Philip J. Nel

Philip Jacobus Nel (17 June 1902 – 11 February 1984) was a South African rugby player. The son of Piet Nel and Kitty Maritz, he was educated at

Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a semi-private English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1863 and it's the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal – and one of the ...

, matriculating as Head Prefect and captain of the

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

First XV in 1921. Nel enjoyed the rare distinction of earning a

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

(open) rugby cap while still at school. He made his debut for the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

against the 1928

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, and captained the side in 1933 (against the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

) and on the all-conquering tour of Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1937. Known affectionately as "The Greatest Springboks", Nel's 1937 team remains the only Springbok team ever to have won a test series in New Zealand. Nel saw action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, serving as a major in the Umvoti Mounted Rifles. Married to Jose Havemann, they produced a family of four children (Louise, Jeanne, Piet, and Zettamarie). Affectionately known as "oom Flip", he farmed at 'Vetspruit' and died at his home in Greytown on 11 February 1984, after a long illness. He is one of six captains to lead his side to a test series win on New Zealand soil, along with Trevor Allan ( 1949 Australia),

John Dawes Sydney John Dawes (29 June 194016 April 2021) was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the 1971 British Lions and the Barbarians. He is credited with being a major influence in th ...

( 1971 British Lions),

Andrew Slack Andrew Gerard Slack (born 24 September 1955 in Brisbane) is an Australian former state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in 19 Test matches in between 1984 and 1987. His 133 appearances for Queensland be ...

( 1986 Australia),

Philippe Saint-André Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but he ...

( 1994 France) and

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

( 2022 Ireland). {{DEFAULTSORT:Nel, Philip J 1902 births 1984 deaths Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African military personnel of World War II Alumni of Maritzburg College South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players