u/Wondering_Watcher

Image 1: All Black prop Gary Knight knocked out by a flour bomb - Source : 'Flour-bomb test' ends Springbok tour | NZ History
Image 2: Nelson Mandela in his cell on Robben Island - Source: Nelson Mandela returns to his cell on Robben Island, 1994. | South African History Online

The period between 1970 and 1981 marked a tumultuous period in South Africa and, by extension, the world stage at large. My goal is to retell the history of this rivalry and the impact it had on both countries. As such, I hope to convey an objective view of events and hope others find it educational.

As my previous post stated, there were two main schools of thought when it came to how to encourage change within a foreign country. Even in conflicts today, we see these two camps argue as to the best approach:

• Those who feel that the offending government should be opposed by any means necessary, regardless (or even because) of the effect these actions have on the people living in the country.
• And those who feel that citizens (and to a lesser extent, the sport) shouldn't be punished because of the choices and policies a government, which some citizens already oppose, makes.

Both these camps have good points and want to bring change in their way.

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Early in the 1970s, countries started implementing sanctions against South Africa due to the policies of apartheid. The UN even issued recommendations to sanction South Africa. As with today, these sanctions included trade sanctions and cultural sanctions (such as sport). At the time, South Africa had nuclear weapons, so military actions such as blockades were not a viable strategy. Instead, it was left to each country to form its own approach when dealing with South Africa.

In 1973, the prime minister of New Zealand had discouraged the NZRFU from hosting a Springbok tour to New Zealand. This was very controversial, as his 1972 campaign had stated he would ‘leave politics out of sport’ and not hinder the tour. Unfortunately, the reality of threats from certain groups meant that the risk of civil unrest was immense.

Threats of protests and even bomb threats were delivered to his desk, and so, with his pressure, the NZRFU cancelled the 1973 tour. This would prove to be such a political controversy that the opposing party used it in their 1975 campaign and won. The new prime minister was determined to see any future tests through, and in 1976, gave his blessing for the All Blacks to tour South Africa.

The 1976 All Black side that toured South Africa lost the tour 3-1. Despite that, they were seen as heroes in South Africa. Those who opposed the government and saw the Springboks as a symbol of that government cheered the All Blacks on in every match. Those who supported the Springboks were grateful for the All Blacks undertaking the tour despite global pressure and felt a reprieved from being punished for laws they opposed.

However, the All Blacks were not viewed so favorably on the world stage. In 1976, the Olympics in Canada saw 25 African countries boycott the Olympics because New Zealand was participating. To them, the decision to tour South Africa was not done for the love of the game but showed approval (or apathy) towards the system of apartheid.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep politics out of the sport.

Some argued that sport had already caused incremental changes to South African society (such as more ethnicities being allowed on the field) and stated that continued engagement would eventually help internal pressure mount against the government. Others argued that these changes were mere token gestures, and without external pressure, the draconian government would see no need to give up its power.

This is where the 1981 tour occurs. With the Springboks touring New Zealand, these two thought groups would (quite literally) clash.

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As promised, the prime minister allowed the 1981 tour to take place. And while the tour itself would be mired in protests (the last test being in September), he would be re-elected to a third term later that year in November.

The first game of the tour already had many public protesters and a large police presence to keep the protesters out of the stadium. The bus the team was traveling on had been vandalized by protestors throwing paint at it.

For the second game in Hamilton, the protesters had bought tickets...

The protesters at Hamilton pulled down a fence that had been erected around the field and rushed onto the field. 350 protesters stood on the field with their arms interlocked. The police tried to remove the protesters, and 50 were arrested, but it became apparent that the police also had to protect the protesters, as some of the spectators grew restless, threw objects at them, and were looking to assault them.

There was a long standoff as leaders of the protest and the police met to talk on the field. The game was called off when reports came in that a plane had been stolen and was heading to the location.

The crowd erupted in anger and police advised protesters to remove any symbols linking them to the protests as they escorted them out of the stadium.

The Monday after the game, a pro-tour march was held, with 1500 people marching in Tokoroa to show their support of the tour.

During the first test in Christchurch, protesters again stormed the field, but in lesser numbers, and were removed by police. The protest outside the stadium was of such a nature that the spectators had to wait for it to disperse before they could leave. New Zealand won the first test.

