1937
Fanie Louw by Doc Craven
Fanie, Boy’s brother, was a little bit shorter than Boy and not quite as versatile a player, but he had a very jovial manner, always well liked, and forever up to some kind of mischief.
Here was a fearless man. An example: Stellenbosch were playing against Paarl, and Fanie, going for a tackle, missed his mark and after hitting the ground rolled for a good two metres, which goes to show how much he had put into the tackle.
He and I were room-mates on the 1937 tour, and I must confess that I certainly preferred the way things were then. When you chose your room-mate you stayed room-mates for the whole of the tour. Having had the experience of touring with Fanie on the 1931/32 tour, it seemed natural that we should team up as roommates. As a result he and I got to know each other very well.
He often complained of a bad pain in his back, particularly after a tough match. I used to massage his back to give him relief but it was so bad sometimes that he would vomit. He always ascribed the pain to having worked underground in the gold-mines.
Two or three years after the 1937 tour, Western Province were playing a match against Transvaal, in Johannesburg. Fanie, who was the Transvaal skipper, had the peculiar habit of sneaking up from behind and biting one’s ear. At half-time, while I was standing chatting to Gerry Brand, I received a painful nip on my ear and I turned and said: “Hello, Fanie,” knowing immediately who it was.
We exchanged a few pleasantries and he said: “You know, Danie, I’m not feeling all that well. I’ve got flu and I shouldn’t be playing.”
After returning to Pretoria after the match I walked into my hotel room and the radio was on. The announcer said: “We regret to announce that Fanie Louw, who captained Transvaal to their win over Western Province this afternoon, has just died.”
An autopsy was performed and to everyone’s amazement it was found that the aorta, which is normally the size of half-a-crown, was in Fame’s case so narrow that the doctor could hardly fit his pinkie into it. He’d been born with this malformed aorta and also had only one kidney.
He was a very light forward as forwards go and yet possessed tremendous power. I cannot recall ever seeing Fanie Louw budge an inch, even against props much bigger than himself.
Janneman
Thaks vir die hulp met die computers vandag GBS!
Philip Nel was one of my heroes when the All Blacks toured South Africa in 1928
In those days one could elect to scrum instead of taking the lineout and during the third and decisive test Philip said at the first opportunity: “All Blacks, we’ll take the scrum”. I recall the apprehension written all over the All Black’s faces.
We scrummed the All Blacks into the ground that day, and it was all due to Philip and his unswerving plan of action that we were able to gain a glorious victory.
Philip was then at the height of his career. Aboard ship on the way home he threw his rugby boots overboard. It was a sad occasion but he retired as captain of the only Springbok side ever to beat New Zealand on their home turf.
An unforgettable player, captain, and man.
DC
Louis Strachan by Doc Craven
Strachie was a funny mixture. He could never stop talking about how badly his mother was treated by the British soldiers during the Boer War; how they chased her on horseback and generally behaved like thugs.
Yet, when he went over to Britain on the 1931/32 tour and got to know the people he had previously regarded as enemies, he took a different attitude altogether. He saw the necessity of forgiving and forgetting.
Spanning was ondraaglik, in beide kampe, gedurende die laaste paar dae in aanloop tot die eerste toets. Spansamestelling en beplande wedstrydstrategie van die onderskeie spanne was die onderwerpe ter sprake in die media en die rede waarom oefensessies noukeurig bygewoon en gevolg is. Beide spanne het uit hulle pad gegaan om genoemde geheim te hou. Laat aankondiging van spansamestelling; niksseggende oefensessies; taktiese sessies agter geslote deure; vroeë oggendsessies op onaanagekondigde oefenvelde was aan die orde.
If there’s any more secrecy about this first rugby test then they had beter get James Bond to referee the match. The “bokkies” sneaked behind prison bars on Wednesday to brush up on their tactical ploys and yesterday coach Ivan Vodanovich had his boys out of the hotel just after dawn had broken. The destination was not announced, but it is known that several new attacking moves were studied and practiced.
