Van Straaten penalty (10th); 6-3 Wilkinson penalty (15th); 6-6 Wilkinson penalty (21st); 6-9 Wilkinson penalty (28th); 9-9 Van Straaten penalty (30th); 9-12 Wilkinson penalty (32nd); 12-12 Van Straaten penalty (35th); 12-15 Wilkinson penalty (39th); 12-18 Wilkinson penalty (42nd).
Second half: 15-18 Montgomery penalty (6th minute); 15-21 Wilkinson drop goal (8th); 15-24 Wilkinson (9th); 15-27 Wilkinson penalty (15th); 22-27 Van der Westhuizen try, Montgomery conversion (38th).
Teams at the Free State Stadium:
South Africa: Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw, Braam van Straaten, Joost van der Westhuizen (Yellow card 61st), Andre Vos (capt), Andre Venter, Corn?rige, Krynauw Otto, Selborne Boome, Cobus Visagie, Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson. Substitutes: Japie Mulder, Werner Swanepoel, Chester Williams (Van Straaten 40th), John Smit, Ollie le Roux (Visagie 61st), Albert van den Berg, Warren Brosnihan.
England: Matt Perry, Austin Healey, Mike Tindall, Mike Catt, Ben Cohen, Jonny Wilkinson, Kyran Bracken, Lawrence Dallaglio (Yellow card 45th), Neil Back, Richard Hill, Danny Grewcock, Martin Johnson (capt), Julian White, Phil Greening, Jason Leonard (Yellow card 18th). Substitutes: Mark Regan, David Flatman (Leonard 21st to 28th), Simon Shaw (Grewcock 55th), Joe Worsley (Hill 61st), Will Greenwood, Leon Lloyd (Tindall 72nd), Tim Stimpson.
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia). Vodacom Man of the Match: Jonny Wilkinson.
Cullen's double sinks Springboks
by Scrum's New Zealand Editor Huw Turner
The demeanour and pronouncements of the South African players and management team in Christchurch this week suggested that they had already settled for defeat, but were hoping to restrict the damage so that they could emerge with some credit.
In blunting All Black offensive power, they were restricted to two Christian Cullen tries, and finishing with a 25-12 defeat, the Springboks may feel that they achieved their objective and Nick Mallett may well claim further success in his determination to transform his side's style of play.
After the extraordinary events in Sydney last weekend, we were back down to earth today. Neither side ever achieved sufficient fluency to break the game open, unforced handling errors and inaccuracies undermining efforts to create and maintain momentum, and both defences simply stifled what invention threatened.
Against Australia, New Zealand struggled with their line out and fringe defence, emerging victorious because of their dynamic three quarter play. In Christchurch, the line out work of earlier in the week had clearly paid off. Blackadder was a solid presence throughout, Flavell in the first half and Maxwell in the second dynamic in threatening the Springboks and, particularly in the second half, winning a good deal of possession on the South African throw in. The Springboks' failure to cross the All Blacks' try line confirms that the decision to start with Kronfeld was the right one as he led the home side's defensive line.
Conversely, the All Black back line had a quiet afternoon. Early on, Mehrtens realised that the Springboks' flat defensive alignment could be breached with a kick over the top and he preferred this tactic to keeping the ball in hand. Robinson and Alatini were therefore seen largely in defence and Lomu and Umaga rarely with space to attack.
Cullen's tries, the first after seven minutes, the second after fifteen, were due firstly to a kick through which Montgomery didn't fancy gathering as Lomu loomed and, secondly, a superb cut out pass by Mehrtens which left the full back with a clear run to the line. We saw very few clear-cut opportunities for tries subsequently as the Springboks scrambled and stifled for all they were worth.
Nick Mallett's determination to see his side play with ball in hand was put into practice, especially in the first half, but it was possible to see the rough edges in the policy. His players tended to attack across field, they lacked composure and accuracy so that fluency rarely materialised, the dropped ball or pass behind the receiving player never too far away. Swanepoel had a good game at scrum half, posing a threat throughout, but Van Straaten is not a dynamic enough player to ignite a back line which did not gel successfully.
The Springbok scrum went well enough, and Van Den Berg, Venter, Erasmus (until his replacement early in the second half) and Vos were always threatening with ball in hand. As the game wore on their lineout came under threat and confidence in it visibly drained away. Without the necessary platform they were unable to seriously threaten in the second half.
The game almost started in sensational fashion, Paulse looking to be impeded as he chased a kick through after Krige and Cullen had collided sickeningly. Both required off-field attention, but the latter returned to score decisive blows with his two tries. Van Straaten had given his side a 6th minute lead and kicked two further penalties at the end of the half to just about keep his side in touch. Montgomery dropped a goal in the 23rd minute but Mehrtens maintained the All Blacks' advantage going into half time with two penalties and a dropped goal of his own. 19-12 at half time.
Only two penalties were scored in the second period, one each to Mehrtens and Brown. A comfortable enough winning margin in the end, the All Blacks never entirely convincing, the Springboks perhaps never believing in themselves sufficiently to offer real menace. Both sides still have much to work on as they both face fixtures against Australia over the next two weekends. Wayne Smith has seen the winning momentum of his side maintained and the pressure on Nick Mallett ought not to have increased too greatly. But I don't suppose too many people will be discussing whether this was, or was not, the greatest game of rugby ever played.
Scorers :
New Zealand 25 : Tries : Cullen (2). Penalties : Mehrtens (3), Brown . Dropped goal : Mehrtens.
South Africa 12 : Penalties : Van Straaten (3). Dropped goal : Montgomery.
New Zealand:
Christian Cullen (Leon McDonald 1, Cullen 5); Tana Umaga, Mark Robinson, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu; Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 67), Justin Marshall; Ron Cribb, Josh Kronfeld (Scott Robertson 73), Taine Randell; Todd Blackadder (capt.), Troy Flavell (Norm Maxwell 46); Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammer 61), Carl Hoeft (Craig Dowd 48)
Replacement not used: Byron Kelleher
South Africa:
Percy Montgomery; Tinus Delport, Robbie Fleck (Grant,Esterhuizen 74), De Wet Barry, Breyton Paulse; Braam van Straaten, Werner Swanepoel (Joost van der Wethuizen 74); Andre Vos (capt.), Johan Erasmus, Cornus Krige (Warren Brosnihan 1, Krige 6); Andre Venter, Albert van den Berg (Jannes Labushchagne 70); Cobus Visage (Willie Meyer 65), Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson (John Smit 34, 74)
Replacement not used: Chester Williams
Referee: Chris White (Eng)
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