Travelling in the wake of the Boer War that had finished four years previously, the
1906/07 tour of the first Springboks was something of a public relations exercise and, though Wales were beaten 11-0 at Swansea, the disappointed crowd met their victory with shouts of ‘Good old Africans’. Having seen off all Welsh opposition, drawn with England and lost only to Scotland in their twenty-seven previous matches, it was down to Cardiff to restore honour in the final British match of the tour on New Year’s Day 1907.
Hopes that they would do so were not high, one correspondent to Western Mail suggesting that the restoration of the original skull and crossbones badge, together with the singing of ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’, might improve club’s prospects. Despite this pre-match pessimism, the club went on to record a remarkable 17-0 victory.
Played before a crowd of 30,000 in ‘absolutely vile’ conditions, the rain fell ‘continuously throughout the day’ onto an Arms Park surface described as having ‘an evil reputation at best’ and which soon formed a ‘perfect quagmire.’ One report described the Springboks as engaging ‘the bold blue and blacks at water polo.’
The Springboks were vanquished by a side that the great Arthur Gould of Newport declared ‘On today’s play…would have beaten anyone in the world’ and which, despite the conditions, saw all its four tries scored by the three-quarters. Gwyn Nicholls, who had been unwisely persuaded to appear in the Welsh match despite having previously retired from international rugby, redeemed himself with a vintage performance for Cardiff and scored the opening touch down.
After the match the teams dined at the Queens Hotel. Paul Roos, the South African captain, took the opportunity to single out Nicholls for praise in his speech and commented on what he regarded as the unfair criticism that had been heaped on his shoulders after the Wales game. Afterwards, Arthur Marsberg, the popular ’Boks fullback was carried shoulder high to the station, where a large crowd bid the team farewell with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. Marsberg, ‘a holy terror to get by’, had become the darling of the crowd after graciously shaking Johnny Williams’ hand after the latter had evaded him to score one of the Cardiff tries.
1906/07 tour of the first Springboks was something of a public relations exercise and, though Wales were beaten 11-0 at Swansea, the disappointed crowd met their victory with shouts of ‘Good old Africans’. Having seen off all Welsh opposition, drawn with England and lost only to Scotland in their twenty-seven previous matches, it was down to Cardiff to restore honour in the final British match of the tour on New Year’s Day 1907.
Hopes that they would do so were not high, one correspondent to Western Mail suggesting that the restoration of the original skull and crossbones badge, together with the singing of ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau’, might improve club’s prospects. Despite this pre-match pessimism, the club went on to record a remarkable 17-0 victory.
Played before a crowd of 30,000 in ‘absolutely vile’ conditions, the rain fell ‘continuously throughout the day’ onto an Arms Park surface described as having ‘an evil reputation at best’ and which soon formed a ‘perfect quagmire.’ One report described the Springboks as engaging ‘the bold blue and blacks at water polo.’
The Springboks were vanquished by a side that the great Arthur Gould of Newport declared ‘On today’s play…would have beaten anyone in the world’ and which, despite the conditions, saw all its four tries scored by the three-quarters. Gwyn Nicholls, who had been unwisely persuaded to appear in the Welsh match despite having previously retired from international rugby, redeemed himself with a vintage performance for Cardiff and scored the opening touch down.
After the match the teams dined at the Queens Hotel. Paul Roos, the South African captain, took the opportunity to single out Nicholls for praise in his speech and commented on what he regarded as the unfair criticism that had been heaped on his shoulders after the Wales game. Afterwards, Arthur Marsberg, the popular ’Boks fullback was carried shoulder high to the station, where a large crowd bid the team farewell with a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. Marsberg, ‘a holy terror to get by’, had become the darling of the crowd after graciously shaking Johnny Williams’ hand after the latter had evaded him to score one of the Cardiff tries.