Greatest Rugby Duel - Springboks vs All Blacks Parts 4-6

Today we have the next three parts of this fascinating documentary that looks into the history of the rivalry between two of the great rugby nations, South Africa and New Zealand.

In the first three parts we learnt about how the game was formed, and got into the 1956 Test series, leading up to prop Kevin Skinner dishing out what he could to sort out the intimidating Springbok back.

Part four continues where we left off, as it was the Boks who were now being dominated in the scrums for the first time. The tension between the front rows was intense, as we hear about the incidents between Skinner, Japie Bekker, and Tiny White.

Off the field, political tension was rife for many a year, as South Africas policies restricted playing with and against non-whites in their country. They met the NZ Maori side though on their tour, and the match was played as it should be.

Apartheid went on, and the tours to South Africa continued as normal, but without Maori players. In 1967 New Zealand made a stand, but were told they could not change the way it was.

In 1970 honorary whites toured with New Zealand, including young Bryan Williams, who had a sensational tour. The ramifications of what was going on in rugby had far reaching affects, as Nelson Mandela himself talks about the situation from his point of view.

In 1981 the Springboks toured New Zealand under tumultuous conditions, including the famous Flour Bomb Test, which well feature here on Rugbydump soon.

The Cavaliers was the next step in 1986, as sanctions were placed on South African sports teams, disallowing internationals to take place.

In 1995, after a new South Africa was formed, Mandela, and the whole of the country united to host the Rugby World Cup. The great man himself wore a Springbok jersey as he supported his team in the final against the old enemy, the All Blacks. South Africa won.

The great quest for supremecy continues to this day, and with such a rich history, the respect and fierce rivalry between the two sides is something that will surely last forever.

As well as thoughts on this documentary itself, what are your feelings about us sharing these type of clips? Would you like more of this type of thing occasionally?

Posted at 6:55 pm | 21 comments

|