Nieu-Seeland het by ’n ervare span gehou met Bryan Williams op verdienste die enigste nuweling in die span; Cottrell se spel, tot dusvêr op toer, het hom ’n plek bokant Kirton op 10 besorg; Tom Lister het sy plek in die lostrio bokant Alan Sutherland behou.
Die Springbokspan het ’n heel paar nuwe gesigte gehad in vergelyking met die spelers/spanne wat 7 maande gelede nog op die eindjaartoer in die toetse gespeel het. Ian McCallum is aangewys op 15 in die plek van HO de Villiers wat uitgetree het; Joggie Jansen is op senter ingebring bokant spelers soos JP van der Merwe, Eben Olivier en Tonie Roux wat op die 69/70 Britse toer in die toetse gespeel het. Tiny Neethling -nie sy eerste toets nie- was op 1 in die plek van Mof Myburg met Albie Bates op 8 in die plek van Tommy Bedford en Johan Spies op slot bokant Sakkie de Klerk.
Foto van die Springbokspan vir die eerste toets teen die 1970 All Blacks.
Met 17 agtereenvolgende toetsoorwinnings en die gesukkel van die bokke, tydens die 69/70 eindjaartoer, nog vars in geheue was die All Blacks die gunstelinge – selfs onder die Suid-Afrikaanse publiek. Ron Burk, die AB spanbestuurder, het die AB’s openlik in die media ’n 60:40 kans gegee; ’n opmerking wat deur die res van die span as onbedagsaam en selfs taktloos beskou is.
Suid-Afrika 17, Nieu-Seeland 6.
Die volgende paragraaf van David som waarskynlik die algemene verwagtinge –by aanvang- en gewaarwordinge – soos die toets gevorder het- van die Kiwi media op.
My companion (on the pavilion) was none other than A.C. (Ace) Parker, South Africa’s most celebrated and respected rugby writer and author. We exchanged warm greetings and he made what I thought a strange comment. He said with an air of a man who knew what he was talking about “You will lose this test and win the other three!” I mumbled a polite answer and privately thought that dear old Ace was losing his touch. Not that wily character, however, for I turned to him after 10 minutes of the match and acknowledged” “Ace, how do you always do it?”
David noem vier aspekte wat hy dink sleutel was tot die bokke se oorwinning;
Die AB’s het die bokke se losvoorspelers totaal onderskat en het gevoel hulle gaan te los speel om enigsins ’n faktor in die wedstryd te wees. Die bokke se spel in die vaste los en die AB se gebrek aan struktuur, in daardie afdeling, dink hy was bepalend tot die finale uitslag.
Foto; Jan en Piet onder ’n kombers (welliswaar nie geneem teen die AB nie maar in ‘n toets teen die Franse in 1971)
Oor die voorspelers se spel maak David die volgende opmerkings:
……it was the South African forwards who launched the subsidiary thrust at the breakdowns. Our loose men treated halfback De Villiers and flyhalf Visagie as though both had the plague and scarcely went near them. The lineout duel was lost for the first time on the tour, although the dependable McLeod won the tight head contest, 4-1. Hopkinson was badly beaten at no 2 in the lineout by the new boy Spies. Strahan played extremely well but was no match for the incomparable Du Preez as the key man in the lineouts. Lister was one New Zealand forward who incorporated some efficiency into his game but Kirkpatrick was strangely subdued. Lochore played a fine captain’s game to rally the forwards.
De Villiers en Visagie se spel op 9 en 10 en veral Visagie se taktiese skopwerk dink hy was deurslaggewend.
Foto; Piet Greyling skop deur en Dawie volg op om te gaan druk.
Die bokke se verdediging en veral die berugte duikslag op van Frik du Preez op Laidlaw en Joggie Jansen se plettervat op Cottrell noem hy spesifiek.
