History of Rugby in South Africa

Hello people,
I'm writing a history essay with an extremely long winded title. But essentially it's to do with the legacy of the British empire in the Colonies.
So, to make it slightly more bearable I thought I would do the cultural aspect of it on Sport for a part of it.
I thought the two topics I would focus on would be the introduction of Rugby to South Africa, and it's early development there.
As well as the introduction of cricket to India, and perhaps the introduction of cricket to South Africa as well.
Can anyone recommend any books they've read or any figures I could delve into?
Many thanks.

not a book, but happened to come across this a few days ago when looking at historical results of india vs eng cricket. is a v brief history.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152361.html

if i were doing original research i would try to get books or diaries from early East India Company people who might talk about them introducing cricket.

Do they play cricket in South Africa?

Flankertye.

Here is a website of South African rugby results, etc.

This guy did this all on his own, it might send you in the right direction

http://www.genslin.us/bokke/

Here is a website that tells the stories of test series in the days gone by, excellent for research

http://springbokrugby.webs.com/

you should also see to buy the book

Doc, the life of Danie Craven (For sale at amazon)

It should provide you a lot of info to work off

Thanks guys, the essay title in case you were interested is "Critically assess the claim that from the 18th to the first half of the 20th century European Imperialism was beneficial for the political, economic and social development of their colonies"
It's a mere 2000 words though, and although it say's first half of the 20th century I'll bring in their world cup wins.

flankertye wrote:Thanks guys, the essay title in case you were interested is "Critically assess the claim that from the 18th to the first half of the 20th century European Imperialism was beneficial for the political, economic and social development of their colonies"
It's a mere 2000 words though, and although it say's first half of the 20th century I'll bring in their world cup wins.

You should post your essay, should keep us all in debate with plenty of opportunities for the banning people for eternity.

Sport is a great cultural aspect, it is a unifying aspect of culture in that all cultures pursue sport in one capacity or another. Fascinating stuff.

It absolutely is, it's a fascinating subject and it's very interesting how with the same laws in the game, different countries develop different styles of play and different players.
I mean we always talk about 'french flair' as opposed to the shove it up the jumper England of the 90's. Interesting how that would come about.
Anyway, I have an essay plan completed now, with a focus on a lot of history, but I'm pretty happy with how it's going to go, can post it on here if you guys like.

Hey people, also came across this gem of a website today. Absolutely what I needed. http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/south_africa.html

Hey Again people, Also came across two books which relate to sport and empire. Tony Collins, Sport in Capitalist society and Richard Holt - Sport and the British. A modern history.
These along with the links you guys have provided has been really helpful. I have a lecture tonight, but after that shall be on the coffee till the early hours. So I'm hoping to get it finished by Friday at the latest.
Thank you again for your help.

The (brief) history of rugby in South Africa:


Afrikaaners see English soldiers playing the game.

Take it up, get better at it than we are.

Discover that they rather enjoy beating Englishmen up.

Rugby becomes the national sport.


I hope this helps   

Pretty much, but obviously I used the 1995 world cup to show social unity through sport as well.

History of the RFU-Owens- playfair a classic covers 1800`s till 1953-4 try a public library.Tot siens to test rugby Hennie Muller.Izak Van heerden on Rugby.and Danie Craven on Rugby.Could try Forces rugby sites including
Nzef Forces side 1919 tour considered to be better than 1928 AB side even though it was picked on racial ground.s

I wonder if you finished your essay. Can you share it? I think a balanced view of the colonial era would be enlightening.

Hello people, first of all just realized that I labelled this as a history essay, it was infact a sociology essay. But it was heavily linked in with British history so apologies for that mistake.
Anyway, for anyone who is interested, the essay was marked and was graded a first!
So thank you for all your help, and my apologies for not replying back to this thread sooner. I've been swamped with this modules work and my dissertation! But for all those interested, here is the essay.

