THE SPRINGBOKS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 June 1937, Page 6

THE SPRINGBOKS

THE TEAM'S CAPTAIN. A GREAT FORWARD. A Rugby player who epitomises all the rugged dauntless qualities of the great'Springboks’ forwards; of the'past, the captain of the team, Philip Jacobus' 'Nel, the captain of the team lias Two passions—farmmg and football. Throughout his 31 years the theme of bis life has been, provided by the plough and the scrum. Solitude threatened to cut short his Rugby career. The remarkable lengths to which lie went to keep playing the game when circumstances were all against him make a graphic story. Capped; for Natal at the age of 17 when lie was still, at school, he spent eight years . living alone on a farm among the, thousand hills in the heart of Natal. To play 'for the village club he rode 60 miles on horseback each; Saturday. If .the team happened to be playing an away match in the nearest town, Mpritzburg, he rose at 4.30 o’clock in the morning, rode his 30 miles on a horse and another 45 by car—a total of 150 miles for 90 minutes on the playing field. A Great Hofoby. He is a progressive farmer to-day way up in the mountains. He has a plantation of 150 acres of the wattle trees that came originally from Australia, and his great hobby is rearing ‘sheep. (They pasture on paspalum grass from New Zealand.)

I found him .out in the lands with an ox team and a gang of Zulus. He was crushing maize to. feed his stock while he is buffeting his 2151 b. through the ranks of the All Blacks’ forwards. The natives chanted songs as they hacked down the tall mealie stalks. A left-handed piccaninny swung a scythe with a crashing stroke, like Leyland hooking a ball to square-leg.

“Tile forwards,” lie said, “are tJ;p strong feature of the team. They will hold their own, I believe, against anything they meet. I think they will mould themselves into the best pack South Africa has ever had, but they are not that yet. No Brilliant Baoks “We have, no brilliant stars among the backs like we had in England in Bennie, Osier, ..Van Niekerk and Van dor • Westhuizeii—all fellows with great reputations. But because we have no great stars -among them the backs should develop into a finer combination and have a better understanding than in the past. ; :

“I would like to make it clear both here and in Australia and New Zealand that my attitude about the tour is that we are all anxious to learn. We are not going over there to teach them anything. I thought I knew • all about Bugby at 20, but I have been learning something new ever since.” Beyond the lawns and gardens that surround Nel’s homestead a small herd of beefy cattle were grazing. “That’s to, bo my pocket-money in New Zealand,” lie announced, “I’m fattening them up for market.” Other Farmer-Players There is a. distinct farming flavour about the Springbok team. Ferdie Bergli, - the giant loose forward, is a Government expert in animal, husbandry, “’Ebbo” Bastard, Nel’s haltsection, is the son of a wealthy sheep farmer, and Ben du Toit is a son of the soil. Tliqv hope to return home not only richer in Rugby lore, But wiser in the academics of agriculture. Nel has played no fewer than 65 times for Natal. “We’ll pack 3—4—1,” he says, “I’m satisfied that .it is the best scrum for modern Rugby. I see that many authorities like Mark and Syd. Nicholls have the same opinion.” Nel .believes that the greatest influences in South African Rugby in his time were the outcome of the 1928 visit of the All Blacks and the last tour of the Wallabies., He says that the New Zealanders taught them the value of intense backing up by -the forwards, and the Wallabies provided an education through their spectacular open style of game. Nel is married with two daughters, Louise, aged 7, and Jeanne, aged 2. He plays cricket. . “I feel more nervous going out to bat in our village game than I do in a Rugby test match,” he told me. He has the farmer’s love of riding, shooting and fishing. Widespread Popularity His widespread popularity in the district was demonstrated when it was learned that he- was going on tour.A host of neighbouring fanners have offered to work his farm while lie is abroad. K Mrs Nel wants to see the Spring* boks play in Australia and New Zealand..! Unofficially she saw most of the matches in England on the last tour. Wives are barred from the team, but somehow I think Mrs Nel may one day turn up in Sydney or Auckland. 6 I left the Springboks’ captain shouting out instructions in Zulu to his labourers, hurrying to put his farm in order before leaving on the most glamorous tour in the last decade ot South African sporFT