The second test was won by South Africa, meaning the third test would be the decider. For those who wanted the series to be completed, this added to the national tension, as if the final game was called off, it would mean the series ended in a draw.

The third test has the nickname of: The Flour Bomb Test.

While protests raged outside the stadium, injuring both police and protesters, some protesters had acquired a plane and carried out a protest on the field. Sacks of flour were dropped during the match as the plane flew back and forth over the stadium. Despite the danger to player safety, the ref refused to call off the game. Not even when one of the All Black props was knocked out by a sack of flour to the head. In the end, the All Blacks won the game 25-22 due to a penalty in injury time.

Thus, the All Blacks had won the 1981 tour. For many fans in both countries, the tour had left a sour taste. It had seemed that any future matches were doomed to controversy and could endanger the players and the spectators. This factor, along with more global pressure on New Zealand, meant that sanctions were implemented by the NZRFU, and the next time these two sides would ‘officially’ meet was more than a decade later.

There were sentiments in New Zealand that the protesters had won through fearmongering. Many resented the methods used to end the tours and felt the protesters had gone too far to prove their point (referring to the threats and violence of this period). Such sentiments as these could have contributed to the New Zealand Cavaliers tour during the sanction period. (9 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. Cavalier facts. : r/rugbyunion)

On the other side, those who protested the apartheid regime around the world, were pleased that pressure was mounting against the South-African government as more and more nations found it hard to engage with the country without consequences.

There was very prominent figure (And at the time, an All Black supporter) who appreciated the protests, especially those who rushed the field in Hamilton. For Nelson Mandela, hearing about this act of protest while imprisoned on Robben Island “was like the sun had come out”.

For him and many others, it showed how the winds of change were in the air. It also showed that this rivalry struck a chord in both nations. And while it had temporarily divided New Zealand, after the fall of apartheid, this rivalry would unite a country in a way once thought impossible.

Day 4: 4 DAYS until the first test! 1960 to 1970. How rugby forced a government to change its rules : r/rugbyunion

Image 1: News papper article from groups arranging protests against the 1960 tour- Source: All-white All Blacks | Services to Schools
Image 2: Beegee scoring a try against the Western in the first tour without forced racial exclusion- Source: All Blacks 1970 tour to South Africa 50 years on: Honorary whites, Craven antics and Bok battles | Stuff

In the lead-up to the 1960 tour, public pressure in New Zealand was mounting to stop abiding by the apartheid regime's rules. A petition was signed by 160,000 New Zealanders to stop the tour unless Māori players were allowed to tour with the team to South-Africa. A campaign was launched by Citizens All Black Tour Association in New Zealand under the slogan ‘No Māoris − No Tour’.

Now, the important thing about the tension building is that there are two main camps in political situations like these. (These two camps are prevalent across the world, even in conflicts today.)

• Those who feel that the offending government should be opposed by any means necessary, regardless (or even because) of the effect these actions have on the people living in the country.
• And those who felt that citizens (and to a lesser extent, the sport) shouldn't be punished because of the choices and policies a government, which some citizens already oppose, makes.

As stated previously, I am going to try to look at the history in an educational, non-political manner, focusing on the cause and effect of events.

The 1960 tour commenced, and New Zealand lost in South Africa 2-1 with 1 draw. This had the effect of weakening the argument of those who wished to keep politics out of sport, as the margins of these games were so close that it stood to reason that the excluded players might have swung the games the other way.

The 1965 tour, where South-Africa toured New Zealand, cemented this notion in the minds of many, as with all their players allowed to play, New Zealand won the series 3-1.

This led to the cancelled tour of 1967. New Zealand was supposed to tour South-Africa in 1967. But pressure mounted from those who opposed apartheid and those who felt the tour would be unfair. The combination of these two groups opposing the tour forced the cancellation of the tour.

This was a heavy blow to many South-Africans. In 1964, the country had been excluded from the Olympics, and the prospect of not playing the All Blacks led to pressure on the South African government mounting. Discontent with the discriminatory policies was already mounting and the government could not afford giving opponent any more arguments against it.

This led to one of the biggest and most controversial changes to the apartheid regime's policies.

