The 1981 Springbok rugby tour
Sport in New Zealand 1940-1960
'Listen...it's a goal!'
War and sport
During the Second World War there was less sporting activity. International competition virtually ceased—the Tokyo Olympics and the All Black rugby tour of South Africa scheduled for 1940 were among the first casualties—except for services sport. Ferocious rugby matches were played against South African 'allies' during the North African desert campaign. Most interprovincial contests were suspended because so many competitors were overseas, and because petrol rationing made travel difficult. There were some sporting benefits from the war: American servicemen greatly boosted softball and indoor basketball.
South African War 1899-1902
New Zealand in the South African ('Boer') War
All Blacks versus Springboks - 1981 Springbok tour
A long tradition of rugby rivalry
Politics and sport - 1981 Springbok tour
'Politics and sport don't mix'
In South Africa before 1948 the white minority enjoyed a privileged position, reinforced by a number of laws and practices that ensured there was extensive segregation of the races. When Daniel Malan's Nationalist Party came to power that year, this separation was intensified with a policy known as 'apartheid' ('apartness' in Afrikaans) that aimed to strictly divide the races.
Stopping the 1973 tour - 1981 Springbok tour
Stopping the 1973 tour
Gleneagles Agreement - 1981 Springbok tour
From Montreal to Gleneagles
The All Blacks accepted an invitation to tour South Africa in 1976 – a time when world attention was firmly fixed on the republic because of the Soweto riots. Hundreds were killed as the authorities ruthlessly suppressed protests. An All Blacks' tour under such conditions was not only intolerable to many New Zealanders but also attracted international condemnation. Black African nations boycotted the 1976 Montreal Olympics in protest, firmly putting sports and politics back onto the same stage.
Battle lines are drawn - 1981 Springbok tour
1981: a divided New Zealand
Tour diary - 1981 Springbok tour
'A war played out twice a week'
The Springboks were officially welcomed to New Zealand on the Poho-o-Rawiri marae in Gisborne (just as they had been in 1965) on 19 July 1981. Despite all the pre-tour rhetoric and debate, few could have anticipated that the country was about to descend into near civil war, 'a war played out twice a week' as the Springboks moved from game to game.
