Springbok Rugby History, Chapter 1

SECOND TEST
3 Tests in Series - Test No. 9
South Africa, Saturday, September 5, 1903
Wanderers, Johannesburg
South Africa 0, British Isles 0
Spectators 5 000
Referee: P.W. Day
The second international match also ended in a draw.
This time neither team managed to score, although
they came very near doing so on several occasions. South
Africa was definitely unfortunate in not scoring during the
first half, for they had by far the better of the exchanges.
Jones missed a penalty very narrowly early in the first
half after Dobbin had put South Africa on the offensive.
Hancock was again prominent in saving his team’s line
on several occasions. Ashley saw to it that South Africa
remained on the attack, and De Melker was forced out on
the corner flag. Again it was Hancock who relieved the
pressure when he broke away, but it was not for long.
Metcalfe dribbled the ball over the British line but just
failed to get to the ball first. Half-time came with still no
score.
Half Time
The second half saw a much improved British team, and
they had by far the better of the exchanges. Only mistakes
and a deadly defence kept them at bay. Once Jones had
to kick the ball over the dead-ball line to save a try, and
shortly afterwards Skrimshire actually went over but was
recalled for a forward pass. Towards the closing stages
Collett, one of the visiting wings, was stopped at the
SOUTH AFRICA & BRITISH ISLES - SECOND TEST TEAMS
Back Row: H. D. Metcalf (S.A.), W. P. Scott (B.), J. Barry (S.A.), E. F. Walker (B.), J. W. E. Raaff (S.A.), W. T. Cave (B.), P. 0. Nel
(S.A.). Third Row: Mr. Weatherley (President, G.W.R.U.), J. S. Jackson (S.A.), J. I. Gillespie (B.), C. Brown (S.A.), R. S. Smyth (B.), G.
Crampton (S.A.), J. C ollett (B.), W. C. Mart heze (S.A .), F. M. Stout (B.), Percy Day (Referee). Seated: R. T. Skrimshire (B.), John
Hammond (Manager), James Wallace (B.), J. Powell (S.A.) (Captain), Mark Morrison (B.) (Captain), F. J. Dobbin (S.A.), A. Tedford
(B.), C. H. Jones (S.A.), L. L. Greig (B.), S. Ashley (S.A.). Front Row: P. S. Hancock (B.), C. Currie (S.A.), R. M. Neill (B.), S. C. de
Melker (S.A.), T. A. Gibson(B.), B. Gibbs (S.A.).
corner flag. Hancock played an outstanding game, and he
always had to be watched and was watching the South
Africans too well. The whistle saved the day for the South
Africans.
1903
Japie Krige
Japie Krige was the finest centre three-quarter of his
era and certainly the first South African rugby player
to capture the national imagination. Extremely quick
off the mark, Krige was extraordinarily agile and he could
weave and dodge his way through the toughest defense. At
the height of his powers, he was supremely individualistic
and difficult to combine with, but Markotter, his coach at
Stellenbosch, solved this problem by building the rest of
the backline around the genius, instead of attempting to
curb him into conformity.
Krige was an easy man to underestimate. He was quiet
and somewhat introverted but on the field, he was an
autocrat who refused to suffer fools gladly, if at all. Even
the feared Markotter could not intimidate him and on the
few occasions that he gave him a tongue-lashing, Krige
sulkily withdrew from the practice until the coach would
show in some way or other that he was sorry about his
outburst.
Markotter, who never did play for South Africa because
of a knee injury sustained in a cricket match, discovered
and forged too many Springboks during his long career
for anyone to deny claims that he was possibly the
greatest rugby authority of his time, nevertheless had a
soft spot for the temperamental ‘Witkoppie’, as he called
him. During Krige’s early years at Stellenbosch, it irked
Markotter that he could not find a wing fast enough to
keep up with the centre.
He tried out several partners for Krige, but no one could
quite manage to be on the spot when needed. Players
brilliant in their own rights had to suffer the humiliation of
having to take up their positions in front of Krige and even
then they lacked the pace to be there for the final pass
after he had ripped the defense apart.
Like Richard III offering his kingdom for a horse,
Markotter would wander around the rugby fields of
Stellenbosch looking for a suitable partner for Krige. One
afternoon he was again bemoaning his fate when Dietlof
Mare, himself later to become a member of the 1906
touring team to Britain, came within earshot.
‘All I need is someone with real speed and courage. For
the rest he can be the biggest fool in the world,’ Markotter
was grumbling in his usual gruff manner.
Mare remembered his roommate, an athlete who only
the previous year had beaten Krige at a track meet.
Considering Krige once came a close second to Reggie
Walker, later to win an Olympic Gold Medal over 100 yards,
this could not have been a mean feat. ‘Mark, I think I’ve
got the answer for you,’ Mare chipped in. ‘His name is Bob
Loubser.’
Loubser, short and stocky, was summoned to the
ground and from the moment Markotter saw him, he knew
that his search was over. Not only was Loubser incredibly
fast, but he was a ‘born footballer’, the highest accolade
Markotter ever cared to bestow on anyone. He prepared
Loubser himself for his role as Krige’s shadow and the
two students developed quickly into a superb center-wing
combination, soon to be the best in the world. Between
them, they scored dozens of brilliant tries and Loubser
rapidly developed to the stage where he was every bit as
dangerous on the attack as his quicksilver partner.
Anecdotes abound to illustrate Krige’s magnificence
during a career that spanned the decade 1896-1906.
Springbok Rugby History - 1891 - 1996 1903 ©Published by Johan Jooste - Oubokrugby - 2021
1903
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