The government had invented a status called 'honorary white' in the 1960s. This was because of its need to trade with countries in East Asia. People from places like Japan and China were granted this title so as to avoid the discriminatory policies applying to them when in South Africa.

In talks for a 1970 tour, representatives from New Zealand met with the South African government, and a compromise was discussed. New Zealand would be allowed to tour with all their players, as non-white players would receive the status of 'honorary white'.

This arrangement took months, even years, to put in place, as New Zealand representatives were concerned for the safety and respect of their players. It took a lot of convincing, but the arrangements were made, and the 1970 tour would proceed.

Three All Black players were given the 'honorary white' status before landing in South Africa. One of these players was Bryan ‘Beegee’ Williams, who was of Samoan descent.

The 1970 tour marked the first time the Springboks and the All Blacks met on South African soil with no limits on who could be selected for the game.

The effect this had off the field was immense.

It gave hope to the citizens in South Africa. At the Kimberley game, a group of the local Kleurling (Coloured in english) community charged the field after the game to hoist Beegee on their shoulders. They were chased off by police, but the incident showed what it meant to people within South Africa to see representation of different ethnicities on the field. In South Africa today, there is still a large support base for the All Blacks due to this period. Though today it is more a case of citizens supporting the All Blacks out of tradition rather than conviction.

It highlighted the hypocrisy of the apartheid regime, as it exposed that their discriminatory policies were arbitrarily applied.

To many, it signaled that with enough internal and external pressure, the discriminatory social barriers could be broken.

For many in New Zealand, this marked a victory. Those who opposed a tour because the best players could not be selected were glad to see the social change in South Africa and to know from here on out the All Blacks would always play at full strength.

For others, they continued to protest the fact that New Zealand was continuing to play South-Africa, despite the apartheid system still persisting. To them the title of 'honorary white' was in itself an insult and gave pushback to anyone who accepted the title to play in South-Africa.

These two groups would debate and argue with each other for another two decades on the best way to bring about change.

One thing was clear. Even though the All Blacks lost the 1970 tour, a much bigger goal was achieved. The rivalry between the two teams caused a draconian government to change its policies to accommodate a rugby game.

DAY 5: 5 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. 1949 to 1956. The ALL BLACKS 0-4 loss and breaking the Springboks 60-year streak. : r/rugbyunion

Image 1: The Sun article about the All Black train accident - 2 Aug 1949 : 02 Aug 1949 - ALL BLACKS IN TRAIN SMASH - Trove

Image 2: The headboards on the Springboks trains during their 1956 tour: The Springbok Rugby Tour of New Zealand 1956

In 1949, the All Blacks undertook two tours. Thirty of their players left for South Africa and the rest remained to face Australia in New Zealand. This would unfortunately make history when, on 3 September 1949, the All Blacks lost two test matches on the same day.

One in South Africa against the Springboks and the other in New Zealand against the Wallabies.

However, despite the unpleasant outcome, the reason for the Wallabies' tour likely served as some solace to the New Zealanders.

Because of the discriminatory policies in South Africa, three All Black players (speculation goes as high as five players that could have been selected) could not tour with the side to South Africa. In order for these players not to miss out on All Black caps, a series was arranged against Australia for those players who would remain in New Zealand.

The All Black side touring South Africa would also not perform the haka before matches, with the team manager Jim Parker saying:

"The war cry is a creation of the Māori and as we have no Māori with us we are not giving the war cry."

It being four years after WW2, the last time the two sides had met was in 1937. During the war, New Zealanders and South Africans did play against each other, though this was never on home soil as the games took place near military bases or POW camps.

Half the New Zealand team did not serve in the war, and so the older players were left to tell them how it was to play against South Africans. Kevin Skinner was one of these younger players. He remembered those who played these foreign skirmishes saying:

“Those South Africans were big and heck, every game was like a test."

The New Zealanders would put up a fight in South Africa, but the Springboks under the leadership of Danie Craven (who played in the historic 1937 tour) would sweep the series 4-0. The only time this has ever happened to the All Blacks in a tour.

The press at the time claimed the All Blacks blamed the refs in letters home (though it is noted that most of these papers refused to elaborate on their sources). While one player was vocal about the refs not being neutral, in interviews the other players said that it came down to bad luck, bad coaching, and not being prepared for a powerful Springbok team.

