Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Tours of Reconciliation: Rugby, War and Reconstruction in South Africa, 1891–1907

2007; Routledge; Volume: 27; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17460260701437003

1746-0271

Dean Allen,

Sports Analytics and Performance

Abstract Former South African Rugby Board President A.J. ('Sport') Pienaar once reflected that rugby football was the 'greatest cementing influence between the Afrikaans and English-speaking sections in the country'. Footnote1 Indeed, when Mark Morrison brought the British Isles team to South Africa in 1903, it was, according to rugby historian Paul Dobson, as 'a tour of reconciliation'. This was, he added, 'rugby's contribution to healing the sad and painful wounds of the Anglo-Boer War'. Footnote2 This article will explore the significance of the early pioneering tours as well as the nature of Anglo-Boer relations leading up to the South African War of 1899–1902. Significantly, the post-war tours of 1903 and 1906, the year of the first oversees rugby Springboks, will be examined as early examples of sport being used in South Africa to reconcile a divided society. Notes 1. Quoted in A.C. Parker, The Springboks 1891–1970 (London, 1970), p. 5. Pienaar was president of the South African Rugby Board between 1927 and 1953. 2. P. Dobson, Bishops rugby. A history (Cape Town, 1990), p. 44. 3. I.D. Difford, ed., The history of South African rugby football 1875–1932 (Cape Town, 1933), p. 15. 4. Quoted in South Africa, 20 June 1891, p. 557. 5. See B.H. Heatlie, 'The first British team in South Africa', in Difford, The history of South African rugby football, p. 263. 6. The only try scored against the British was by Charles Versfeld in the first match at Cape Town. C.W. Alcock, ed., The football annual 1891 (London, 1891), p. 161. 7. P.R. Clauss, 'Recollections of the 1891 British tour in South Africa', in Difford, The history of South African rugby football, p. 253. 8. When Kimberley held the British to a try to nil, Maclagan presented the cup to the Griqualand West Rugby Union who in turn, handed it over to the South African Rugby Board in 1892 as a floating trophy for inter-provincial competition. Parker, The Springboks 1891–1970, p. 7. The cup had been donated by Sir Donald Currie on the British team's departure from Southampton. South Africa, 20 June 1891, p. 558; B.H. Heatlie, 'SARFB and Currie Cup tournaments', in Difford, The history of South African rugby football, p. 216. 9. E.J.L. Platnauer, ed., The Springbokken tour in Great Britain (Johannesburg, 1907), p. 8. 10. The African Review, 27 June 1896, p. 1281. Efforts were made to send out a team fully representative of Great Britain and Ireland, but the Scottish and Welsh players were unable to accept the invitations. 11. South African Rugby Board, AGM Minutes, 1 May 1895, P. Dobson, Private Collection, p. 59. 12. Difford, ed., The history of South African rugby football. 13. E.W. Ballantine, 'The game in South Africa', in E.H.D. Sewell, ed., Rugby football up-to-date (London, 1921), p. 203. 14. First Test: 8–0; Second Test: 17–8; Third Test: 9–3. 15. Alf Richards, who had captained South Africa in the final Test in 1891, was referee for the 1896 victory. D.H. Craven, Springbok annals (Johannesburg, 1964), p. 40. 16. G.A. Parker, South African sports (London, 1897), p. 65. 17. See an account by O.G. Mackie, Yorkshire Evening Post, 30 Sept. 1896, p. 4. Also South African Review, 3 Oct. 1896, p. 8. The Jameson Raid will be detailed within the next section. 18. Reader's Digest, Illustrated history of South Africa (Cape Town, 1988), p. 245. 19. Reader's Digest, South Africa's yesterdays (Cape Town, 1981), p. 233. 20. D. Harrison, The white tribe of Africa (London, 1981), p. 24. 21. D. Harrison, The white tribe of Africa (London, 1981), p. 24. 