1937 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand

The 1937 South Africa tour to Australasia[1] was one of the most successful Springbok tours in history, so much so that the touring team was nicknamed the "Invincibles". The squad was captained by Philip Nel.

1937 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand
Summary
P W D L
Total
29 27 00 02
Test match
05 04 00 01
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
2 2 0 0
 New Zealand
3 2 0 1
The 1937 Springbok backline in action against Australia.

The tour started on 26 June 1937 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia with a 9–5 win over the Wallabies. The Springboks followed up the win with an emphatic 26–17 win on 17 July at the same grounds, outscoring the Wallabies 6 tries to 3 and taking the series 2–0.

When the Springboks arrived in New Zealand later that year nobody expected them to win the series, as no other South African team had ever achieved the feat, and when the New Zealand leg of the tour kicked off on 14 August with a 13–7 loss to New Zealand at Athletic Park in Wellington, it seemed business as usual.

Mr Nel and his men had other ideas, adopting a strategy sent to them via telegram from Springbok great Paul Roos: "skrum, skrum, skrum". Their dominant pack was the impetus used to deal New Zealand two convincing defeats; a 13–6 win at Lancaster Park in Christchurch and a 17–6 win at Eden Park in Auckland, taking the series 2–1. The latter translates into a 27–6 (5 try to nil) win using today's point system. The hero of the decider was centre Louis Babrow, who scored two critical tries. Babrow nearly did not feature in the last test as he was an observant Jew and the match fell on Yom Kippur; however, he justified playing on a high holy day by saying that the sun had not yet risen in South Africa by the time of kickoff in New Zealand.

The 1937 Springbok team remains the only Springbok team ever to have won a series in New Zealand and contained legendary players such as Danie Craven and Boy Louw.

Matches in Australia

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Springbok and Wallaby forwards compete for the ball in the mud during the first test in Sydney.

Scores and results list South Africa's points tally first.

Opposing Team For Against Date Venue Status
  Western Australia 47 8 31 May 1937 Perth Tour match
  South Australia 55 3 5 June 1937 Adelaide Tour match
  Victoria 45 11 12 June 1937 Melbourne Tour match
Combined Western XV 63 0 16 June 1937 Orange Tour match
  New South Wales 6 17 19 June 1937 Sydney Tour match
  Australia 9 5 26 June 1937 Cricket Ground, Sydney Test match
Newcastle 58 8 30 June 1937 Newcastle Tour match
  Australia XV 36 3 3 July 1937 Brisbane Tour match
Toowoomba XV 60 0 7 July 1937 Toowoomba Tour match
  Queensland 39 4 11 July 1937 Brisbane Tour match
  Australia 26 17 17 July 1937 Cricket Ground, Sydney Test match

Matches in New Zealand

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Scores and results list South Africa's points tally first.

Opposing Team For Against Date Venue Status
  Auckland 19 5 25 July 1937 Eden Park, Auckland Tour match
  Waikato /
  King Country /
  Thames Valley
6 3 28 July 1937 Rugby Park, Hamilton Tour match
  Taranaki 17 3 31 July 1937 Pukekura Park, New Plymouth Tour match
  Manawatu 39 3 4 August 1937 Showgrounds, Palmerston North Tour match
  Wellington 29 0 8 August 1937 Athletic Park, Wellington Tour match
  New Zealand 7 13 14 August 1937 Athletic Park, Wellington Test match
  Nelson /
  Golden Bay-Motueka /
  Marlborough
22 0 18 August 1937 Lansdowne Park, Blenheim Tour match
  Canterbury 23 8 22 August 1937 Lancaster Park, Christchurch Tour match
  West Coast-Buller 31 6 26 August 1937 Rugby Park, Greymouth Tour match
  South Canterbury 43 6 28 August 1937 Fraser Park, Timaru Tour match
  New Zealand 13 6 4 September 1937 Lancaster Park, Christchurch Test match
  Southland 30 17 8 September 1937 Rugby Park, Invercargill Tour match
  Otago 47 7 12 September 1937 Carisbrook, Dunedin Tour match
  Hawke's Bay 21 12 15 September 1937 McLean Park, Napier Tour match
  Poverty Bay /
  Bay of Plenty /
  East Coast
33 3 20 September 1937 Rugby Park, Gisborne Tour match
  New Zealand 17 6 25 September 1937 Eden Park, Auckland Test match
  North Auckland 14 6 29 September 1937 Okara Park, Whangārei Tour match

References

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  1. ^ McKinney, Stewart (25 January 2011). Voices from the Back of the Bus: Tall Tales and Hoary Stories from Rugby's Real Heroes. Random House. ISBN 978-1-907195-81-5.