1937 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand

The 1937 South Africa tour to Australasia was one of the most successful Springbok tours in history, so much so that the touring team was nicknamed the "Invincibles". The squad was captained by Philip Nel.

1937 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand
Summary
P W D L
Total
29 27 00 02
Test match
05 04 00 01
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
2 2 0 0
 New Zealand
3 2 0 1
The 1937 Springbok backline in action against Australia.

The tour started on 26 June 1937 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia with a 9–5 win over the Wallabies. The Springboks followed up the win with an emphatic 26–17 win on 17 July at the same grounds, outscoring the Wallabies 6 tries to 3 and taking the series 2–0.

When the Springboks arrived in New Zealand later that year nobody expected them to win the series, as no other South African team had ever achieved the feat, and when the New Zealand leg of the tour kicked off on 14 August with a 13–7 loss to New Zealand at Athletic Park in Wellington, it seemed business as usual.

Mr Nel and his men had other ideas however as they came back to deal New Zealand two convincing defeats; a 13–6 win at Lancaster Park in Christchurch and a 17–6 win at Eden Park in Auckland, taking the series 2–1. The latter translates into a 27–6 (5 try to nil) win using today's point system.

The 1937 Springbok team remains the only Springbok team ever to have won a series in New Zealand and contained legendary players such as Danie Craven and Boy Louw.

Matches in Australia
Springbok and Wallaby forwards compete for the ball in the mud during the first test in Sydney.

Scores and results list South Africa's points tally first.

Opposing Team For Against Date Venue Status
Western Australia47831 May 1937PerthTour match
South Australia5535 June 1937AdelaideTour match
Victoria451112 June 1937MelbourneTour match
Combined Western XV63016 June 1937OrangeTour match
New South Wales61719 June 1937SydneyTour match
Australia9526 June 1937Cricket Ground, SydneyTest match
Newcastle58830 June 1937NewcastleTour match
Australia XV3633 July 1937BrisbaneTour match
Toowomba XV6007 July 1937ToowombaTour match
Queensland39411 July 1937BrisbaneTour match
Australia261717 July 1937Cricket Ground, SydneyTest match

Matches in New Zealand

Scores and results list South Africa's points tally first.

Opposing Team For Against Date Venue Status
Auckland19525 July 1937AucklandTour match
Waikato & King Country and Thames Valley6328 July 1937HamiltonTour match
Taranaki17331 July 1937New PlymouthTour match
Manawatu3934 August 1937Palmerston NorthTour match
Wellington2908 August 1937WellingtonTour match
New Zealand71314 August 1937Athletic Ground, WellingtonTest match
Nelson, Golden Bay, Motueka, Marlborough22018 August 1937BlenheimTour match
Canterbury23822 August 1937ChristchurchTour match
West Coast-Buller31626 August 1937GreymouthTour match
South Canterbury43628 August 1937TimaruTour match
New Zealand1364 September 1937ChristchurchTest match
Southland30178 September 1937InvercargillTour match
Otago47712 September 1937DunedinTour match
Hawke's Bay211215 September 1937NapierTour match
Poverty Bay, Bay of Plenty, East Coast33320 September 1937GisborneTour match
New Zealand17625 September 1937Eden Park, AucklandTest match
North Auckland14629 September 1937AucklandTour match
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