22. See I.R. Smith, The origins of the South African War, 1899–1902 (Harlow, 1996). 23. E.A. Walker, ed., The Cambridge history of the British Empire, vol. VIII (Cambridge, 1963), p. 632. 24. D. Omissi and A.S. Thompson, eds, The impact of the South African War (Basingstoke, 2002), p. 7. 25. D. Omissi and A.S. Thompson, eds, The impact of the South African War (Basingstoke, 2002), p. 7. 26. D. Omissi and A.S. Thompson, eds, The impact of the South African War (Basingstoke, 2002), p. 8. 27. J. Buchan, The African colony (Edinburgh, 1903), pp. 49–50. 28. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 9 May 1902, p. 189. 29. See English RFU, Minutes, Blackheath, 20 Dec. 1902, p. 298, Public Cpllection, England RFU, Twickenham, and South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 24 March 1903, p. 191. 'Association' football started in South Africa in the late 1880s, with the first Currie Cup tournament held in 1892. The Corinthians, an English amateur side, arrived five years later in 1897 on an educational tour. M. Lee and R.K. Stent, eds, South Africa at sport (Cape Town, 1960), p. 123. 30. For an account of the Corinthians tour see South Africa, 12 Sept. 1903, p. 796; Alcock, The football annual; The Times, 27 Aug. 1903, p. 12; 7 Sept. 1903, p. 12; 14 Sept. 1903, p. 12. 31. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 6 May 1903, p. 193. 32. The Sportsman, 16 June 1903, p. 6. 33. The Times, 22 June 1903, p. 19; F. Marshall and L.R. Tosswill, eds, Football – The rugby union game (London, 1925), p. 389. 34. I.D. Difford, 'The history of the rise and progress of the rugby football game in South Africa', in Difford, The history of South African rugby football, p. 19. 35. See F.J. Mordaunt, 'Prospects of the rugby team. A great side in the making', in L.A. Cox and F.G. Pay, eds, Official souvenir of the British rugby and association football tours (Cape Town, 1910), pp. 13–19. 36. Both players had settled in Johannesburg after coming to South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War: McEwan as a soldier and Frew to take up an appointment at the Orange River Station Refugee Camp. D.H. Craven, The legends of Springbok rugby (Howard Place, 1989), p. 21. 37. I.D. Difford, Our rugby Springboks (Johannesburg, 1938), p. 45; Parker, The Springboks 1891–1970, p. 29. 38. The Sportsman, 5 Oct. 1903, in J. Hammond Scrap Book, Public Collection, England RFU, Twickenham, p. 60. 39. See pp. 63–7 in J. Hammond Scrap Book for the contemporary newspaper reports of the social side of the tour. Public Collection, England RFU, Twickenham. 40. The Sportsman, 5 Oct. 1903, in J. Hammond Scrap Book, Public Collection, England RFU, Twickenham, p. 60. 41. P. Dobson, private collection. F.J. Dobbin, J.W. Raaff and W.C. Martheze were among those players to have seen active service in Her Majesty's Forces during the Anglo-Boer conflict. 42. 'Volunteering for service in South Africa was the ultimate imperial sacrifice. It could, as was commonly thought at the time, imply a preparedness to lay down one's life for the cause of Empire': R. Price, An imperial war and the British working class (London, 1972), p. 7. 43. L.A. Cox, 'Rugby football' in H.P. Swaffer, ed., South African Sport 1914 (Johannesburg, 1915), p. 62. 44. The Sportsman, 5 Oct. 1903, in J. Hammond Scrap Book, Public Collection, England RFU, Twickenham, p. 60. Also see F.N. Piggott, The Springboks, history of the tour, 1906–7 (Cape Town, 1907), pp. 6–7. 45. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 27 April 1904, p. 213. 46. The Sportsman, 5 Oct. 1903, in J. Hammond Scrap Book, Public Collection, England RFU, Twickenham, p. 60; South African Rugby Football Board, Souvenir of the South African rugby football team (Cape Town, 1906), p. 1. 47. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 19 Aug. 1895, p. 83. 