The All Blacks were not at all reluctant to take leave from Kimberley, which they found quite boring. Even a visit to the big hole -which did not impress them much-, could do little to leave them with a good impression or with any positive regard towards Kimberley.
Big Hole in Kimberley
From Kimberley the All Blacks travelled to Upington for their next game against North West Cape. Except for the coloured females in Upington they found the place just as dull if not more boring than Kimberley. Here is what Gabriel David writes about Upington:
We had our first glimpse of the attractive coloured girls in Kimberley but the waitresses at the team hotel here in Upington would leave them all for ugly.
He also writes about a hunting expedition that some members of the team made into the Kalahari during which they shot 19 springbok and two Gemsbok. He concludes his piece on Upington with the following observation:
It is doubtful if the All Blacks felt sad at leaving Upington and shaking the red dirt of this small town from their shoes. It had been a dull stay, enlivened only by the hunting trip and not everyone could get a piece of that excitement.
Street photo of Upington
All Blacks 26, North West Cape 3.
About the match David writes:
It is not uncommon for a rugby side to play at least one “stinker” of a game while touring and the All Blacks can mutter a small prayer that their “stinker” was against such a weak side. The ground was filled to capacity with about 1,500 non-whites crammed into the small section provided at the northern end. They were a noisy lot, all on the side of the All Blacks and when scoring movements did they erupt they got so excited that they burst through the wire mesh fence.
The All Black pack played like eight individuals and the team made hard work against a charged-up North West Cape team. Sid Going had butter fingers; where uncertain; tentative; under constant pressure and generally lethargic behind a forward pack that did not play as a unit.
Sid Going against North West Cape. The North West Cape player is no 9, Ravenscroft
The All Blacks was impressed with the size of the North West Cape forwards and surprised by the vim and vigour of their play. McLean writes:
The All Blacks had been told North West Cape were the worst team this side of the Black Stump and when they discovered that, instead Prinsloo at prop and Engelbrecht and Young at lock were huge men of about 17 stone, that van Eden on the flank and Mostert at the back were useful flank forwards, a certain amount of disagreeable humour with the tale-tellers became evident.
Everyone in the North West Cape team had a go at knocking the All Blacks down and Longland, de Waal and van Tonder in the midfield incessantly plundered the attacking forces.
Bokkie Basson, a lovely handler, made a great impression as a polished fullback and an even stronger impression by retailing that he customarily travelled at least 10,000 miles a year to play rugby. Ravenscroft at scrumhalf was good and Conradie on the wing had the drop on Thorne for pace. If this were indeed the worst team in South Africa, then God help New Zealand.
The superior talent and class of the AB team showed through and the constant pressure they applied with phase after phase of probing paid off and eventuated in 8 tries for the visitors. North West Cape’s only points came from a penalty.
Thorne scored 3 tries while Meads, Dick, Lister, Davis and McLeod also dotted down behind the goal line for The AB.
All Blacks 16, South West Africa 0
Out of Upington into Windhoek, the capital of South West Africa, was like emerging from the desert into an oasis. This city with its historic background and German background and controversial present is a fascinating place, 5.428 feet above sea level and populated by 30, 000 whites and 25.000 non-whites. Its architecture, culture and people are Teutonic to the hilt and the climate is superb. The boys fell in love with the place immediately.
Terry McLean absolutely raved in his book “Battling the Boks” about Windhoek as these paragraphs indicates:
…the special quality of the city stems from its remoteness, from the feeling it communicated in you that it were not quite of the known world, that famine, war and pestilence occurring elsewhere were not really important.
Windhoek is wonderful in many other ways. It lies more than a mile high, its barren hills and plains surround the city like the rim of a saucer. Its streets are wide and handsome, its buildings are modern and skilfully designed, its gardens of poinsettia and bougainvillea bloom brilliantly against the harsh beige light cast by the desert country round about, the terrace of the Continental Hotel a haven of sunlight where a man may peacefully dream out his days and its girls are tall, stately and very beautiful.
Windhoek from the air
Windhoek business area.
More images from Windhoek
Some of the AB’s went on another a hunting tip and returned with two 6 springbok and two kudu. However, in the photo below it seems that at least one of the animals shot was a hartebees.
Hunting pictures of the AB.