Bad luck might be the right term, as after playing two games against Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), the train the All Blacks were on was in a tragic accident in which one of the All Blacks was injured and a railway worker killed.

The trip home came as a relief and would be the last time the All Blacks travelled by sea for a tour.

Two more interesting facts of the series :

- The All-Blacks scored more tries but lost due to the goal kicking of the Springboks. 35 of the 47 points for the Springboks were due to their prop Okey Geffin boot as he was the teams kicker.

- The All Black players were so bored on the voyage to South Africa that they put on a production of Cinderella for the crew and passengers of the ship, with one of their props being in the leading role.

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It is reported that the atmosphere in New Zealand in 1956 was akin to what it was during the war a decade earlier. The New Zealanders wanted retribution for the 1949 tour.

The Springboks would tour New Zealand in two trains set aside for the purpose. During these travels, the trains were adorned with hand painted headboards commemorating the tour.

The Springboks had not lost a tour since 1896 (60 years at that point), and the closest the All Blacks had come to beating them in a tour were the draws of the first two in 1921 and 1928.

The Springboks, under the leadership of Danie Craven, landed in New Zealand after having won every game they played in the Australian leg of the tour.

Their first game was against the provincial team Waikato in Hamilton. The grounds around the field reportedly had a capacity of 3,000 people. On that day, 31,000 New Zealanders showed up to support their team against the Springboks. It paid off with the Springboks losing 14-10.

The first test went to New Zealand and the second in Wellington went to South Africa. For the third, the All Blacks called in reinforcements, with players from the 1949 series and the Waikato province joining the squad.

This proved the correct call, and the All Blacks won the third test, putting them in sight of breaking the Springboks' 60-year streak.

The final match was held in Auckland's Eden Park, and when the final whistle blew, the score was 11-5 for the All Blacks. New Zealand had struck back after the bitter 1949 defeat and had broken the Springboks' 60-year streak of unbeaten tours.

PS.

This is a complete side note, but you know that player who was vocal about the South African refs being unfair in 1949? His name was Kevin Skinner. He was one of the players called in as reinforcements from the 1949 tour. He was also a heavyweight boxing champion…

Now, when reading his fond retellings of the matches in New Zealand and his role in particular, I think I get why the rest of the 1949 team tend to place less blame on the refs XD.

DAY 6: 6 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. 1937 to WW2. The Tests in a Nazi POW camp. : r/rugbyunion

Image 1: Team photo of the 1937 Springbok squad- source: Australia & New Zealand 1937
Image 2: Entrance to Stalag IV-B Nazi POW camp in - source Even the Nazis could not prevent a Rugby “International” from being Played - The Casual Observer
Image 3: Springbok – Mervyn Schaefer holding the jersey made in the Nazi POW camp. Same source as image 2.
Image 4: Make shift Jersy today- Source: In war and peace: Amazing story of miraculous Springbok jersey - south africa | Rugby365
Image 5: The Unofficial springboks- Source: Same as image 2.

In 1937 the 3rd tour between the two sides kicked off with the Springboks touring New Zealand. At that point no team had ever won a tour in New Zealand. With both the previous tours ending in draws, it was fully expected that New Zealand would be winning the 1937 tour.

New Zealand were allowed to star their Māori players unlike in the South-African tour 9 years before, further blustering their side.

After beating 2 tests in Australia, the Springboks traveled to New Zealand. Their captain, Phil Nel, was dropped for the first test and the vice-captain had taken over. A man by the name of Danie Craven. Craven reportedly told Nel before the test that they would lose the game and it came to pass the All Blacks won the first game of the tour.

The second test was brutal, with players on both sides sustaining lifelong injuries. Some had concussions so bad that they struggled to move and giggled uncontrollably during the game. The Springboks wound up winning the test meaning the final game would decide the result of the tour.

The final game was played at Eden Park. An old Springbok captain Paul Roos sent the team advice before the match. His telegram read "Skrum! Skrum! Skrum!".

Thanks in part to the Springboks mastery of the 3-4-1 formation of the scrum (New Zealand was more familiar with a 2-3-2 formation), along with tactical game play by players like Craven, South-Africa won the match 17-6 becoming the first team to win a tour in New Zealand.

