1937 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand

March 2014 March 2014 February 2024 South Africa 1937 29 27 0 2 5 4 0 1 AUS 2 2 0 0 NZL 3 2 0 1 thumbnail|left|The 1937 Springbok backline in action against Australia. The 1937 South Africa tour to AustralasiaMcKinney Stewart https://books.google.com/books?id=9kpUtiuLjGUC&dq=1937+South+Africa+rugby+union+tour+of+Australia+and+New+Zealand+-wikipedia&pg=PT138 Voices from the Back of the Bus: Tall Tales and Hoary Stories from Rugby's Real Heroes 2011-01-25 Random House 978-1-907195-81-5 en 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. 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 thumbnail|right|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 ForAgainst Date Venue StatusWestern Australia Western Australia47831 May 1937PerthTour matchSouth Australia South Australia5535 June 1937AdelaideTour matchVictoria Victoria451112 June 1937MelbourneTour matchCombined Western XV63016 June 1937OrangeTour matchNew South Wales New South Wales61719 June 1937SydneyTour matchAustralia Australia9526 June 1937Cricket Ground, SydneyTest matchNewcastle58830 June 1937NewcastleTour matchAustralia Australia XV3633 July 1937BrisbaneTour matchToowoomba XV6007 July 1937ToowoombaTour matchQueensland Queensland39411 July 1937BrisbaneTour matchAustralia Australia261717 July 1937Cricket Ground, SydneyTest match Matches in New Zealand Scores and results list South Africa's points tally first. Opposing Team ForAgainst Date Venue StatusAuckland y19525 July 1937Eden Park, AucklandTour matchWaikato y /King Country y /Thames Valley y6328 July 1937Rugby Park, HamiltonTour matchTaranaki y17331 July 1937Pukekura Park, New PlymouthTour matchManawatu y3934 August 1937Showgrounds, Palmerston NorthTour matchWellington y2908 August 1937Athletic Park, WellingtonTour matchNew Zealand New Zealand71314 August 1937Athletic Park, WellingtonTest matchNelson y /Golden Bay-Motueka y /Marlborough y22018 August 1937Lansdowne Park, BlenheimTour matchCanterbury y23822 August 1937Lancaster Park, ChristchurchTour match14px West Coast-Buller31626 August 1937Rugby Park, GreymouthTour matchSouth Canterbury y43628 August 1937Fraser Park, TimaruTour matchNew Zealand New Zealand1364 September 1937Lancaster Park, ChristchurchTest matchSouthland y30178 September 1937Rugby Park, InvercargillTour matchOtago y47712 September 1937Carisbrook, DunedinTour matchHawke's Bay y211215 September 1937McLean Park, NapierTour matchPoverty Bay y /Bay of Plenty y /East Coast y33320 September 1937Rugby Park, GisborneTour matchNew Zealand New Zealand17625 September 1937Eden Park, AucklandTest matchNorth Auckland y14629 September 1937Okara Park, Whangārei Tour match References 1937 1937 Category:1937 in Australian rugby union Category:1937 in New Zealand rugby union Category:1937 in South African rugby union