St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
Four
Transcript:
This is part four, and the penultimate part in the five part audio trail following the tours of the Springboks in the UK. This part somewhat breaks from that mission statement however, as due to the apartheid protests explored around the tours in the last part in this trail, there would not be another South African tour of the UK until the end of that regime in 1994. As such, this part turns to the British and Irish Lions tour of 1980 to both highlight this empty space and further explore more objects in this display.
This object in question is another jersey, the second and last in this trail. This South African jersey unfortunately has never had its owner confirmed due to not having a number on its rear. In this 1980 ‘Lions’ tour however, two Swansea players were selected: prop Clive Williams and centre David Richards. It was most likely brought home after an exchange by Clive Williams.The jersey itself is near identical to the one explored in the previous part of this trail, it is the Springbok’s green, with gold collar, and with the same springbok and rugby ball motif.
For the tour itself, the British and Irish Lions saw mixed results against the Springboks. The team did win all of their non-international matches, but lost all but one of their tests, that being the final test on the 12th of July. The test matches were close games, for the most part a handful of points apart, including the Lion’s win that ended 13 to 17 to the touring side. As to be expected following the apartheid protests, then still ongoing, that were explored in the previous part, there was continuing opposition against this Lion’s tour especially from the British Government, as well as that of the Republic of Ireland. This was due to the 1977 Gleneagles Agreement which saw governments agree to discourage sporting arrangements with South Africa purely because of the apartheid regime. Nonetheless, each Rugby Union from the home nations individually approved of the tour, and so it went ahead.
The previous Lion’s tour in South Africa had only been six years prior in 1974. Also in the heart of the apartheid regime, and within the peak of the protests against it, this tour saw a handful of players refuse to make themselves available for selection as a way of their own protest. This, and many other details are shared within the Mervyn Davies audio trail also on the St Helen’s archive website. Despite these two tours however, 1980 would be the last time the Lion’s would tour in South Africa, until after the end of apartheid, the next undertaken in 1997.
The next and final part of this trail takes us to the final tour where the Springboks would come to face Swansea RFC. By the time South Africa were welcome to tour the UK again, in 1994, the shape of rugby football had been experiencing a substantial change. Please follow on to find out more, and don’t forget to press next.