About the match David writes:
Oh, how the prophets of doom clacked ominously away at their typewriters after this match. In just one week and two matches we have plummeted from the greatest side ever to visit South Africa to a mediocre team that will be annihilated by the Springboks. The South African writers telegraphed the joyous news all over the republic. I fear that a good many of our South African colleagues misinterpreted this match. They did not read it accurately, mainly because the need to reassure themselves and South African rugby public that the All Blacks are beatable. There is no side that is not. But the fact remain that the All Blacks won with some authority and the All Black line has yet to be crossed.
David laments again about the fact that the AB’s had 90% of ball and that they did all the play. This was apparently a topic of conversation – even maybe a subtle or disguised attempt of bragging; suggesting that they are actually the nation with the superior rugby ability – in the NZ camp. Ron Burk noted afterwards – tongue in cheek and with quite some cynicism – at the press conference that the AB’s are getting depressed because they are the only team who are playing attacking rugby.
Ian Kirkpatrick outplayed the renowned Jan Ellis according to Gabriel David most probably, as David indicate in his narrative, because Ellis had to play a tighter and more defensive game in a pack that was overshadowed by the All Black forwards.
There was some rough play with the Southwesters attempting to intimidate the All Blacks and Thorne as well as Laidlaw was roughed-up by Schrader (SWA no 8) but the AB maintained good discipline and scored 3 tries by Hunter, Strahan and McCormick to win with 16-0. SWA could not score any points.
Jan Ellis in his SWA rugby jumper.
The heat and altitude undoubtedly had an effect on the visitors performance in this match (and probably also in the Upington game). David made the following remarks:
The ground was firm, the heat oppressive and the crowd enormous for the accommodation – a record 12.000. The second half was notable for the injuries received by the All Blacks. Every few minutes someone would be on the ground and called the medical team called on the field. It was significant that the players all rushed the water bottles whenever injuries occurred.
I can believe that the AB’s were struggling in the heat. I remember as a child a game we played in Thabazimbi, and how the heat took us totally out of the game. Kiwi’s are not accustomed to heat, and keeping in mind also the altitude at which this game was played, it is actually quite surprising that the AB were able to won so comfortably (in terms of points on the board).
Interesting reading…
Good was looking forward to this next edition. Going to read it now.
Very interesting!
Thanks Super, Collecting all the articles on this tour and will keep them.
Upington as we know is one of the hottest places in South Africa. How they played in that heat must have been exhausting and dehydrating. They used to play by 3pm and before that time. During the hottest time of the day. Not only did the kiwi’s feel the heat our players must have as well.
Once again, thanks Super. I do enjoy these articles.
4
The SA players grew up in those areas and was more accustomed to the heat. I saw players playing their hearts out in Phalaborwa, sheer madness, but are we not all mad?
Piet, Just saw you up there. Hope you read the new article on the AB 1970 that Super has put up for us.
5 – Super, I know growing up in such hot conditions help, but I wonder if you ever get really used to it?
These days we start to play our best rugby come winter time. (Exception for the Bulls. :D)
Those days rugby only started around May month. Now it is all year long.
Puma i will post another one tomorrow, then we are up to date , from then on we will do 1 per week.
Here is a small extract, notice the Flyhalf
“1970 All Blacks in the Transvaal”
The Transvaal team for the match were:
J van Deventer; P Burgess; P Cronje; R Grace; SH Nomis; H Bladen; D de Villiers (Captain); S Norwood; C Maartens; P Botha; S de Klerk; P Greyling; M Louw; R Barnard; P Bosman.
Super, Phalaborwa also a very, very hot place.
I remember once running a marathon in Feb in Sasolburg. Temp was 42. I thought I was going to die, really. Was completely mad to run in that heat. Plenty dehydrated runners after that.
Took me a few days to get over it. I was super fit in my 20’s and still could not handle that heat while running.
I hate the heat now just don’t know how I done it those days. Must have been mad like you say 😀
Good evening guys,
Upington is very hot, spend a year there in the army. But it is a nice town, enjoyed every day that i stayed there.
Puma, how many comarades races did you finish?
Best time?
8 – Thanks Super, I look forward to it.
This was the tour that started the abolition of apartheid in sport in South Africa.
I met BG Willams on the stoep of the Oranje Hotel, he was a shy 19 year old law student from Ponsoby back then, very much aware of the controversy, he Sid Going, Earl Kirten and the other Maaori and Samoan players had sparked off.
Bryan is judge in Auckland today.
