In 1992, the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
Springboks played a
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (association football)
...
against the New Zealand All Blacks, which later became known as the Return Test. The match was played at
Ellis Park Stadium
Ellis Park Stadium (known as Emirates Airline Park for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was ...
in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
on 15 August 1992. It was named as the Return Test as it was South Africa's first test match since the
International Rugby Board
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international ru ...
(IRB) had banned them due to
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
.
History
Between 1984 and 1992, South Africa were
isolated from playing test rugby due to South Africa's apartheid policies, highlighted by campaigns like
Halt All Racist Tours
Halt All Racist Tours (HART) was a protest group set up in New Zealand in 1969 to protest against rugby union tours to and from South Africa. Founding member Trevor Richards served as president for its first 10 years, with fellow founding member ...
. They had played a number of unofficial tests against rebel teams such as the
New Zealand Cavaliers
The Cavaliers was an unofficial New Zealand rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986. Because of the Apartheid policies of the South African government, the official New Zealand Rugby Union tour scheduled for 1985 was cancelled, and th ...
but these were condemned by rugby's organising bodies and players that took part in them often received bans from national selection.
In 1990, President
F. W. de Klerk started
negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa
The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...
with
Nelson Mandela's
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
(ANC). During negotiation, the white
South African Rugby Board
The South African Rugby Board was the rugby union governing body of white South Africans between 1889 and 1992. The governing of white and coloured rugby union was handled separately during South Africa under Apartheid
Apartheid (, e ...
and the non-racial
South African Rugby Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
merged to create the
South African Rugby Football Union
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board ...
. Rugby at the time was seen by many black South Africans as a symbol of
white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
. The ANC demanded that the new SARFU improve development of black players. This was because the Springboks team consisted solely of white players at the time, though black players were eligible for selection for the Springboks following the merger of the two governing bodies. Following the yes vote in the
South African apartheid referendum in March 1992, the IRB lifted restrictions on tours of South Africa. It was announced that the return test would be against New Zealand. This was criticised in South Africa as the Springboks had not played full international rugby for 11 years and it was felt it would not be competitive however New Zealand were invited because it was felt appropriate after the events around the
1981 South Africa rugby union tour
The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, wh ...
.
Pre match
The ANC had agreed to support the match under three conditions: that the
South African national flag not be flown officially, that the national anthem "
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (, ), also known as "The Call of South Africa" or simply "Die Stem" (), is a former national anthem of South Africa. There are two versions of the song, one in English and the other in Afrikaans, which were in use earl ...
" not be played and that there would be a minute's silence to remember victims of the township violence in South Africa.
[ The SARFU agreed to these requests, but a request for visiting teams to visit ]Boipatong
Boipatong Vanderbijlpark is a township in Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1955 to house black residents who worked in Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging.
Boipatong means "the place of hiding" in the Sesotho language. Boipatong's expans ...
- where the Boipatong massacre had recently taken place - was not agreed to.
Before the match, however, the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
passed out leaflets endorsing singing of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" as a protest against black nationalism
Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves aro ...
. It was noticed that a large number of the predominantly white Afrikaner crowd waved South African flags that the Conservative Party had also given out. The minute's silence was also disrupted by the crowd jeering "Fok die ANC" (Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
: Fuck the ANC) and singing "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika". After the performance of "God Defend New Zealand
"God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...
"; SARFU President Louis Luyt
Louis Luyt (18 June 1932 – 1 February 2013) was a South African business tycoon and politician, and one-time rugby administrator.
Having been a rugby player as a young man, Luyt went on to become a businessman. He founded Triomf Fertiliser a ...
broke the agreement with the ANC and played an instrumental version of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" over the PA system with the crowd and several South African players joining in. This was followed by the traditional haka of the All Blacks
The haka, a traditional dance of the Māori people, has been used in sports in New Zealand and overseas. The challenge has been adopted by the New Zealand national rugby union team, the "All Blacks", and a number of other New Zealand national te ...
.
The match
First half
The first points of the match were scored by New Zealand's Grant Fox
Grant James Fox (born 16 June 1962) is a former rugby union player from New Zealand. He was a member of the All Blacks team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. He is also the father of professional golfer, Ryan Fox.