The Rivalry would not be stopped by WW2.

There was surprisingly a lot of rugby played by soldiers during WW2. New Zealand even had a completion for a trophy in their bases called THE FREYBERG CUP. And there were even matches between Kiwi and South African units. They played in fixtures for 'the book' which another user has highlighted here: “The Book” and a quote that optimizes Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry : r/rugbyunion

But what is surprising is the story of rugby in POW camps. Now there are many inspirational stories of events like the one we are about to talk about and if you have the time, check out the article: From Tobruk to the tryline

In 1944 a tournament was being planned. South-Africans POW's held in the Stalag IV-B camp had worked hard to setup this tournament. They had arranged with the different nations within the camp to hold a rugby tournament. Each nation had held tryouts and teams were selected (most of this had to be done in secret as the wardens didn't take to kindly when different groups of prisoners communicated.)

The prisoners were eager for the moral boost, and some prisoners would give up rations to members of these teams so they could 'bulk-up' for the big game.

The South-Africans were eager to wear the green and gold jersey and weren't going to let the Nazi's stop them from wearing the BOKS colors. They made the jerseys for the team. (I couldn't believe it when I first saw the images).

Using cigarettes to barter they obtained the following (quoted from the same source as image 2): "... the jersey fashioned from Red Cross vests dyed green by boiling them with Italian battle-dress with collars, cuffs tailor-made from other material and dyed gold by boiling them in anti-malaria tablets. The elements of the Springbok badge were also cut out by camp tailors and dyed in the same way."

Apparently, this was not a once of thing. A New Zealand POW tea (in Stalag VIII-B camp) wanted to wear the AB attire and fashioned the black jerseys with white ferns. I couldn't find pictures of this unfortunately :'( . If anyone can please comment it.

After fashioning the jerseys arranging the tournament in secret, the 'unofficial' Springboks chose as their first opponent the ANZAC team. A team made up of New Zealand and Australian players. The South Africans would wind up winning this tournament, though it seems this was a rare tournament where every team walked away victorious.

Day 7: 7 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. Early history off field. : r/rugbyunion

Image 1: The Hawera and Normanby Star – September 15, 1921- 29 Jun 1928 - ALL BLACKS' TOUR. - Trove
Image 2: The Sydney Morning Herald - June 29th, 1928- 29 Jun 1928 - ALL BLACKS' TOUR. - Trove

Rugby, along with the Springbok and All Black rivalry's impact off the field, changed two countries for the better. Both countries were improved through the desire to have the best players on and off the field.

In order to understand this claim and why I make it, we need to look at the history of the two sides. My past posts talked about the stats between these two sides and focused mainly on what happened on the field. The Boks and the ABs have always been titans of the game, and the stats reflect this. If that is what you prefer, please check out the Day 26 to Day 8 posts, as the next few will look at the history between the two sides.

Know that the history between these two sides is both great and controversial. Change happened incrementally over many years, but it did happen. We know the happy ending is coming, so keep that in mind through some of the rougher parts.

I am going to approach this as an educational endeavor and invite you to look at it the same way. I will only include history that I can verify through corroborated or written statements. Meaning, I will exclude any statements made years after the fact or that are contentious to the facts.

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A reason the Springboks were invited to tour New Zealand and Australia could have been because the southern teams caused an uproar in Europe during their first Europea tours. The European nations had been of the belief that they were superior when it came to sport. European teams had visited both Australasia and South Africa and had won most of their games comfortably.

When the All Blacks toured there in 1905, they stunned the continent with their performance by beating the older and more established European teams. The Europeans would be stunned again when a makeshift team from South Africa, dubbed the Springboks, would replicate this effect.

The Springboks, in particular, did not even have official colors before the tour. They had played previous matches in South Africa in rugby shirts from other teams or wearing white shirts, as that is what each player had on hand (still their 'away' kit color today). The touring side of the Springboks had a mixture of both South African and British players. This was astonishing given that this was only a few years (ended 1902) after the Boer War, where these players would have fought against each other. Some were even POW's during the war. Even though some issues would be remembered for years to come back in South Africa, these players set aside their differences to play together. (History would repeat itself.)