Sid going was the first scumhalf who used the reverse pas from the scrum, not Garet Edwards on the 1974 Lions tour, as some people think…
I think we must make Tuesday evenings the History Chat night. So many old memories
Pietman ek was nog nooit op baie van daai plekke nie, die fotos het seker baie verander. Dorpe is nou amper stede
11 – Snoek, I only ran two. Best time was 9 hours. Never took Comrades too serious. Ran it for fun. Training though was worse than the Comrades. As you would start to really train the start of Jan.
Best marthon time just under 3 hours. 2.56min. I was a middle of the pack runner. Two Oceans. 4.20 min. Half Marathon. 81 min. 10k 39min. Better at the shorter distances. I ran so many marathons don’t even remember how many. Far too many half marathons to even ever remember.
Did you run the Comrades Snoek?
Yip, good aricle superBul.
I played in the curtain raiser in Upington that day.
And I met many of the AB’s.
Alex Wylie married Vera Sutherland (Miss SA), I still have a number 8 AB jersey somewhere,that he gave me, in the Pofadder Hotel of all places, he went there to some stud merino for his farm down in Natal from a friend of mine.
Lex had hands as large as spades!
Snoek, I only ran for fun and loved it. Was not a great runner at all. Just that everyone at the time was doing it. Once you start you just never stop unless you have too. I ran for about 20 years.
Knees are gone now cause of it.
17 – Hi Piet, Knew you would enjoy those articles of the 1970 AB tour here.
Think it was Vera Johns that married. A. Sutherland.
Puma, i’m unfortunately not build for running. To big. My knees would not last a single race.
17
Die dae toe jy nog jonk en mooi was. Watter possisie het jy gespeel?
The photo of Jan Ellis is obviously from the 1974 Lions tour, not the All Blacks, I can see Mervyn Davis there. at the back of the scrum (with the headband).
20 – Snoek……..hahahaha. Well don’t even start. Running messed mine up. I done the up and down run. It was the training that is a monster. Up at 5am on a Sunday morning to run about anything from 32km to 40km training runs. You had to do at least one 56km and a 64km training run before Comrades. Every Wednesday I would run about 21 or 25km before work. MAD, MAD, MAD. After those two comrades, the marathon was my longest. Still mad. Ran far too many marathons and many, many half marathons. Crazy what you do when you young. Also after a training run on a Sunday would go and paddle ski!!!!!!!! Just have no idea how I done it. Was super fit. Now just swim a bit that is all. Knees just too bad to do anything else. With my slipped disc in my lower back don’t go to the gym either. So only swim for exercise now.
Used to snow ski every year too. Once done white water rafting too in Colorado in the States. That was pure exciting a two hour trip it took. Thought I would drown………hahahahaha. Loved it though.
Puma
Yes, Vera Johns, right.
Same thing happened on the Lions’1974,Ken Kennedy married Miss SA 1974, Shelly Latham.And on the 1968 Lions’ tour Gordon Waddell married Mary Openheimer and beacame a director at Anglo American, not that he needed the money, he was Scottish millionaire in his own right.
24 – Piet these kiwis love our woman…hahahaha. I have a kiwi friend in Umhlanga and he is married to a SA lady too.
Puma @ 23
You sound a bit like a adrenalin junky.
I keep myself busy with golf, squash and darts 😆
Oh, and my boy uses me as a training parter for rugby, which is quite exhausting by itself.
My wife reckons that jumping up and down during rugby matches over weekends will keep me fit for years to come.
26 – Snoek, I USED TO BE…hehe. NO more mate. Knees really finished cant do any of that. Only swim now.
Also what I wanted to mention doing those long runs on a Sunday and Wednesday every other day I ran 10km or 12km. Only had one rest day. So you can see why my knees are so messed up now. Also could eat what I wanted would never ever put on weight. Now have to watch my weight with not doing much exercise.
27 – Snoek………..hahahaha. Same here.
Lucky i am overweight, i would have been buying new ceiling boards after every Bulls game lately.
29 – SuperBul…..hahahahaha.
I am still carrying the 3kilos I put on last year after my Scots mates were here. They came for 5 weeks and braaing and eating out was huge.
I am going to try and be on a health diet for a few weeks. I say that all the time. It only lasts a week and I am off it. I do swim though as like we all have our own pools so that is easy. Still not enough exercise.
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