1984 England rugby union tour of South Africa

The 1984 England rugby union tour of South Africa was a series of seven matches played by the England national rugby union team in South Africa in May and June 1984. England played seven games, including two test matches against the South Africa national rugby union team. They won four of the seven matches but lost both of the test matches as well as drawing the fixture against Western Province.

1984 England rugby union tour of South Africa
Summary
P W D L
Total
07 04 01 02
Test match
02 00 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 South Africa
2 0 0 2

In the face of much criticism, and in spite of covert political pressure, the Rugby Football Union decided that the tour of South Africa should go ahead, but probably with hindsight, in the light of results, later wished that they had not. Although only Ralph Knibbs of Bristol made opposition to apartheid his reason,[1] many other top players were also unable to tour,[2] and the squad was relatively inexperienced. 10 of the 26 players were uncapped before the tour and 7 gained their first caps in South Africa.

Matches
Scores and results list England's points tally first.
Opposing TeamForAgainstDateVenueStatus
Currie Cup "B" Section312119 May 1984Kings Park Stadium, DurbanTour Match
South African Federation232123 May 1984Danie Craven Stadium, StellenboschTour Match
Western Province151526 May 1984Newlands, Cape TownTour Match
South African Rugby Association30829 May 1984Border Rugby Union Ground, East LondonTour Match
South Africa15332 June 1984Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port ElizabethFirst Test
South African Country Districts XV33125 June 1984DP de Villers Stadium, SasolburgTour Match
South Africa9359 June 1984Ellis Park, JohannesburgSecond Test

Test Matches

First test
2 June 1984
South Africa  33–15  England
Try: du Plessis
Gerber, Louw
Con: Heunis 3
Pen: Heunis 5
 [3] Pen: Hare 4
Drop: Horton
Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: René Hourquet (France)
South AfricaEngland
Johan HeunisFB15FBDusty Hare
Avril WilliamsW14WMark Bailey
Danie GerberC13CJohn Palmer
John VilletC12CHuw Davis
Carel du PlessisW11WDavid Trick
Errol TobiasFH10FHJohn Horton
Divan SerfonteinSH9SHRichard Hill
Gerrie SonnekusN88N8Chris Butcher
(capt.) Theuns StofbergF7FJohn Hall
Rob LouwF6FPeter Winterbottom
Rudi VisagieL5LJohn Scott (capt.)
Schalk BurgerL4LJohn Fidler
Hempies du ToitP3PPhil Blakeway
Chris RogersH2HSteve Mills
Ockie OosthuizenP1PMalcolm Preedy
Replacements
Nick Stringer
Coaches
Cecil Moss Dick Greenwood


Second test
9 June 1984
South Africa  35–9  England
Try: Gerber 3
Stofberg, Sonnekus, Tobias
Con: Heunis 3
Tobias
Pen: Heunis
 [4] Pen: Hare 3
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Referee: René Hourquet (France)
South AfricaEngland
Johan HeunisFB15FBDusty Hare
Avril WilliamsW14WMark Bailey
Danie GerberC13CJohn Palmer
John VilletC12CHuw Davis
Carel du PlessisW11WTony Swift
Errol TobiasFH10FHJohn Horton
Divan SerfonteinSH9SHRichard Hill
Gerrie SonnekusN88N8Chris Butcher
(capt.) Theuns StofbergF7FPeter Winterbottom
Rob LouwF6FJohn Hall
Rudi VisagieL5LJohn Scott (capt.)
Schalk BurgerL4LJohn Fidler
Hempies du ToitP3PPaul Rendall
Chris RogersH2HSteve Brain
Ockie OosthuizenP1PGary Pearce
Replacements
Gary Rees
Coaches
Cecil Moss Dick Greenwood

Touring party

Full backs

Three-quarters
  • Mark Bailey (Cambridge University) No Caps
  • Steve Burnhill (Loughborough College) No Caps
  • Paul Dodge (Leicester) 25 Caps
  • John Palmer (Bath) No Caps
  • Tony Swift (Swansea) 5 Caps
  • David Trick (Bath) 1 Cap

Half-backs

Replacement

Forwards

See also

References
  1. "Where are they now? Bristol Rugby's glorious 1983 John Player Cup final winning side", July 11, 2015, The Bristol Post
  2. "Anti-Apartheid Movement Annual Report on Activities and Developments", 1984, via Aluka
  3. Van Rooyen, Quintus (1985). S.A. Rugby Writers Annual 1985. Verwoerdburg: SA Rugby Writers' Society. p. 47.
  4. Van Rooyen, Quintus (1985). S.A. Rugby Writers Annual 1985. Verwoerdburg: SA Rugby Writers' Society. p. 47.


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