1931–32 South Africa rugby union tour

The 1931-32 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national rugby union team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams. This was the fourth South Africa tour and the third tour of the Northern Hemisphere.

The tour was extremely successful for the South Africans, as the team only lost a single match. In the tests played the team beat all four home nations. The only team to beat the Springboks was the invitational East Midlands county team. The final tour record saw 26 matches played, with South Africa winning 23, losing one and drawing two.

Contents 1 Criticism of playing style 2 Results 3 Touring party 3.1 Management 3.2 Full Backs 3.3 Three quarters 3.4 Half Backs 3.5 Forwards 4 The matches 4.1 Newport 4.2 Swansea 4.3 Abertillery and Cross Keys 4.4 Cardiff 4.5 Llanelli 4.6 Neath and Aberavon 4.7 Wales 4.8 Ireland 4.9 England 4.10 Scotland 5 Bibliography 6 References

Criticism of playing style

Although very successful on the pitch, the touring South Africans were unloved by their hosts and the press back home. Bennie Osler, the South African captain, introduced a style of play which centered around a continual kicking game; either into touch in an attempt to support his large pack or diagonally across the pitch for his wings to chase. This was seen by many critics of the time as 10-man tactics, with the backs taken out of the match, and thus the entertainment brought by previous South African tours removed.

Welsh journalist 'Old Stager' stated "The Africans, by adherence to ten-man rugby, are winning their matches, but are not capturing the hearts and the imagination of rugby followers...". O.L. Owen in his History of the RFU concurred with these thoughts, "The least spectacular and, so far as back play was concerned, the most disappointing of the South African touring sides..."^[1]

Results

	Date	Opponent	Location	Result	Score
Match 1		Gloucester and Somerset	Bristol	Won	14-3
Match 2	October 8	Newport RFC	Rodney Parade, Newport	Won	15-3
Match 3	October 10	Swansea RFC	St Helens, Swansea	Won	10-3
Match 4	October 14	Abertillery and Cross Keys	Abertillery Park, Abertillery	Won	10–9
Match 5		London	Twickenham, London	Won	30-3
Match 6		Midland Counties	Villa Park, Birmingham	Won	13–3
Match 7		Durham and Northumberland	Roker Park, Sunderland	Won	41-0
Match 8		Glasgow	Anniesland	Won	21-13
Match 9		South of Scotland	Melrose, Scotland	Drawn	0–0
Match 10		Cambridge University	Cambridge	Won	21-9
Match 11		Combined Services	Twickenham, London	Won	23-0
Match 12		Oxford University	Oxford	Won	24–3
Match 13	November 14	Leicestershire and East Midlands	Leicester	Lost	21-30
Match 14		Devon and Cornwall	Devonport	Drawn	3-3
Match 15	November 21	Cardiff	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	Won	13–5
Match 16	November 24	Llanelli	Stradey Park, Llanelli	Won	9-0
Match 17	November 28	Neath and Aberavon	The Gnoll, Neath	Won	8-3
Match 18	December 5	WALES	St Helens, Swansea	Won	8–3
Match 19		Lancashire and Cheshire	Waterloo	Won	20-9
Match 20		Ulster	Ravenhill, Belfast	Won	30-3
Match 21	December 19	IRELAND	Dublin	Won	8–3
Match 22		London	Twickenham, London	Won	16-8
Match 23	January 2, 1932	ENGLAND	Twickenham, London	Won	7-0
Match 24		Cumberland and Yorkshire	Workington	Won	27–5
Match 25		North of Scotland	Aberdeen	Won	9-0
Match 26	January 16, 1932	SCOTLAND	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	Won	6-3

Touring party

Management

• Manager: T.B. Pienaar
• Captain: Bennie Osler

Full Backs

• G.H. Brand (Western Province)
• J.C. Tindall (Western Province)

Three quarters

• B.G. Gray (Western Province)
• J.A. van Niekerk (Western Province)
• F.D. Venter (Transvaal)
• F.W. Waring (Western Province)
• J.C. van der Westhuizen (Western Province)
• J.H. van der Westhuizen (Western Province)
• J. White (Border)
• M Zimerman (Western Province)

