The 1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was a controversial six-week

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

tour by the

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

to Australia. Anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

protests were held all around the country. The tour is perhaps most infamous for a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

being declared in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

.
In total, around 700 people were arrested whilst the Springboks were on tour.

Overview

The first games were then played in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, which were disrupted mainly by youth-led protesters. The third match was set to take place in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. A 5,000 strong crowd, made up mostly of university students, gathered in the streets of Melbourne to march on

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

in protest. Police had set up a wall of units around the stadium, around 650 policemen many armed with

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conducti ...

s and some on

horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...

. In Sydney, several people, including the Secretary of the New South Wales Builders Labourers Federation, attempted to saw down the goal posts at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

prior to the match. In addition, a gigantic anti-apartheid

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

was hung from the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...

but subsequently cut down. Queensland premier

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

declared a month-long state of emergency. Protests at the Tower Mill Motel where the South African team were staying were responded to by police. The game was instead played at the

Exhibition Ground The Brisbane Showgrounds (formerly known as the Brisbane Exhibition Ground) is a multi-purpose venue located in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia. Established in 1875, it hosts more than 250 events each year, the largest being the Royal Queens ...

, being moved from its original venue at Ballymore, as it was deemed easier to erect barricades at the Exhibition Ground. A two-metre chain wire fence was erected to separate players and spectators, backed up by police in full riot gear standing ten meters apart and facing the spectators. According to Meredith Burgmann and Peter McGregor, both leading firebrands, the rugby tour was a crucial target but to stop the summer's cricketing visit was the ultimate goal. They were successful in this regard as the cricket tour was called off due to security reasons. Seven players of the

Australia national rugby union team The Australia men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for Australia. The Wallabies first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first Test match (rugby u ...

– Jim Boyce, Tony Abrahams, Paul Darveniza,

Terry Forman Terrence Robert "Terry" Forman (born 12 January 1948) was a rugby union player who represented Australia. Forman, a wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two ...

, Barry McDonald,

James Roxburgh James William Roxburgh (5 July 1921 – 10 December 2007) was an Anglican bishop. He was the sixth Bishop of Barking (but first area bishop under the 1983 scheme) in the Church of England from 1983 to 1990. Roxburgh was educated at Whitgift Sch ...

and Bruce Taafe – who had previously toured South Africa for three months in 1969 and seen the effects of the "ruthless" apartheid system "both in everyday life in South Africa and within the rugby stadiums themselves", declared "their opposition to the continuation of sporting ties with the South African Republic". Dubbed the "Rugby Seven" and the "Anti-Apartheid Seven", their non-violent action was an "unprecedented stance in refusing to play against the Springboks".Spiro Zavos
How the Wallabies battled against apartheid in South Africa
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', 30 September 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2024. The anti-apartheid protests had influenced the cancellation of the South African cricket team tour in Australia in 1971–72.

Fixtures

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

Touring group

* Manager Flappie Lochner * Coach Johan Claassen Hookers * Piston van Wyk * Robbie Barnard Props * Hannes Marais (capt) * Sakkie Sauermann * Martiens Louw Locks * Frik du Preez *

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

* Johan Spies Loose forwards * Tommy Bedford *

Morne du Plessis Morne, Morné, Mörne, etc. may refer to: People * Morné (given name) * Morné (surname) * Arvid Mörne (1876-1946), a Finnish author and poet Places * Morne a Chandelle, a village in the Sud-Est department of Haiti * Morne-à-l'Eau, a commu ...

Jan Ellis Jan Hendrik Ellis (5 January 1942 – 8 February 2013) was a South African rugby union player who represented the Springboks in 38 tests, which at his retirement in 1976 was a record. His 7 test tries equalled Ferdie Bergh's record for forwar ...

* Piet Greyling *

Thys Lourens Matthys Johannes 'Thys' Lourens (born 15 May 1943) is a former South African rugby union Rugby player. Playing career Lourens played 168 first class provincial matches for Northern Transvaal, 91 of which were in the Currie Cup competition. He ...

* Albie Bates as replacement Fullbacks * Ian McCallum * Tonie Roux Wings * Syd Nomis * Gert Muller * Hannes Viljoen * Andy van der Watt as replacement Centres * Peter Cronje * Joggie Jansen * Peter Swanson Flyhalves * Piet Visagie * Dawie Snyman Scrumhalves * Joggie Viljoen * Dirk de Vos

Test matches

South Africa won the Test Series 3–0 * 17 July 1971 – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, South Africa 19–11 Australia South Africa: McCallum, Nomis, Cronje, Jansen, Viljoen, Visagie, J Viljoen, Du Plessis, Ellis, Greyling, Williams, Du Preez, Marais (c), Van Wyk and Sauermann Tries by Hannes Viljoen, Joggie Viljoen and Jan Ellis. Ian McCallum 2 conversions and penalty and Piet Visagie drop goal. Australia Captain Greg Davis * 31 July 1971 – Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane, South Africa 14–6 Australia First try: Piet Visagie * 7 August 1971 – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. South Africa 18–6 Australia

References

External links

- ''Green Left Weekly'', 7 December 2005

rugby.com.au - includes match image * Arielle Bernhardt
Australians block cricket and impede rugby tour of apartheid South Africa, 1971
The Commons Library * Meredith Burgmann, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', "The day apartheid was hit for six", 23 August 2008

''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 29 April 2005

1 July 2001

- University of Wollongong media release, 2001
Sport at Exhibition Grounds
- Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland

- Radio National's The Sports Factor with Amanda Smith, 29 June 2001

''The Guardian'', 9 November 2005 - review of the ABC documentary, Political Football

- Radio National's Hindsight with Claudia Taranto, 7 September 2003 {{Sporting fiascos Springbok tour Springbok tour Springbok tour Sports riots South Africa national rugby union team tours of Australia South Africa Rugby Union Tour of Australia, 1971 Rugby union controversies Rugby union and apartheid Springbok tour Sports scandals in Australia Riots and civil disorder in Australia