Some six years after hostilities had ended after World War 2, and peace had returned to the Earth, SA sent a rugby squad to tour Great Britain and France for three months in 1951 and 1952.
The team developed into possibly the best-ever squad to represent this country overseas.
However, early into the tour, the captain, Border’s Basil Kenyon, injured an eye, necessitating a visit to hospital and ending his tour, with vice-captain Hennie Muller taking over the leadership.
The players rallied to support Kenyon when he returned from hospital and the cry rang out: “Let’s do it for the skipper,” as match after match was won. In the end the team won 30 of 31 games, losing only to London Counties.
Matches were well attended by a country still recovering from the ravages of war, and the squad has, over the decades, continued to gain votes as the most popular touring team ever to leave these shores.
All five Test matches on tour were won, with the Springboks setting up a world-record score of 44-0 against a hapless Scotland side. As one cynical Scotland fan put it: “Scotland were lucky to get nil!”
What is interesting, and looking back well over 70 years, the squad was filled with players from all corners of SA and there were some most amusing nick-names among the players.
For instance, who were “Buks,” “Tjol,” “Jakkals” “Cowboy,” “Salty,” “Chum,” “Jaap,” “Okey” and “Basie”?
In order, the players were Franswa Pierre Marais, Marthinus Theunis Lategan, Alfred Charles Keevy, Martin Johannes Saunders, Jacobus Abraham du Rand, Johann Karl Ochse, Hendrik Petrus Jordaan Bekker, Aaron Geffin, while there were two “Basies”, Stefanus Sebastian Vivier and Christiaan Johannes van Wyk.
Saunders was a wing from Border who played 14 matches on tour but was unable to break into the Test team. He was a detective in East London.
The Springboks of that era managed to win 12 of the first 13 Test matches after the War, losing once to the 1953 Australian team, but winning the series 3-1.
Three of the players, Stephen Fry, Du Rand and Viviers, later captained SA in Test matches.
