I can still remember the following "tough" rugby moments as if it happened last week. My first rugby memories date back to the early days of the 1980's when Morne du Plessis (one of my rugby heroes) led the Springboks against Bill Beaumont's British Lions. The Springboks won the first three tests and lost only the fourth test after the series was already done and dusted! (see full stats from this tour below)
Just for the record - Morne led the Springboks to a hard-fought 3-1 series win against Andy Leslie's All Black team in 1976, and later, in the same year that they beat the Lions, he led the Boks to a 2-0 series win against the French, after which he surprisingly retired.
These were the days when our international players notched up around 10 to 20 test caps, if they were lucky, over a career that lasted almost 10 years. The coaching team consisted of the coach and medic, and maybe a "luggage/bag man". These guys met for the first time as a team a few days before a tour and still managed to dish up quality performances, which made the country proud.
I recall clearly how Beaumont punched Springbok captain, Du Plessis at the ruck right after the kick-off in the first test at Newlands. It seemed as if he planned to give the Boks a 'welcome' taste of what was awaiting them during the remainder of the test encounters! Du Plessis left the field, got taped up (he was bleeding profusely) and was back in the action in no time, as if nothing had happened. No yellow cards, no complaining by anyone.
Ray Mordt, ex-Rhodesian who played for the great Northern Transvaal team of the '80s scored this magnificent ha-trick of tries in the third and final test, which was lost by the Springboks in highly controversial fashion! Watch out for the third try especially - they had to score to tie with the All Blacks at 22-22. I can watch this over and over again.
Watching these videos and reliving my first rugby memories have brought out the goosebumps everywhere. These are my rugby heroes - my first and best rugby memories!
Just for the record - Morne led the Springboks to a hard-fought 3-1 series win against Andy Leslie's All Black team in 1976, and later, in the same year that they beat the Lions, he led the Boks to a 2-0 series win against the French, after which he surprisingly retired.
These were the days when our international players notched up around 10 to 20 test caps, if they were lucky, over a career that lasted almost 10 years. The coaching team consisted of the coach and medic, and maybe a "luggage/bag man". These guys met for the first time as a team a few days before a tour and still managed to dish up quality performances, which made the country proud.
I recall clearly how Beaumont punched Springbok captain, Du Plessis at the ruck right after the kick-off in the first test at Newlands. It seemed as if he planned to give the Boks a 'welcome' taste of what was awaiting them during the remainder of the test encounters! Du Plessis left the field, got taped up (he was bleeding profusely) and was back in the action in no time, as if nothing had happened. No yellow cards, no complaining by anyone.
The matches
First Test
May 31, 1980
|
 South Africa | 26 – 22 | British and Irish Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Louw c W. du Plessis c Van Heerden Germishuys c Serfontein Con: Botha (3) | Try: Price Pen: Ward (5) Drop Ward |
South Africa: Gysie Pienaar, Ray Mordt, David Smith, Willie du Plessis, Gerrie Germishuys, Naas Botha, Divan Serfontein, Morne du Plessis (c), Theuns Stofberg, Rob Louw, Louis Moolman, Moaner van Heerden, Martiens le Roux, Willie Kahts, Richard Prentis
Lions: O'Donnell, Carleton (replaced by Gravell), Richards, Renwick, Slemen, Ward, Patterson, Quinnell, O'Driscoll, Squire, Colclough, Beaumont (c), Price, Wheeler, Williams
Second Test[edit]
June 14, 1980
|
| South Africa | 26 – 19 | British and Irish Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Louw Stofberg c Germishuys Pienaar c Con: Botha (2) Pen:Botha (2) | Try: O'Driscoll c Gravell Con: Davies Pen: Davies (2) Irvine |
South Africa: Gysie Pienaar, Ray Mordt, David Smith, Willie du Plessis, Gerrie Germishuys, Naas Botha, Divan Serfontein, Morné du Plessis (c), Theuns Stofberg, Rob Louw (replaced by Thys Burger), Louis Moolman, Kevin de Klerk, Martiens le Roux, Willie Kahts, Richard Prentis