48. Rugby Football Union, Minutes, 28 Sept. 1905, p. 64; 1 Dec. 1905, p. 66. 49. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 27 April 1906, p. 39a. 50. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 12 July 1906, p. 55. 51. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 11 July 1906. L. Laubscher and G. Nieman, eds, The Carolin papers (Pretoria, 1990), pp. 38–40. 52. E.J.L. Platnauer, 'Rugby football: Its early days', in E.J.L. Platnauer, ed., Sport and pastime in the Transvaal (Johannesburg, 1908), p. 77. 53. Platnauer, The Springbokken tour in Great Britain, p. 5. 54. Quoted in The Sportsman, n.d., in J. Hammond Scrap Book, Public Collection, England RFU, Twickenham, p. 69. 55. Merrieless, chairman, at the Union Castle farewell lunch, Southampton 12 Jan. 1907, cited in Piggott, The Springboks, p. 92. 56. Piggott, The Springboks; Platnauer, The Springbokken tour in Great Britain; Difford, The history of South African rugby football; Laubscher and Nieman, The Carolin papers. 57. The Times, 20 Sept. 1906, p. 4. 58. As a response to a Fleet Street request that a nickname be given to the team, captain Paul Roos, in agreement with Carden (team manager) and Carolin (vice-captain), came up with the name 'Springbokken'. Subsequently shortened to 'Springboks', this name was first referred to in the Daily Mail of 20 Sept. 1906. See Difford, The history of South African rugby football, p. 34; Laubscher and Nieman, The Carolin papers, p. 49. 59. C. Greyvenstein, Springbok saga, (Cape Town, 1978) pp. 46–7. 60. For a British perspective of the tour see The Times, 3 Jan. 1907, p. 5. 61. Piggott, The Springboks, p. 90. 62. The Bystander, 28 Nov. 1906, p. 423. 63. Piggott, The Springboks, p. 8. 64. Piggott, The Springboks, p. 96. 65. The Sportsman, 3 Dec. 1906, p. 7. 66. The Sportsman, 10 Dec. 1906, 8; The Times, 10 Dec. 1906, p. 7. 67. The Sportsman, 10 Dec. 1906, p. 8. 68. The Sportsman, 10 Dec. 1906, p. 8. 69. The Sportsman, 10 Dec. 1906, p. 8. 70. The Sportsman, 14 Jan. 1907, p. 8. See also The Times, 14 Jan. 1907, p. 11. 71. Piggott, The Springboks, p. 92. 72. In particular see the comments of J.H. Hofmeyr in Piggott, The Springboks, p. 105. 73. The Times, 30 Jan. 1907, p. 12. 74. At the South African Rugby Football Board luncheon, held at the Drill Hall, Cape Town on 29 January 1907, the returning players were joined by, among others, the Hon. Arthur Fuller (Minister of Agriculture), Hon. V. Sampson (Attorney-General), Councillor Liberman (Mayor of Cape Town), and the Very Rev. the Dean, Col. R. Southey and Dr Hutcheon (Director of Agriculture): Piggott, The Springboks, p. 97. 75. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 15 Jan. 1907, p. 111. 76. Cited in Piggott, The Springboks, p. 6. 77. Cited in Piggott, The Springboks, p. 106. 78. South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 7 May 1897, p. 125. 79. Ibid.; South African Rugby Board, Minutes, 4 May 1898, p. 143. 80. Platnauer, Rugby football, p. 78. 81. South African Rugby Football Board, Souvenir. 82. D. Carolin, private interview, Rondebosch, Cape Town. 18 Oct. 2001. 83. Platnauer, The Springbokken tour in Great Britain, p. 228. 84. Platnauer, The Springbokken tour in Great Britain, p. 231. 85. Laubscher and Nieman, The Carolin papers, pp. 224–6. The book is a published collection of the papers of the tour's vice-captain, 'Paddy' Carolin. 86. J.T. Tulloch, letter to H.W. ('Paddy') Carolin. Western Club, Glasgow. 11 Jan. 1907. D. Carolin private collection. 87. It would be the effects of another war that would severely test Anglo-Boer rugby relations. Van der Merwe in particular highlights the divisive effects of the Second World War and its impact on South African rugby and Afrikaner nationalism. See F.J.G. Van der Merwe, 'Afrikaner nationalism in sport', Canadian Journal of the History of Sport, 22 (1991), pp. 34–46.