The Tour - Background
It was election year and Prime Minister Rob Muldoon wanted to
ensure the Springboks played in provincial cities like Gisborne for
the first time since 1965. South Africa's apartheid policy and New
Zealand's consistent sporting contacts throughout the 1970s had
caused much consternation, and yet all pleas to cancel the tour
fell on deaf ears. So on the Poho-o-Rawiri Marae in Gisborne, on
July 19th, 1981, the Springboks had their first taste of New
Zealand hospitality. None of us could anticipate that this country
was about to descend into near civil war, a war played out twice a
week as the Springboks moved from city to city. As Robyn Janes
reports, the battle of tactics began in Gisborne before that first
game against Poverty Bay. We're joined by the manager of that 1981
Poverty Bay team, Grant Allen, and first five eighth John
Whittle.
Molesworth Street
The blue and red squads were formed for riot and crowd
control and the long batons were introduced along with skirmish
lines. But the first blows weren't at a game and they didn't
involve the riot squads, they happened outside Parliament in what
became known as the Molesworth Street batoning. John Sellwood was
there in 1981, and returns 25 years on. We speak to Pete
Carrington, who was with the blue squad and says police were in a
no win situation.
Hell Breaks Loose
The day of that third test in Auckland, the last game of the tour,
all hell broke loose. The hardcore protesters were joined by
opportunists just wanting a fight with police, and they got it.
Police were pelted with rocks and missiles, forcing a brief
retreat, while security at the ground was supposedly the tightest
of the tour. What they didn't count on was a man by the name of
Marx Jones and a hired cessna. Marx Jones joins us along with the
All Black first five that day, Doug Rollerson.