The 1937 South Africa tour to Australasia was one of the most successful

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...

tours in history, so much so that the touring team was nicknamed the "Invincibles". The squad was captained by

Philip Nel Philip W. Nel (born March 29, 1969) is an American scholar of children's literature and University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. He is best known for his work on Dr. Seuss and ''Harry Potter'', which has led to hi ...

. The tour started on 26 June 1937 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia with a 9–5 win over 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

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 Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, it seemed business as usual. Mr Nel and his men had other ideas however as they came back to deal New Zealand two convincing defeats; a 13–6 win at

Lancaster Park Lancaster Park, also known as Jade Stadium and AMI Stadium for sponsorship reasons, was a sports stadium in Waltham, a suburb of Christchurch in New Zealand. The stadium was closed permanently due to damage sustained in the February 2011 eart ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and a 17–6 win at Eden Park in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, taking the series 2–1. The latter translates into a 27–6 (5 try to nil) win using today's point system. 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 Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

and Boy Louw.

Matches in Australia

Springboks and Wallabies in the mud, Sydney, 1937

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

Matches in New Zealand

''Scores and results list South Africa's points tally first.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:South Africa Rugby Union Tour To Australasia 1937 1937 1937 in Australian rugby union 1937 in New Zealand rugby union 1937 in South African rugby union