The rugby union in New Zealand had to do a fundraiser in order to raise enough funds for the Springboks to tour (as the sport was entirely amateur at the time, meaning that oftentimes players paid to play rather than being paid like today). They raised around 2,000 NZ pounds at the time.

And so, in 1921, the Springboks landed in Australia and beat the Australian team in all 3 test matches. They then went to New Zealand and could only manage a draw, kicking off the rivalry as to who would be the best rugby team. The tour did not go without controversy, though.

The Springboks had accepted an invitation to play the New Zealand Māori. The game was tough, and the Springboks only managed to win 9-8. As the tenseness of the game mounted, the home crowd (made up of different races) became rowdy and, by multiple accounts, crossed some boundaries with their behavior. The Springboks would receive an apology for the crowd's behavior, but they, in turn, would need to apologize for the behavior of a South African journalist touring with the side (see image 1).

The journalist sent a telegram back to South Africa reporting on the match, calling it the 'most unfortunate match'. In it, he lamented how the Springboks had to face a side comprised of native New Zealanders, and he was disgruntled by the fact that the white New Zealand fans had jumped in to berate the Springboks.

While the team manager would apologize and the team disassociated from the journalist, many in the New Zealand press still lambasted the touring side and its members. Though, many of these remarks were more along the lines of rebuking the tourists for not understanding that the New Zealand natives are better than the African natives the South Africans were used to.

At the time in both countries, those of white descent often referred to themselves as Europeans and, as such, sought to keep the distinction in place. A few prominent figures in New Zealand did call out how the journalist's attitude was indicative of the same attitude held by some of those criticizing him, sowing the seeds for discontent that, many years later, would bring about change in both countries.

After the tour, an inquiry into how the telegram leaked led to some staff members being fired.

While the Springboks disassociated from the journalist's opinion, when talks about the 1928 tour came about, a criterion was issued to New Zealand. No non-white players were to be allowed on the tour to South Africa.

Despite this, the 1928 tour took place, and with it ending in a draw as well, the rivalry was cemented. Even before the tour, New Zealand and South Africa were regarded as the top contenders for the world's top rugby countries. (see image 2)

A quote from the 1928 article:
"To-morrow the eyes of the Rugby world
will be centered on Durban, where the All-
Blacks will play the first test match of their
South African tour. It Is generally recog-
nised that the test matches between New
Zealand and South Africa represent a struggle
for the world's Rugby supremacy."

DAY 8 : 8 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. Tour serries facts. : r/rugbyunion

The All blacks have won the last 3 tours in a row between the two sides, including their first ever series win in South-Africa in 1996.

https://preview.redd.it/cdmaj5rwgcjh1.png?width=387&format=png&auto=webp&s=504b908d424649f5a951bee65cc273a818e29780

Currently the head-to-head in serries wins is all tied up at 5 wins a piece.

DAY 9: 9 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. Cavalier facts. : r/rugbyunion

Before we get into the history, I want to say something. Some of the biggest moments in the rivalry between the AB's and Boks has happened off the field. As we approach the end of this countdown a couple of these posts are going to delve into moments that helped shape these teams and even their countries into how we know them today. As such I want to approach this post via a historical lense and i will try to be as objective as possible. Just know that depending on the source, some stories can differ and finding a middle path between competing narratives can be grey at times.

That out of the way on with the show!!!

The 1985 tour was canceled by NZRFU. This was a time before the 1987 world cup and after the 1981 tour a lot of pressure had been put on the union to abide by the sanctions of South-Africa, both from within and outside of New Zealand.

Most of the AB players were disgruntled at this cancelation. A lot of them felt that to call yourself the best without playing the Springboks rang hollow. 28 of the 30 players who would have played the 1985 tour, banned together in secret to arrange a tour. They worked with organizations like Dublin-based organization Freedom in Sport (FIS) and Auckland-based Free Nation New Zealand (FRENZ).

These organizations wanted to keep politics out of sport and saw sport as a way to bring about social change in a positive way. At the time South-Africa had already allowed Māori players to take part in previous tours and the organizations saw this as rugby having a social effect rather than a political one, as a lot of fans felt they wanted to play the best team regardless of how they looked.

