Boks’ knife-edge 1976 victory

In a first, new medium of TV brings game to homes

In November 1974 the Springboks, still smarting from their woeful defeat to the British Lions, travelled to France for a two-Test series.

The touring team was captained by Hannes Marais and there were a number of new players in the squad, replacing those who retired after the Lions tour.

Both Tests in France were won by good margins.

The first, played at Toulouse, was won 13-4 with debutant right wing Willem Stapelberg scoring a try.

Another newcomer was hooker Robert Cockrell, younger brother of Charlie Cockrell who had been on the 1969-70 tour of the UK.

The second Test, played in Paris, ended in a close 10-8 victory for the Boks, with Stapelberg scoring his second try.

Fortunately, flyhalf Gerald Bosch had his kicking boots on and two penalties were enough for the win.

The second Test brought an end to Marais’s career. He had played 34 Tests, 11 as captain, of which six were won, four lost and one drawn.

On the reciprocal visit of France in June 1975, France played an African XV team in Mdantsane, who were well beaten 39-9.

In the Tests, under the inspired leadership of new skipper Morne du Plessis at eighthman, the Boks won both Tests played.

At Bloemfontein, SA won 38-25 in an open game, with tries to the centre pairing of Peter Whipp and Johan Oosthuizen, while the recalled Chris Pope at right wing scored his only try for SA.

Bosch was on target with two conversions and three penalties, while fullback Dawie Snyman converted one try and put over a penalty. The strong Derek van den Berg of Western Province, the son of 1937 Bok Mauritz, took the place of Marais at tighthead prop.

The second Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria ended in a good win of 33-18 for SA.

Bosch scored 22 points with the boot, while tries were scored by wing Carel Fourie and Du Plessis.

But thoughts now turned to the fifth visit of New Zealand to these shores in 1976, under the captaincy of Andy Leslie.

The All Blacks were virtually unbeaten at the time and felt they were worthy world champions.

The All Blacks arrived in SA and played their first game in East London against a combined Border and North East Cape XV, who were beaten 24-0.

Only one of seven matches was lost before the first Test, against Western Province by a solitary point.

SA drew first blood in the opening Test at Durban. The final score was 16-7, with tries to Gerrie Germishuys and new cap, Free State wing Edrich Krantz.

But the New Zealanders struck back in a tough Test at Bloemfontein, winning 15-9 in a game that at times resembled a boxing match.

In the third Test at Newlands, however, the Boks made no mistakes and they managed to win 15-10 in another tough encounter.

And so the two teams gathered at Ellis Park for the final Test with the series hanging on a knife-edge.

SA could take the series with a victory, while the All Blacks needed a win to draw the series. A crowd of 75,000 excited spectators gathered at the ground for what was the mythical Rugby Championship of the World.

Again it was a typical hardfought match played between the two best southern hemisphere rugby sides at the time.

And though New Zealand scored two tries as against one by SA, the final score of 15-14 to SA showed just how close it was.

Flank Klippies Kritzinger scored a try for the Boks, but it was a dropped goal by Bosch that proved the winner for the home team.

Of interest, there was a first for SA that season. The new medium of TV brought the game (and other sports) into the living room of those who possessed sets, but all four Test matches were beamed out a couple of hours after the games ended.

One TV anchor blotted her copybook. Two hours after the final whistle of the opening Test, with fans on tenterhooks to view the first Test ever televised in SA, she said: “Well, as you know, SA beat New Zealand in the first Test today. Let’s have a look at what happened.”

There was an audible groan of despair around the country from millions of rugby fans who had intentionally not listened to the live radio commentary. What a faux pas!

Needless to say, that announcer was later severely taken to task.

And so, the All Blacks, in three successive visits to these shores, 1960, 1970 and 1976, had to return home with their tails between their legs. The fight for rugby supremacy would continue in the Land of the Long White Cloud in 1981 under strange, eerie conditions.