Lions: Irvine, Carleton, Gravell, Woodward, Hay, Davies (replaced by Campbell), Patterson, Quinnell, O'Driscoll, Squire, Colclough, Beaumont (c), Price, Wheeler, Williams
Third Test[edit]
June 28, 1980
|
| South Africa | 12 – 10 | British and Irish Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Germishuys c Con: Botha Pen:Botha DropBotha | Try: Hay Pen: Campbell (2) |
South Africa: Gysie Pienaar, Ray Mordt, David Smith, Willie du Plessis, Gerrie Germishuys, Naas Botha, Divan Serfontein, Morné du Plessis (c), Theuns Stofberg, Rob Louw, Louis Moolman, Moaner van Heerden, Martiens le Roux, Willie Kahts (replaced by Ewoud Malan), Richard Prentis
Lions: Irvine, Woodward, Gravell, Dodge, Hay, Campbell, Patterson, Squire, O'Driscoll, Tucker, Colclough, Beaumont (c), Price, Wheeler, Williams
Fourth Test[edit]
July 12, 1980
|
| South Africa | 13 – 17 | British and Irish Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Try: W. du Plessis Pen:Pienaar (2) Botha | Try: C. Williams Irvine O'Driscoll c Con Campbell Pen: Campbell |
South Africa: Gysie Pienaar, Ray Mordt, David Smith, Willie du Plessis, Gerrie Germishuys, Naas Botha, Divan Serfontein, Morné du Plessis (c), Theuns Stofberg, Rob Louw, Louis Moolman, Moaner van Heerden, Martiens le Roux, Ewoud Malan, Richard Prentis
Lions: Irvine, Carleton, Gravell, Dodge, Hay, Campbell, Robbie, Squire, O'Driscoll, Tucker, Colclough, Beaumont (c), Price, Wheeler, Williams
In 1981, my rugby memories were made up of early morning (4-5 am) coffee and rusks, watching the Springboks vs All Blacks in New Zealand with my Dad. Three mouthwatering Saturday mornings that I will never forget, for as long as I live. It was my first taste of All Black rugby and what an introduction it was. Rugby, in my view, has never been played that hard and the players have not been that tough again.
The Springboks had to face not only a quality (best in the world) opponent, in his own backyard, but they faced protesters, flower bombs during a game, hateful journalists and politicians, and more. When I was about 16 years old, I got hold of Rob Louw's (WP & Bok number 6) autobiography, where I read how the team did not sleep in their hotel on the Friday night before a test match. They would sneak in and sleep at the stadium on mattresses under the stands to avoid the angry protesters, as well as journalists.
Plane circling the field where the infamous "Flower Bomb" test (3rd test) took place. Ironically, and sadly, an All Black player was hit by one of the home-made flower bombs. The game continued regardless!
We lost the first test after the All Blacks overwhelmed us, but after a major re-shuffle and Wynand Claasen's appointment as captain, the Boks came back to level the series at 1-1, winning the second test convincingly, 24-14. After enduring so much on a tour that almost never happened, the Bokke had to witness how the Welsh referee handed NZ an unexplainable penalty in injury time on a plate, allowing their fullback to win the game, and the series, by making the penalty kick that followed.
See if you can make out what the penalty was for? It is clear that the referees back then, like today, were as clueless come scrum-time...!
See if you can make out what the penalty was for? It is clear that the referees back then, like today, were as clueless come scrum-time...!
Ray Mordt, ex-Rhodesian who played for the great Northern Transvaal team of the '80s scored this magnificent ha-trick of tries in the third and final test, which was lost by the Springboks in highly controversial fashion! Watch out for the third try especially - they had to score to tie with the All Blacks at 22-22. I can watch this over and over again.
Watching these videos and reliving my first rugby memories have brought out the goosebumps everywhere. These are my rugby heroes - my first and best rugby memories!
| Sat 15 August | Christchurch | New Zealand (1st Test) | NZ 14-9 |
| Sat 29 August | Wellington | New Zealand (2nd Test) | SA 12-24 |
| Sat 12 September | Auckland | New Zealand (3rd Test) | NZ 25-22 |
Have a look out for my follow-up article regarding the tough and skilful rugby legends from yesteryear. Share your first rugby memories below as well...
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