Critically assess the claim that from the 18th to the first half of the 20th century European Imperialism was beneficial for the political, economic and social development of their colonies

Imperialism was the practice of extending a countries power and influence through the use of colonisation. Often but not always, backed up by military force. Many European powers practiced Imperialism, including the Dutch, who set up the Dutch East India Company in 1602 and granted it quasi government powers to carry out colonial activities, The French were also a powerful imperial force; however they were a long way behind the British. Arguably no Imperial power was more successful than the British. At its height the British Empire covered a quarter of the globe. It began in 1603 and stretched onwards until 1949, when the cost of two world wars had crippled Britain’s economy.
Imperialism, according to Lenin, was the highest form of capitalism. Instead of one class being ruthlessly exploited by the ruling classes, it was whole countries, whose labour was exploited and used for profit. Just like Marxism, a level of social control is needed for this to be successful and this was via a forced introduction of the mother countries values and beliefs, and this was especially prevalent with British Imperialism. The British ““were increasingly keen to point to the alleged value of colonial rule in nurturing and encouraging the advancement of native societies. The British Colonial office was keen to emphasize the enlightened and liberal nature of their rule” (Young and Kent, 2004, p.99). This unwavering belief that it the British were there to educate and develop their colonies in the way they deemed acceptable and correct became known, particularly with the African colonies as the ‘white man’s burden’. British imperialists had no respect for the local values, traditions and culture and ruthlessly swept them aside and repressed them whilst forcing the British culture upon the colonies.
One way that the British introduced their values, was through the introduction of sport. Sport had been radically overhauled in the top public schools, such as Eton, Harrow, Charterhouse and Harrow. Sport was used as a way of teaching young men the principles and values of honour, discipline and courage. These values are shown throughout British literature, perhaps mostly clearly in Henry Newbolt’s, Vitai Lampada. Published in 1898 it highlights the honour of being sound, estimable and being a disciplined man in life.
Richard Holt writes that “British sports served overwhelmingly to express and enhance the solidarity of colonial society” (Holt, 1992, p. 208) and was instrumental in the social development of the colonies. One country that particularly stands out as having benefitted from British imperialism and the introduction of sport is South Africa. Although South Africa was first colonised by the Dutch east India Company in 1652, The British forces gained control in 1806. (BBC, 2013) Although it is unclear exactly when Rugby was introduced to South Africa, we can confidently say it was circa 1875. However with the arrival of Sir William Henry Milton in 1878, a former England rugby player, rugby in South Africa quickly began to grow and develop and in 1889, the South African rugby football board was set up. (Rugby football history, 2007)
Rugby continued to flourish in South Africa and a pivotal moment in South Africa’s history was their victory at the 1995 Rugby world cup, where they were the host country. The Country had only recently cast off apartheid and the image of Nelson Mandela handing South Africa captain Francois Pienaar is one of the most famous images in sporting history and helped to unify a turbulent country. Since then, South Africa have continued to be an extremely powerful force in rugby union, winning the Rugby world cup for the second time in 2007.
In terms of South Africa’s development, there were many wars and clashes between the British forces and the natives before South Africa gained independence in from British rule in 1910. Kingsbury makes the point that “In most cases, the shape of post-colonial states has reflected the style of colonial government and, more importantly, the process of decolonization. In most cases, where decolonization followed a military struggle, the military asserted authority in the post-colonial state, usually with authoritarian or totalitarian implications... the political history of post-colonial states has largely been one of various forms of authoritarian government of both left and right ideological persuasions” (Damien Kingsbury, 2004) This is true in South Africa when in 1948, the National party took power, a white minority government who passed apartheid into law the same year. (BBC, 2013). Thus whilst we could argue that Imperialism helped South Africa in terms of social development through sport, the violent struggles between South Africa and the British forces, culminating in the Boer wars left the country at the mercy of a racist government Which resulted in severe political pressure, in the form of an international boycott being applied to South Africa. Since the end of Apartheid, South Africa has grown into “Africa’s superpower, South Africa has the continent’s biggest economy, though this went into recession in May 2009 following a sharp slowdown in the mining and manufacturing sectors. The construction industry, on the other hand, benefited from a huge programme of government investment ahead of the 2010 World Cup. South Africa is, along with China, Brazil, Russia and India, a member of the BRICS club of emerging world economic powerhouses” (BBC, 2013). The countries capital, Johannesburg has swelled in terms of population, and is currently the only Megacity in Sub Saharan Africa. Yet Johannesburg is also racked by violent crime and poverty.