And thus, a tour was arranged that was described by Rothmans Rugby Yearbook as:

"… to all intents a tour by rebel New Zealanders, undertaken completely without the sanction of the New Zealand rugby authorities. It reflected the frustration on the part of the players that official tours to South Africa had been denied them."

Only 2 AB players absconded from this rebel tour, citing their moral issues with it.

The players (including coaching staff) landed in South-Africa as tourists rather than All Blacks. They couldn't use the AB colors or name and so the one and only tour of the New Zealand Cavaliers started. Their kit (as shown in the image above) had yellow stripes, both denoting their sponsor (a South-African phone book company, Yellow pages) and separating their outfit from the traditional all black attire.

The tour had 4 test matches and 8 tour matches.
The Cavaliers won 7 of the club matches, only losing against Transvaal (Golden Lions).
They only managed to win 1 of the four test games.

The tour meant a lot to South-African rugby fans, but also to supporters in New Zealand who were happy to see the rivalry continue.

This did not change the fact that the players crossed a line by going against the imposed sanctions and NZRFU. When the team returned home, their reception was mixed to say the least.

While the players have continued to claim that they toured because they wanted to play the Springboks, it has also been reported that they were likely paid generously in a time where rugby still held a status as an amateur sport. Being compensated, especially given the circumstances, didn't do much to aid the player's image.

Players who went on the tour were banned for 2 games. This gave rise to a new generation of AB players dubbed ' the Baby Blacks'. Many of the rebel players would never play for the AB's again because of this new generation of talent. The

In 1987 more than half the All Black players that hoisted the world cup had been New Zealand Cavaliers

(Cavalier Jersy image sourced form https://nzhistory.govt.nz/)
Day 10: 10 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. Raeburn Shield facts. : r/rugbyunion
DAY 8: 8 DAYS until Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tours' first test. Tour serries facts. : r/rugbyunion

The Haka performed by the AB's, both pays respect to the Māori heritage of New Zealand and lays down a challenge for the opposing team.

Today the ALL BLACKS alternate between the Ka Mate and Kapa O Pango hakas.

Only 11 teams have ever faced the Kapa O Pango and only 5 of these teams have ever beaten the AB's in the preceding matches.

South Africa was the first of these 5 teams in September 2009.

Since it's inception the Kapa O Pango haka has been performed during 98 tests. The AB's won 75 of these tests.

In 2022 The Kapa O Pango was only performed once for the entire season. That was against South Africa on 6 August 2022)

The Boks and the AB's have played 54 tests on South African soil. The Boks have won 28 and the AB's 25 with 1 draw. Theoretically the AB's could tie this up in this tour.

The Boks are the only team to have a positive win rate against the AB with a home field advantage. The closest second teams are Australia at a bit under 31% (28W/6D/57L) and France at a bit over 31% (9W/1D/19L).

An interesting fact is that Argentina have won 4 games against the AB's. Only one of these games were in Argentina.

On a personal note, gotta say last nights game did not disappoint.

Not sure if AI was used to create the new logo, or if it's just that we life in a time where everything needs to look simple for branding.

First i want to make a correction for my day 17 post. This morning when i was reading up on stats, I realized i missed a game that the All Blacks played in 1949 against the stormers. The All Blacks won that game meaning that the game against the stormers is not a tie breaker as the current games sit at 3-2 in the AB's favor. Still with a 40%-win rate the Stormers are still above any international team in the top 10. Apologiese for that slip up but want to make sure I don't give any false stats in my posts.

During the 1976 tour the AB's lost 3 games against non-international teams.
SA Invitation XV (President's XV) : 24–31
Western Province : 11–12
Northern Transvaal : 27–29

These would be the last games the AB's lost to non-Springbok teams.
During the 1996 tour they would draw against the Griquas. A result the club is still proud of to this day as they would beat the Springboks in that tour.

The last time the AB's lost against a club team was in 1990 against Côte Basque-Landes in France.

This means they have not lost against any traditional clubs in 36 years. Very impressive since they played quite a few tours after including 1992 and 1996 in South Africa. (This excludes international invitational sides like the B&I Lions and the Barbarians.)

The 4 encounters between the 2 sides went as follows:

1928 10 - 3 Western Province
1960 8 - 20 All Blacks
1970 6 - 29 All Blacks
1976 12 - 11 Western Province

The only international side I could find with a positive win rate is Zimbabwe. They have a 100% record against the AB's with one win and one draw during a 1949 series.

