1937 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand
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 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 .
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.