Half Backs

• Danie Craven (Western Province)
• M.G. Francis (Orange Free State)
• Bennie Osler (Western Province)
• P. de Villiers (Western Province)

Forwards

• W.F. Bergh (South West Districts)
• J.N. Bierman (Transvaal)
• G.M. Daneel (Transvaal)
• John Dold (Eastern Province)
• H.M. Forrest (Transvaal)
• V. Geere (Transvaal)
• H.G. Kipling (Griqualand West)
• M.M. Louw (Western Province)
• S.C. Louw (Western Province)
• J.A.J. McDonald (Western Province)
• A.J. van der Merwe (Western Province)
• P.J. Mostert (Western Province)
• P.J. Nel (Natal)
• L.C. Strachan (Transvaal)
• S.R. du Toit (Western Province)

The matches

Newport

October 8, 1931	Newport	3 – 15	South Africa	Rodney Parade Attendance: 70,000 Referee: RW Barry (Cardiff)
	Try: Richards		Try: Zimerman SC Louw van der Merwe Osler Pen: Brand

Newport: WA Everson, Jack Morley (capt.), K Richards, JR Edwards, K Watkins, Dicky Ralph, R Tovey, JC Slade, J Hughes, JA Addison, Harry Peacock, R Newton, DA Jones, P Hordern, Sam Danahar

South Africa: GH Brand, M Zimerman, JH van der Westhuizen, JC van der Westhuizen, FW Wearing, BL Osler, P de Villiers, MM Louw, PJ Mostert, SC Louw, JN Bierman, SR du Toit, PJ Nel, AJ van der Merwe, GM Daneel

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Swansea

October 10, 1931	Swansea	3 – 10	South Africa	St Helens Attendance: 40,000 Referee: TH Phillips (Pontypridd)
	Try: Davey		Try: Brand JC van der Westhuizen Con: Brand

Swansea: Iorrie Herbert, Rhys Evans, Jack Rees (capt.), Claude Davey, Jim Dark, Dennis Manley, Idwal Rees, Bryn Evans, Tom Day, Glyn Jones, Gwynfor Lewis, Dai Thomas, Will Davies, Joe White, Edgar Long

South Africa: JC Tindall, JH van der Westhuizen, JC van der Westhuizen (capt.), FW Wearing, GH Brand, MG Francis, DH Craven, MM Louw, HG Kipling, SC Louw, AJ van der Merwe, V Geere, HM Forrest, GM Daneel, JAJ McDonald

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Abertillery and Cross Keys

October 14, 1931	Abertillery and Cross Keys	9 – 10	South Africa	Abertillery Park Attendance: 25,000 Referee: WJ Llewellyn (Bridgend)
	Try: Thomas (2) Pen: O'Neill		Try: Du Toit van der Merwe Con: Osler (2)

Abertillery/Cross Keys: Jimmy O'Neill (Abertillery) (capt.), Jim Bird (Abertillery), George Thompson (Cross Keys), Gerald Lewis (Cross Keys), JR Davies (Cross Keys), Syd Watkins (Cross Keys) , Albert Hockey (Abertillery), Mel Meek (Abertillery), Lonza Bowdler (Cross Keys), Ken Salmon (Cross Keys), Steve Morris (Cross Keys), Trevor Thomas (Abertillery), Eddie Lloyd (Abertillery), RT Probert (Cross Keys), Albert Fear (Abertillery)

South Africa: JC Tindall, JH van der Westhuizen, BG Gray, J White, M Zimmerman, BL Osler (capt.), DH Craven, PJ Mostert, HG Kipling, SR du Toit, V Geere, PJ Nel, LC Strachan, JB Dold, AJ van der Merwe

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Cardiff

November 21, 1931	Cardiff	5 – 13	South Africa	Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 34,000 Referee: WH Harris (Risca)
	Try: Boon Con: Stone		Try: Zimerman Gray McDonald Con: Brand (2)