So, this was an interesting one that got me into quite a rabbit hole last night. When i though about ship travel, my vision was warped to thinking of luxury cruise ships we use today. So, i thought 'Teams could practice on their way, right?' Long story short think more a small container ship with cabins and dining rooms, when you think about the travel. (There is a little more room than that for passengers on deck, but not a lot as it had cranes and ships were just smaller back then)

Often team could only do jogs for conditioning and if the deck weather was good. Ball exercises were limited as you could only really pass short distances or risk the ball going overboard. Indoor exercises were also tricky because other passengers were in the common areas.

It was so expensive to travel back then that the New Zealand rugby union had to fund raise £2000 (Now £127,084) to subsidize the Boks travel for the 1921 tour. That would be:
R 2,822,500
NZD 291,000
€ 148,400

To HELP cover the cost. Not fully cover it.
The full cost per person for the travel today would be (This is all rough math and figures are rounded):
£ 3,960
R 93,000
NZD 8,500
€ 4,500

To fly there round-trip today business class (without sponsors) would cost:
£ 2,700
R 65,000
NZD 5,000
€ 3,200

And you arrive same day.

That is a big advantage as the 1928 tour was postponed for two weeks because the AB's needed time to recuperate when they arrived because the ship had so little space for meaningful exercise.

Today player health is also prioritized when traveling. Players usually need to wait at least 1 day for contact exercises when suffering from jet lag. World rugby has a whole page on tips and guidelines for players during travel.

Player Welfare Guidelines | World Rugby

Coaching staff also have techniques to reduce jetlag even further. (But that is another rabbit hole XD)

(Wanted to get this post out before work as it promises to be a busy Monday)

During the 1905 the AB's utilized a structured scrum in their game, where players had specific positions and duties they needed to fulfill. In contrast the European teams had a first up, first down method for forming the scrum, where the first ones at the ball would be a makeshift front row and so on (like a ruck is today).

Thomas Ellison, who played at the time for the New Zealand native football team, is credited for pioneering this idea. The New Zealand native football team had been using this practice possibly as far back as 1888.

During the 1905 the AB's scrum was criticized as unfair, possibly dangerous and against the spirit of the game. (Similar to what their ancestors would say about the Springbok bomb squad XD)

The 3-4-1 formation as used by every team today, is credited as being pioneered by a South Africans Fairy Heatlie who played for Villagers Rugby Club in Cape Town during 1901. His teammate Paddy Carolin would lead to the Boks becoming the first international team to use this formation when he joined the team for the 1906 tour.

For years afterwards South Africans like "Oubaas Mark" Markötter and Danie Craven (<- real legend), would refine each position in the scrum until it functions as we know it today.

Both these losses are seen as a catalyst for changes in the team's coaching staff. Rassie Erasmus took over on the 1st of February 2018 and New Zealand's new coach, Dave Rennie, started on 4 March 2026.

The Boks first game against the AB's , with Rassie at the helm, was on 15 September 2018 in Wellington. The Boks won 36-34. (As a bok fan having experienced the troubled years leading up to that game, the turnaround was nothing short of miraculous.)

The AB's first game against the Boks with Rennie at the helm will be the test in 21 days' time. The AB's are looking good and history may repeat itself. (Though as a Safa I may be biased to hope it won't ;P )

Some more interesting facts:
The Springboks furthest home loss was:
57-15 against New Zealand at Kings Park in Durban on October 8, 2016. It was a year before the 57-0 loss. (As said, dark times).

The AB's furthest away loss was:
35-7 against the Boks but not in South-Africa. It was on August 10, 2019, in Twickenham, London.

Edit:
The AB's away loss against the Boks was 35-7. The sore was corrected from 47-26 which as the second furthest loss against Australia.

There have only been 3 rugby world cup finals that didn't feature the Boks or ALL Blacks.

1991: Australia 12–6 England
1999: Australia 35–12 France
2003: England 20–17 Australia

South-Africa won the 1995, 2007, 2019, 2023 world cup.
New Zealand won the 1987, 2011, 2015 world cup.

Due to sanctions South Africa was excluded from the 1987 and 1991 world cups.