1949 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa 1949 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa 1949 saw the second full tour of South Africa by a representative New Zealand rugby union team (the New Zealand national rugby union team). The All Blacks achieved a record of 13 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws, and they lost the test series 4–0. The New Zealand union left Maori players out of the 30-man tour squad to meet apartheid conditions set by South Africa. "Johnny Smith, Ben Couch and Vincent Bevan ... were not considered for the South African tour because they were Maori. All three would surely have
South Africa national rugby union team South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final against the All Blacks 15–12 in extra-time. President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok shirt, presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, a white Afrikaner. The gesture was widely seen as a major step towards the reconciliation of white and black South Africans. A series of crises followed in 1995 through 1997. Christie resigned in 1996 due to leukaemia. South Africa struggled in the new Tri-Nations competition, the All Blacks won a test series in South Africa for the first time in 1996, and the Lions won their 1997 South African tour