Will Rassie ever select his team like this?
Saturday, August 22 will see the Springboks and All Blacks resume their ‘war’ at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, to start Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
This alternating quadrennial tour between South Africa and New Zealand is being billed as a ‘defining’ new chapter for the intense rivalry between the sport’s most successful and storied nations.
It is the first time in 30 years that the All Blacks will undertake a full (or long) tour of the Republic.
In the series’ maiden year, South Africa will host New Zealand in August and September.
The All Blacks kick off the tour against the Stormers in Cape Town on Friday, August 7 and take on the Sharks, Bulls and Lions, to complement a four-Test series against the Springboks.
It is against this backdrop that I was delighted with a special gift, a wonderful read called ‘The watershed tour‘.
It is a book, hardcover and well illustrated, about the 1949 tour by the All Blacks to South Africa.
The book was written by David McLennan, a rare book dealer and owner of Select Books Cape Town.
He has written several books on rugby in South Africa, including Lions in Africa, 130 years of rugby rivalry, 1891-2009 and The Forgotten Springboks: the 1912-1913 rugby tour of the United Kingdom and France.
The 1949 trip was the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand team.
The All Blacks won 13 of their 24 matches, suffered seven losses, and had four draws.
Danie Craven coached South Africa to a historic 4-0 whitewash of the All Blacks.
Not only was it the first post-war series, but it had its share of controversy.
As they had in 1928 and would do again in 1960, New Zealand left Māori players out of the 30-man tour squad to meet apartheid conditions set by South Africa.
However, the most intriguing and fascinating aspect of that tour, in the amateur era, was the way the Bok team was selected 70-odd years ago.
(Continue below ….)
These days, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus and his fellow coaches know well in advance what team they will put out on a particular day.
In fact, the players often know weeks in advance who will feature in which match.
Back in 1949, the selection process was very different.
Trials preceded the series, and the selectors also had the tour matches against domestic teams to assess players.
This resulted in a chaotic situation and a crazy selection process before the first Test.
I quote the book, ‘The watershed tour‘.
“Prior to the All Black match against Western Province, the South African selectors had met and drawn up a ‘provisional’ Springbok side.
“[Bok coach Danie] Craven observed that then came the ‘debacle’ – the All Blacks ‘convincingly’ beat Western Province.
“Now the selectors had to think again.
“The Springbok team was due to be announced after the [WP] match and therefore the selectors did not have much time. They decided to meet somewhere they would not be disturbed, to discuss their options.
“The Olympics Sports Club in Rondebosch was one train station away from Newlands and the men quickly decamped there, thinking they had escape attention.
“Craven, however, recalled the bartender coming up to him while they were in their deliberations in the cards room of the bar area, informing him there was a ‘trunk call’ for him.
“Craven, surprised to be summonsed, took the call. It was a journalist from Pretoria imploring him not to forget the two names he [the journalist] provided.
“Craven was furious and accused the caller of trying to influence him.
“This incident indicated the level of interest in their [the selectors’] task across the Union.
“Later that night both teams were announced .
“The New Zealand task was an easy one. The squad had been together for months and all knew where they stood. There was just one change from the team that humbled Western Province; bringing in Boggs at wing in place of Meates.
“The South African selectors faced the unenviable task of choosing fifteen new [post-war] Springboks.
“Craven wrote ruefully about the whole evening.
“Under time pressure after the conclusion of the Western Province match, the selectors took votes on players and Craven realised that a lot of Springboks were selected by three-two votes. That third vote decided whether a man is to become a Springbok or not, whether long-cherished dreams and ambitions will be realised, whether a player will rise to far greater heights than before, or go down as a forgotten provincial player.”
The selectors, already feeling uncomfortable with their methodology, were then placed in another uncomfortable situation when they returned to Newlands.
The Bok team announcement was to be made at the post-match function, with the room filled with New Zealand and Western Province players, some of the latter having been ‘de-selected’.
“Craven wrote of that evening with remorse.
“Only three Western Province players were eventually given the nod and the selectors had to face the room.”
It is one of several wonderful accounts of the events and incidents in the tour, and the book contains details of every one of the 24 matches.
It will set the scene very nicely ahead of the Greatest Rivalry series later this year.
It is worth a read.
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
* To get your copy of ‘The watershed tour’, contact David McLennan at Select Books.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.selectbooks.co.za
Tel: +27(0)21 424 6955