India often referred to as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the British Empire also benefitted from the British Empire’s use of sport. Tony Collins writes that “British inspired schools to educate the sons of Indian princes were founded in the decades after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The uprising shocked the British and caused them to invest heavily in fostering a pro-British Indian elite: ‘a class of persons Indian in blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinion, in morals and in intellect,’ as had been called for in 1835 by Thomas Macaulay.” (Collins, 2013, p. 64) The British Empire sought to seek peace and solidarity in India through the education and sporting principles of the British Empire, this was achieved through two major schools in India, Mayo College and Rajkumar College however sport, and in particular, cricket soon found itself trickling down to all castes of society. Including the bottom caste, the Dalit, also known as, the untouchables. In this way, Imperialism was beneficial for Indian society as it saw the emergence of Palwankar Baloo . Considered the greatest Indian Bowler of the Edwardian era. Collins writes that it was “his cricketing prowess – in which he proved himself to be not only equal but superior to cricketers of much higher caste or class, made him a hero to tens of thousands of untouchables. For them Baloo appeared to use sport to demonstrate that on the supposedly level playing field of cricket, all men started as equals, regardless of colour, class or caste” (Collins, 2013, p. 65). Baloo helped to dismantle a legally enforced social strata via sport, brought other by the British. Yet despite this, to this day Indians find that “their lives continue to be influenced by the ancient Hindu caste system, which assigns each person a place in the social hierarchy. Discrimination on the basis of caste is now illegal and various measures have been introduced to empower disadvantaged groups and give them easier access to opportunities – such as education and work.” (BBC, 2013). However we can say that, Imperialism via the introduction of cricket to India certainly paved the way for reform, via legal means thus benefiting the social development of India.
In terms of economic benefits for the colonies, it is a much bleaker picture and hard to argue that Imperialism helped these societies. This is most poignant and clear in Africa, which was devastated by the Slave trade from the 15th century until the end of the 19th. (Adi, 2012). The Slave trade was not only done by the British, but the other leading European imperial powers, including the Dutch, the Spanish and the Portuguese. It is impossible to estimate how many slaves were transported, due to lost records, deaths on the voyage and the sheer number, but “A comprehensive database compiled in the late 1990s puts the figure at just over 11 million people.” (Adi, 2012) This obviously had huge consequences for the African continent, contributing largely to its economic underdevelopment through the loss of, mostly young males, who were the most productive people in society, and thus been at the centre of economic progress. In short, “Africa was impoverished by its relationship with Europe while the human and other resources that were taken from Africa contributed to the capitalist development and wealth of Europe and other parts of the world. The unequal relationship that was gradually created as a consequence of the enslavement of Africans was justified by the ideology of racism – the notion that Africans were naturally inferior to Europeans” (Adi, 2012). The African continent was hugely hindered and held back by European colonialism, contributing immeasurably to the economic, social and political problems faced by the African continent today.
The political landscape of the colonies was also altered drastically by European Imperialism, as Kingsbury notes, the shape of Colonies post colonialism was more often than not, dictated by the decolonization process. In Africa, many of these processes were a bitter violent military struggle and so, in many states the political landscape has suffered from violent unrest, corruption, and military coups. South Africa and Zimbabwe have both for instance, struggled with an unjust leader or Government dominating the political landscape. Zimbabwe is a clear example of this, as “until the 2008 parliamentary elections, Zimbabwe was effectively a one-party state, ruled over by Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF” (BBC , 2013). Mugabe had remained in power since 1980, and was controversially re-elected in 2013. Many powers in the international community have denounced the recent elections as corrupt and Zimbabwe is a nation “whose economy is in deep crisis, where poverty and unemployment are endemic and political strife and repression commonplace” (BBC , 2013). Many in the country depend on grain handouts, and the economic has been prone to rapid inflation. As a result of these factors, many native Zimbabweans have emigrated in search of a better life, stripping the country of its culture.
In conclusion, whilst Imperialism had many benefits for the some of the colonies involved with the introduction of sport in particular having clear social, and economic benefits, as well as Political benefits. It remains apparent that, Imperialism also had many long lasting negative impacts. The World systems theory, developed by Wallerstein is a theory that describes the richest countries in the world as being at the ‘core’ whilst other weaker countries are on the periphery and are continually exploited by the core countries. (Wallerstein, 1974) This is apparent in the case of Imperialism, culturally, via the stripping away of the country’s history. Often treasures from the local culture were ‘looted’ and transported back to the motherland, to be showcased in Museums. As happened with the Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb and sarcophagus which were transported to London and shown in the British museum. Economically, by removing the labour force in the slave trade, as well as today, by welcoming highly skilled immigrants, thus leading to a ‘brain drain’ from the country. Finally, politically, Britain in particular was unwilling to give up it’s colonies following the Second World War and there were violent clashes in many of the Colonies. This had led to the military seizing power in a number of countries, as well as corrupt governments through unjust elections. Wallerstein’s theory is I think the most fitting for explaining the state of the majority world following Imperialism, as although these countries have now gained independence, they continue to be exploited via neo-colonialism in the form of transnational corporations, and the change in these countries from sustenance farming, to cash crops.