Die duikslag op Laidlaw en die daarmee gepaardgaande konkussie vroeg in die wedstryd dink hy het die AB totaal ontwrig en was die rede hoekom hulle glad nie aan die gang kon kom nie. Die eerste drie, van Dawie de Villiers, binne 4 minute, na aanvang, was ook ’n direkte uitvloeisel van Laidlaw se konkussie.
Hy skryf as volg oor die berugte duikslag van Frik du Preez en Albie Bates op Chris Laidlaw:
A knock early in the match concussed halfback Laidlaw and it was in utter disbelief that we watched him fumble for the ball, allow it to lie at the back of the scrum and even let it run between his legs. When he did instinctively grab it he ran straight into attacking forwards when he had all the time in the world to kick for touch. He played in a dazed state for 42 minutes of the match during which time 12 points had been recorded alongside the name of South Africa and a miserable blob was the undistinguished mark by New Zealand.
There can be no doubt that the concussed state of Laidlaw had an important bearing on the results but there is no question that the All Blacks played badly, very badly at times just as South Africa played tremendous rugby for the whole 80 minutes.
Die 1970 sportfoto van die jaar.
Oor Joggie Jansen se plettervat op Cottrell skryf hy die volgende:
One of Jansen’s crash tackles laid Cottrell almost unconscious and the dedicated onslaught of the home side had the All Blacks badly rattled. Visagie maintained his tactical kicking and in the 8th minute South Africa won a scrum midway between the New Zealand goal line and the 25. De Villiers sent a long pass to Visagie who propped beautifully and sent a magnificent 30-yard left-footed drop kick between the posts.
Foto van Joggie Jansen by ’n winduit Cottrell net nadat hy hom plat geloop het.
Laastens was die akkurate skopwerk pale toe van Ian McCallum, op kritieke tye in die wedstryd, volgens David ook deurslaggewend.
Foto, Ian McCallum besig om die bal te stel.
McCallum will wear the distinctive green jersey for some time. He never faltered under high kicks and his skill in finding the uprights with long, accurate kicks did much to establish the results. That 50-yard penalty in the 35th minute to give his side a 12-0 lead was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Going het Laidlaw na ongeveer 42 minute vervang met onmiddellike impak. Going se kort kragtige breke van agter die skrum het die NZ pak op die voorvoet geplaas en hy was ook instrumenteel in Bryan Williams se drie, wat David beskryf as die drie van die wedstryd.
Foto; Laidlaw besig om die veld te verlaat.
Dit is hoe die NZ-landers die vervanging van Laidlaw met Sid Going en laasgenoemde se impak op die wedstryd ervaar het:
….South Africa continued to dominate until Laidlaw finally went off and was replaced by Going. It was a long period, however, before Going came on the field and an understandably impatient coach Vodanovich fretted and fumed as the doctor carried out one of the most comprehensive examinations any injured rugby player has ever endured. Six minutes at least elapsed before the little North Aucklander came on the field and set about changing the disastrous patterns that were plunging New Zealand to defeat. With the alertness and zip that characterized his match-winning performances behind previous New Zealand packs, the nuggety little Maori gave the All Blacks new hope as he set up new attacking rhythms with brilliant bursts from the base of the scrum.
Agt minute na Going opgekom het, het hy na een van sy breke die bal oorhoofs met een hand vir Bryan Williams aangegee wat met gemak om Syd Nomis is. Hy nael ’n verdere 35 meter voordat hy ’n gedetermineerde McCallum met ’n briljante systap vir dood agterlaat om in die hoek te druk; skielik was die telling 12-6 en NZ terug in die wedstryd.
Foto; Bryan Williams op pad na sy drie.
Vier minute later was alles egter oor toe ’n wakker Syd Nomis ’n hoë vlieënde aangee van Lochore, na ’n tikskoppie van ’n strafskop af, onderskep en soos ’n bliksemstraal op die golf van ’n euforiese skreeuende Gerhard Viviers se SYDDIE, SYDDIE, SYDDIE onder die pale gaan druk het.
Foto van Syd Nomis
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