1937 South Africa rugby union tour to New Zealand and Australia

1937 South Africa rugby union tour to New Zealand and Australia
Summary	P W D L
Total	29 27 0 2
Test match	5 4 0 1
Opponent	P W D L
Australia	2 2 0 0
New Zealand	3 2 0 1

File:StateLibQld 1 105568 Springboks v. Australia, 1937.jpg

The 1937 Springbok backline in action against Australia.

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.

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

File:Springboks and Wallabies in the mud, Sydney, 1937..jpg

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 Australia	47	8	31 May 1937	Perth	Tour match
South Australia	55	3	5 June 1937	Adelaide	Tour match
Victoria	45	11	12 June 1937	Melbourne	Tour match
Combined Western XV	63	0	16 June 1937	Orange	Tour match
New South Wales	6	17	19 June 1937	Sydney	Tour match
Australia	9	5	26 June 1937	Cricket Ground, Sydney	Test match
Newcastle	58	8	30 June 1937	Newcastle	Tour match
Australia XV	36	3	3 July 1937	Brisbane	Tour match
Toowomba XV	60	0	7 July 1937	Toowomba	Tour match
Queensland	39	4	11 July 1937	Brisbane	Tour match
Australia	26	17	17 July 1937	Cricket Ground, Sydney	Test match

Matches in New Zealand

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

Opposing Team	For	Against	Date	Venue	Status
Auckland	19	5	25 July 1937	Auckland	Tour match
Waikato & King Country and Thames Valley	6	3	28 July 1937	Hamilton	Tour match
Taranaki	17	3	1 August 1937	New Plymouth	Tour match
Manawatu	39	3	4 August 1937	Palmerston North	Tour match
Wellington	29	0	8 August 1937	Wellington	Tour match
New Zealand	7	13	14 August 1937	Athletic Ground, Wellington	Test match
Nelson, Golden Bay, Motueka, Marlborough	22	0	18 August 1937	Blenheim	Tour match
Canterbury	23	8	22 August 1937	Christchurch	Tour match
West Coast-Buller	31	6	26 August 1937	Greymouth	Tour match
South Canterbury	43	6	28 August 1937	Timaru	Tour match
New Zealand	13	6	4 September 1937	Christchurch	Test match
Southland	30	17	8 September 1937	Invercargill	Tour match
Otago	47	7	12 September 1937	Dunedin	Tour match
Hawke's Bay	21	12	15 September 1937	Napier	Tour match
Poverty Bay, Bay of Plenty, East Coast	33	3	20 September 1937	Gisborne	Tour match
New Zealand	17	6	25 September 1937	Eden Park, Auckland	Test match
North Auckland	14	6	29 September 1937	Auckland	Tour match