Playing career ...
from a penalty kick, during which the South African supporters counted Fox's steps in a divergence from rugby etiquette where normally silence is kept during kicks. South Africa also had a penalty kick at goal, but this was missed by Naas Botha
Hendrik Egnatius 'Naas' Botha (born 27 February 1958) is a South African former rugby union player, who played for Northern Transvaal and South Africa (the Springboks).
He was voted ''Rugby Player of the Year'' in 1979, 1981, 1985 and 1987. B ...
. The first try of the match came from New Zealand's Zinzan Brooke
Zinzan Valentine Brooke (born Murray Zinzan Brooke on 14 February 1965) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight.
Brooke played 58 tests for New Zealand, and 42 non-international matches for the All Blacks. He ...
following a quick tap penalty which was converted by Fox. South Africa then pressured the All Blacks but failed to score, with the score at the end of first half 10–0 to New Zealand.
Second half
The second half started with Botha kicking a penalty to make the score 10–3. However Botha missed two further penalty kicks which proved crucial in the result of the match. Following a clearance kick from Robert du Preez, John Kirwan scored a try for New Zealand with Fox converting, making the score 17–3, before Fox scored another penalty to make it 20–3. Later in the match Danie Gerber
Danie Gerber (born 14 April 1958 in Port Elizabeth, Union of South Africa) is a former South African rugby union player, who played for South Africa between 1980 and 1992. He played mainly at inside or outside centre, but also on the wing.
Hi ...
scored a try for the Springboks which Botha converted. Following some poor tackling, John Timu scored for the All Blacks, with the try again being converted by Fox. In the last 5 minutes of the match, South Africa scored two tries from Pieter Muller
Pieter Gysbert Muller (born 5 May 1969) is a former international South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa rugby union player. A Centre (rugby union), centre, he was known for his strength and direct running.
Rugby union career
As ...
and Gerber with both being converted by Botha with the last kick of the game to make the final score 27–24.
Details
Post-match
Though the match was intended to be a celebration of unity, the pre-match actions caused a political row. The fact that "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" was played before the match and the reaction of the predominantly white crowd were perceived to be an act of white defiance. Luyt defended his decision to play the South African anthem, stating "I will not be threatened by anybody, and I don't care if certain people, not having rugby at heart, feel upset about my decision." In its match report the following day, '' The Star'' wrote, "For that moment inside the concrete bowl, it seemed like a besieged tribe had gathered
to take strength in their numbers and to send, from the protected citadel, a message of
defiance to their perceived persecutors."
The ANC threatened to withdraw support for South Africa's next test match against Australia, which could have led to the cancellation the match due to safety concerns and Australia stated they would not play if the match didn't have ANC support. However, the future South African sports minister Steve Tshwete
Steve Vukhile Tshwete (12 November 1938 in Springs, Transvaal – 26 April 2002 in Pretoria, Gauteng) was a South African politician and activist with the African National Congress. Involved in Umkhonto we Sizwe, Tshwete was imprisoned by the ap ...
asked for the ANC to give the supporters another chance and the ANC did not withdraw their support. Instead they issued a warning that if it happened again they would oppose all future tours and the 1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country.
The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...
.
The return test was seen as the first step towards the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which South Africa hosted and won by defeating New Zealand 15–12 in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
* Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. Before that match, both national anthems of South Africa – "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (, ) is a Christian hymn originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Xhosa clergyman at a Methodist mission school near Johannesburg.
The song became a pan-African liberation song and versions of it were later ad ...
" and "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" – were played and sung by both players and fans. The 1992 test was seen as the first step towards the notion of South Africa as a "rainbow nation
Rainbow Nation is a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa after South Africa's first fully democratic election in 1994.
The phrase was elaborated upon by President Nelson Mandela in his first month of ...
" after apartheid as rugby started to gain support from all races.[Black, 117]
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Africa vs New Zealand
1992 in South African rugby union
1992 in New Zealand rugby union
South Africa national rugby union team matches
New Zealand national rugby union team matches
Rugby union and apartheid
History of rugby union matches between New Zealand and South Africa
August 1992 sports events in Africa
1990s in Johannesburg