Word count – 2198
Bibliography
Adi, D. H. (2012, October 5). Africa and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from BBC History : http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/africa_article_01.shtml
BBC . (2013, September 26). Zimbabwe profile . Retrieved December 12, 2013, from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14113249
BBC. (2013, December 11). India profile. Retrieved December 2013, 11, from BBC : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12557384
BBC. (2013, November 20). South Africa profile . Retrieved December 5, 2013, from BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14094918
Collins, T. (2013). Sport in Capitalist society . London : Routledge chapman and hall .
Damien Kingsbury, J. R. (2004). Key issues in development. London: Macmillan.
history, R. f. (2007, N.D N.D). Rugby football history/ South africa . Retrieved December 6, 2013, from Rugby football history: http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/south_africa.html
Holt, R. (1992). Sport and the British. A modern history . Oxford: Oxford university press .
Luscome, S. (Unknown). Uganda - brief history. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from British empire: http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/uganda.htm
Wallerstein, I. (1974). The Modern World System: Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World Economy in the Sixteenth Century. New York: Academic press .

Good article Flanker and well done on the grade!

Its an interesting subject although rugby in South Africa was never really promoted to the indigneous peoples compared to say cricket in the indian sub-continent. Rugby pretty much began in the English public schools in SA from my own knowledge and grew organically within the Cape there.
Rugby in the coloured community came via the boere rather. The boere and the coloured communities especially in the platteland (farming community) are inter-twinned much like the deep south of America was/is and their own relationships between the land owner and their workers/slaves etc.

The WP strip for instance (the foremost rugby club in SA historically) is that of SACS, one of the major English public schools in Cape Town. Newlands literally a stones throw away from the school itself.

I do agree with your comments on the UK wanting to anglicise Africa, Nelson Mandela was renamed after his English schoolmaster deemed it incompatible with the modern world and the idea was to turn these young natives to think and act like English gentlemen.

One question I would have how the African continent was hindered by colonialism.

In my mind its very contentious and quite an easy statement to make. Take South Africa for instance.

