William Herman "Boy" Morkel (2 January 1885 – 6 February 1955) was a South African
rugby union player and 14th captain of the
South Africa national rugby union team.
Biography
Morkel was born in
Somerset West, but he played for Diggers Rugby Club in
Johannesburg at the start of his career before returning to the Cape in 1908, joining Somerset West Rugby Club. He made his debut for in 1908 and later became captain. He was the captain of Western Province when the team won the
Currie Cup in
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
.
Morkel made his test debut for during the third test against the
British Isles on 3 September 1910 at
Newlands in Cape Town. He was then selected for
Springboks on the
tour to Europe of 1912–13. Alongside Morkel in the team were his cousins
Dougie
The Dougie ( ) is a hip hop dance generally performed by moving one's body in a shimmy style and passing a hand through or near the hair on one's own head.
The dance originated in Dallas, Texas, where it took its name from similar moves perfo ...
, and the brothers
Jacky and Gerhard. After 1914 Morkel relocated to the
Transvaal where he farmed in the district of
Potchefstroom
Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...
. While farming and only occasionally playing some rugby, he was recalled to join
Theo Pienaar's
1921 touring team to New Zealand. He was then 35 years old and yet, after the injury suffered by Pienaar, he led the Springboks in all three tests against the
All Blacks.
During his rugby career, Morkel played 9 Test matches for South Africa, scored two tries and also played 22 tour matches and scored five tries in the tour matches.
Test history
See also
*
List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 128
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morkel, Boy.
1885 births
1955 deaths
South African rugby union players
South Africa international rugby union players
Western Province (rugby union) players
Sportspeople from Somerset West
Rugby union forwards
Rugby union players from the Western Cape