Cardiff: Tommy Stone, Ronnie Boon, Graham Jones, Bernard Turnbull, John Roberts, Harry Bowcott (capt.), Maurice Turnbull, Tom Lewis, Don Tarr, Tom Gadd, Archie Skym, Viv Osmond, Colin Ross, Bob Barrell, Iorrie Isaacs

South Africa: GH Brand, M Zimerman, BG Gray, JC van der Westhuizen, D Owen Williams, BL Osler (capt.), P de Villiers, MM Louw, PJ Mostert, SR du Toit, AJ van der Merwe, WF Bergh, V Geere, JN Bierman, JAJ McDonald

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Llanelli

November 24, 1931	Llanelli	0 – 9	South Africa	Stradey Park Referee: Albert Freethy (Neath)
	Try:		Try: van der Westhuizen Gray Williams

Llanelli: Bryn Howells, Wattie Lewis, Sid Howells, Tom Evans, Horace Fairhurst, Dai John, Bert Jones, Bryn Evans, Jack Williams, Edgar Jones, Cliff Treharne, Alf Parker, Will Lang, Jim Lang, Ivor Jones (capt.)

South Africa: GH Brand, D Williams, BG Gray, JH van der Westhuizen, FW Waring, MM Louw (capt.), DH Craven, MG Francis, HG Kipling, V Geere, GM Daneel, PJ Nel, WF Bergh, JN Bierman, LC Strachan

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Neath and Aberavon

November 28, 1931	Neath & Aberavon	3 – 8	South Africa	The Gnoll Attendance: 20,000 Referee: J Megins (Pontyclun)
	Try: Hopkins		Try: Mostert Con: Osler Pen: Osler

Neath & Aberavon: Phil Lloyd (Neath), Dan Jones (Neath), Glyn Daniels (Neath), Gwyn Moore (Neath), Fred Nicholas (Aberavon), Wilf Selby (Aberavon), Tal Harris (Aberavon), Tom Arthur (Neath), Miah McGrath (Aberavon), Ned Jenkins (Aberavon), Walter Vickery (Aberavon), Gordon Hopkins (Neath), Arthur Lemon (Neath), Cyril Griffiths (Aberavon) (Capt.), Glyn Prosser (Neath)

South Africa: JC Tindall, M Zimerman, J White, JC van der Westhuizen, FD Venter, BL Osler (capt.), DH Craven, SR du Toit, HG Kipling, PJ Mostert, AJ van der Merwe, PJ Nel, WF Bergh, JB Dold, JAJ McDonald

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Wales

December 5, 1931	Wales	3 – 8	South Africa	St Helens Attendance: 70,000 Referee: E. Holmes (England)
	Try: Davies		Try: Daneel Bergh Con: Osler

Wales: Jack Bassett (Penarth) (capt.), Jack Morley (Newport), Claude Davey (Swansea), Frank Williams (Cardiff), Ronnie Boon (Cardiff), Dicky Ralph (Newport), Wick Powell (London Welsh), Tom Day (Swansea), Lonza Bowdler, (Cross Keys), Archie Skym (Cardiff), Ned Jenkins (Aberavon), Tom Arthur (Neath), Arthur Lemon (Neath), Watcyn Thomas (Swansea), Will Davies (Swansea)

South Africa: GH Brand, M Zimerman, BG Gray, J White, FD Ventor, DH Craven, PJ Mostert, BL Osler (capt.), HG Kipling, MM Louw, AJ van der Marwe, WF Bergh, PJ Nel, GM Daneel, JAJ McDonald

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Ireland

December 19, 1931	Ireland	3 – 8	South Africa	Landsdowne Road Attendance: 35,000
	Pen: McMahon		Try: Waring Zimerman Con: Osler

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England

January 2, 1932	England	0 – 7	South Africa	Twickenham Attendance: 70,000
			Try: Bergh Drop: Brand

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Scotland

January 16, 1932	Scotland	3 – 6	South Africa	Murrayfield Attendance: 65,000
	Try: Lind		Try: Osler Craven

Bibliography

• Billot, John (1974). Springboks in Wales. Ferndale: Ron Jones Publications. 
• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3. 

References

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