- Abe Williams, the team manager of the 1981 Springbok rugby tour to New Zealand, reflects on the challenges and controversies of the tour, known for protests and flour-bomb incidents.
- Williams, who was appointed to represent non-white rugby players, navigated the complex political landscape and media scrutiny while supporting Errol Tobias, the first Springbok of colour.
- The tour highlighted the divisions within New Zealand and South Africa over apartheid and sports.
When you think of the 1981 rugby tour under Wynand Claasen to New Zealand, Errol Tobias, the first Springbok of colour, and the flour-bombs immediately spring to mind.
Abe Williams (84) from Pinelands was the team manager and he had to do a lot of explaining what was happening in South Africa for non-white rugby players to the NZ media.
“Wynand Claasen was the captain and the remaining touring squad came together earlier this year for a reunion and to launch a book. Initially, Doc Danie Craven appointed the late Dougie Dyers as the team manager, but Cuthbert Loriston, the president of the South African Rugby Football Union, sent me instead. When I got the nod to travel with the team, I promised myself I would tell the truth and not sugar-coat any hard questions when interviewed by the New Zealand radio, television and print media,” he says.
In rugby history, this tour is also known for causing a rift in families and dividing families in NZ who were for or against the tour and is referred to as the ‘Rebel Tour’ known for the riots at matches.
READ | Behind the Blitzboks’ bronze: Helping a young netball star achieve her dreams
“I never knew how the New Zealanders felt about the tour until our arrival and the riots at our hotels. We were forced to sleep at the stadia where the matches would take place, and as you know, the flour-bomb incident was publicised worldwide. The focus was more on Errol during the tour and before we left, Doc Craven told him the tour was going to be tough and that he’ll always be known as the first black/person of colour Springbok and that he should remember he was in the team on merit and not as window-dressing. While everyone was focussing on him, I attended meetings and gatherings with the media and everyone who wanted to know more about the situation for blacks and coloureds in South Africa. After receiving reports from NZ, Craven called me and said he supports me being an assistant team manager and I am deserving of the Bok blazer and I am wearing it with pride,” Williams says.
‘Honorary white’
The New Zealanders still remembered the visit of Bryan Williams and Sid Going, receiving honorary white status from the apartheid government for the duration of the tour ten years prior in South Africa.
“One of the questions frequently asked by the media was what was being done for non-whites in sports. I told them there was progress although the coloured rugby communities were divided, where one section supported Sacos and others, like the SA Federation and Sara, wanted to test them against the best rugby players, whether in the country or touring sides. At that time, South Africa was banned from international sports and was only allowed back into the international fold in 1992 when unity was reached. I explained about our rivalry with the South African Rugby Association (Sara) in Test matches and that we shared the spoils on the field. The Federation and Sara were all part of the South African Rugby Board of Doc Craven and when unity talks were held we could only observe and not participate as entities,” he says.
Williams will also be remembered as the founder of the Federation Junior Rugby Weeks, similar to the Craven Week, for young coloured players
“I attended a rugby convention in Rugby in England where ideas were shared on how to develop rugby in your country. When I returned, I asked the late Norman Langley – we are both from the West Coast, I from Saldanha and he from Hopefield and Vredenburg – to start the Junior Weeks for our kids. The first was held at the South African Coloured Corps (SACC) Base in Faure and then it moved to the Navy base in Saldanha and every June school holiday 500 kids attended the Week.
“Some of those juniors later became provincial or Springbok players, like Chester Williams and Thinus Line and many others. Dougie Dyers and Ian Kirkpatrick were in charge of the coaching clinics and they would regularly invite Springboks or provincial players to come and teach the youngsters at these clinics. Some of these youngsters later competed in the Craven Weeks and the first one was held in Worcester in 1980 when Doc Craven forced the organisers to open the Craven Week for all races. In that team was Sammy Paulse and Aubrey Noble, younger brother of John Noble. The latter was the first player of colour who scored a try at Newlands under Morne du Plessis against the French in 1975,” he says.
Williams was a teacher at Diazville for years. He coached the Tigers Rugby Club and still has ties with the communities of the West Coast. Whenever he can, he visits the West Coast and the communities and has empathy and sympathy with the fishing community that is battling to survive.
Only 200 books of the 1981 tour were published and handed out to members of the squad and the media touring with the side.