South Africa's economy itself even today is still dominated by raw commodites. The Boere war actually begun due to gold being discovered in the Transvaal and the plight of the Uitlanders who worked the mines (white people literally English who lived in the Transvaal but weren't actually citizens).

The Uitlanders were welcomed into the Transvaal as even the Boere had no way of extracting the material.... however they only subsidised citizens and made it impossible for Uitlanders to gain citizenship hence why the troubles began to grow between the two communities (that and the Empire wanting the gold for themselves and seeing the Uitlanders plight as a genuine excuse to apply pressure).

Its the same today. When democracy arrived in SA, the infrastructure was all in place to make SA a great economy once more. People forget SA was the 18th largest economy in the 60s (compared to what 30th-40th today 20 years post 1st democratic elections???) before major international sanctions began and even then they were pretty self sufficient. Roads, factories, banks, airlines, financial services were all in place ready to be taken over by the indigenious people.

Remember these were people who up to 200 years ago were thousands of years behind Eurasian development. There was no such thing as money, farming was animal based only and there was no such thing as permanent settlements.
In terms of the British what they left were permanent infrastructure standards which enabled countries to at least begin their democracies with a running start.

The major problem however is education today and when these countries became independent. Civil society requires many educated people to maintain and run a society. They need skilled farmers, engineers, scientists, doctors, lawyers, teachers etc. You can't get rid of 40 years of experience and not suffer the consequences. It takes time to rebuild and sometimes and in some cases its been literally impossible to recover from.

Take a look at Zimbabwe as you mentioned and a lot of the problems revolve around this very issue. How many Africans are in agricultural college like the children of expat British farmers were?
They wanted to get rid of all the oppressors (a reasonable assumption) but at the same time were unable and are still unable to fill the gap these people have left. They had no one to teach them to harness the land, to maintain it and the breadbasket of Africa is no more.

The poverty that has ensued has wrecked the country and the leading Zanu PF were pushed into a position where they had to find a scapegoat, the remaining colonialists or face revolt.

Zambia is another nation who are an interesting case post colonialism. China have bought up much of the rights to mines etc and set about stripping the land of all it has. The problem is the supervisors, managers etc... they are all Chinese. The Africans are simply labourers in their own land. They don't care about educating the people, developing the nation or human rights. They simply are involved in a business transaction which the Zambian government have (perhaps short sightedly) been more than happy to accept for their 30 pieces of silver.
Invariably they have swapped colonial masters meaning the people were unable to govern their own land, the ruling masters were at least obligated to develop the land and educate and "civilise" the people to one where they have control of their nation but have sold out to another foreign power. A power whilst uninterested in politics and control are like Locusts stripping the nation dry and once the commodities are gone they will pack their bags, go home and leave Zambia with no education, no sustainable infrastructure, no viable commodities left to sell.... but at least they can govern themsevles right!!! Its like having an interest only mortgage without setting aside a savings plan to repay the sum.

Not sure which I'd prefer, probably the former if I'm honest.... at least they gave them the option of one day being able to be self sufficient and not relying on foreign intervention but in essence, pressure to leave the colonies was too great both internally and externally. Perhaps in hindsight a longer handover of self rule should have been proposed at least in this part of the world.

One thing however I would concede is that they way Africa was drawn up was something that hindered them greatly. This is where I believe is the fundamental cause where post colonial issues have arisen from. SA never existed before the British got involved. They took over land which was a collection of say 4-5 major tribal regions and called it one country. Tribes which had been at war for centuries and then are suddenly told, no more war, you are brothers. Its the same for most of sub-saharan Africa.

Quite difficult to harness a sense of togetherness and why there has been so much issues in the past around ethnic civil wars in the continent. SA politics within the ruling ANC has been as much a battle between to two major tribes (Xhosa & Zulus), its testimony to them that they have prevented major falling out thus far.

Anyhow, interesting read dude and well done.