Stephen Fry (rugby Player)
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Stephen Perry Fry (14 July 1924 – 29 June 2002) was a South African
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 ...
player, most often playing as a flanker. Fry played rugby for his home town of Somerset West and provincial rugby for
Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...
. He won 13 caps for the South African national team (the Springboks), and captained the country in four matches against the British Lions.


Personal history

Fry was born in
Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...
in South Africa in 1924. He was one of five brothers; one of whom was killed flying in the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
.Stent (1952), p.23 The others were, Dennis who also toured with the Springboks in 1951, Alec his twin, and Robert. Fry served South Africa during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and on his return studied at the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
, gaining a BSc in Engineering and qualified as an engineer. A keen sportsman, he is described as a first-class athlete and was a half-blue at the university.Stent (1952), pp.33–34 Fry married Bettie, and they had two children, Juliet and Mark. He harboured ambitions to be a jazz pianist.


Rugby career

Fry began playing rugby as a schoolboy, playing in an under-eleven side. As an adult he played for local club Somerset West RFC. Fry served in the
South African 6th Armoured Division The 6th South African Armoured Division was the second armoured warfare, armoured division (military), division of the South African Army and was formed during World War II. Established in early 1943, it was based on a nucleus of men from the ...
during the Second World War, and after the end of hostilities in 1945 he toured with the Armoured Division's rugby team. The team played in both Britain and France. On his return to South Africa whilst at the University of Cape Town, he was chosen to represent the Western Province. After completing his studies, he qualified as an engineer, joining the Villagers rugby team.


1951 Springbok's Tour

In 1951 he was chosen to represent the South African national team, on their fourth tour of Great Britain. According to South African journalist R.K. Stent, who travelled with the team during the five months, Fry was the player who most improved during the tour. Stent wrote, that at the beginning, Fry was an unlikely choice for team selection, but by the tour's end he was difficult to leave out. Given the number 27 shirt, Fry played in all five Test matches of the tour and 15 of the matches against club and county teams. His first match of the tour was on 13 October 1951, as flanker against the South Western Counties. Fry was then chosen for every other match for the next six games, scoring his first points with a try in the win over the North West Counties. In the match against the North East Counties on 3 November, Fry was initially selected at number eight, with
Basil Kenyon Basil John Kenyon (19 May 1918 – 9 May 1996) was a South African rugby union player. Biography Kenyon was born in Umtata, and grew up in the Transkei. He joined the SA forces during the World War II in North Africa and Italy. On return to S ...
as flanker; though the two switched positions almost immediately after play started. Fry won his first international cap on 24 November 1951, in the encounter with
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Scotland were totally overwhelmed, and lost the game 44–0; with Fry being the only South African forward not to score during the match. Fry continued to represent South Africa in the Tests, and played in the wins over
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. After the Welsh game the entire team, apart from Fonnie du Toit and Fry, were rested for the encounter with the Combined Services team. Fry was given the captaincy for the match, becoming the fifth player to hold the role during the tour. After the final match of the British leg of the tour, the team travelled to France. Despite Fry being the only player on the tour to have experience of playing in France, he was left out of the first match, against a South East France team. Fry was reselected for the final three games, playing at number eight, and again holding the captaincy for the match against South West France. He was back in his role as flanker against the France 'B' team and on 16 February 1952 played in the last game of the tour in a convincing win over
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.


1953 Australia tour of South Africa

The next year saw John Solomon's Australian team touring South Africa. Four Tests were arranged and Fry was to play in all of them. The first was a South Africa win at Johannesburg, but the Second Test, played at Cape Town, saw Fry on the losing side as an international for the first time. Australia won 14–18, with the defeat put down to a South Africans tactical change to try and run with the ball more, in a desire to play to the crowd. Fry kept his place for the remaining two games, wins at Durban and Port Elizabeth.


1955 British Lions

Fry played his final matches for the Springboks when he captained the team for all four Tests against 1955 touring British Lions. Despite being captain of the national team, Fry was not amongst the Western Province team who were beaten by the Lions in a pre-Test game on 14 July. The first Test of the tour, at Johannesburg, saw the Lions win narrowly, 22–23. This was followed by a South African win in the second Test at Cape Town, but a 6–9 loss in the third Test in Pretoria meant that the final game would decide the tour. South Africa won the final game 22–8, drawing the tour. Fry never played for South Africa again, finishing his career with 10 wins from 13 games.


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Stephen 1924 births 2002 deaths White South African people Rugby union players from Somerset West Rugby union flankers South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players University of Cape Town alumni South African military personnel of World War II South African twins Villager FC players South Africa national rugby union team captains