Tour diary - The 1981 Springbok Tour

Interactive map of the tour

The Gisborne game

Game cancelled, Hamilton

Molesworth Street, Wellington

First test, Christchurch

Third test, Auckland

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'A war played out twice a week'

The Springboks were officially welcomed to New Zealand on the Poho-o-Rawiri Marae in Gisborne (just as they had been in 1965) on 19 July 1981. Despite all the pre-tour rhetoric and debate, few could have anticipated that the country was about to descend into near civil war, 'a war played out twice a week' as the Springboks moved from game to game.

22 July, Gisborne — the scene is set

The first game against Poverty Bay on 22 July saw tour supporters and anti-tour protestors confront each other, face to face, for the first time. On the field the visitors won 24-6. As was to be the case for the entire tour, however, the real action was taking place on the streets surrounding the venue. See related film clip and more about the Gisborne game.

25 July, Hamilton — game cancelled

The game against Waikato is called off in front of a full-house at Rugby Park. A pitch invasion by several hundred anti-tour protestors and rumours that a light aircraft had been stolen from Taupo and is headed for Rugby Park prove too much for the authorities. See related film clip and more about the Hamilton cancellation.

29 July, Molesworth Street, Wellington — an 'eruption of violence'

The Springboks defeated Taranaki in New Plymouth, but the real action that day occurred on Molesworth Street outside Parliament in Wellington. Police used batons on anti-tour protestors for the first time. Former Prime Minister Norman Kirk's prediction almost a decade earlier that a tour would result in the 'greatest eruption of violence this country has ever known' was realised. See related film clip and more about the Molesworth Street protest.

15 August, first test, Christchurch

The All Blacks won the first test 14-9. Protest action at the ground and around the country led one policeman to recall that it was 'sheer luck' that nobody was killed that day. See related film clip and more about the Christchurch test.

12 September, third test, Auckland

The All Blacks won the deciding third test 25-22. It was a game when 'all hell broke loose' as protestors fought with police outside the grounds and flour and smoke bombs were dropped from a Cessna aircraft inside. See related film clip and more about the Auckland test.

Itinerary of games

Date	Game	Score
July 22	v Poverty Bay at Gisborne	24-6
July 25	v Waikato at Hamilton	Cancelled *
July 29	v Taranaki at New Plymouth	34-9
August 1	v Manawatu at Palmerston North	31-19
August 5	v Wanganui at Wanganui	45-9
August 8	v Southland at Invercargill	22-6
August 11	v Otago at Dunedin	17-13
August 15	v All Blacks at Christchurch	9-14
August 19	v South Canterbury at Timaru	Cancelled *
August 22	v Nelson Bays at Nelson	83-0
August 25	v New Zealand Maoris at Napier	12-12
August 29	v All Blacks at Wellington	24-12
September 2	v Bay of Plenty at Rotorua	29-24
September 5	v Auckland at Auckland	39-12
September 8	v North Auckland at Whangarei	19-10
September 12	v All Blacks at Auckland	22-25

* The games scheduled for Hamilton and Timaru were called off for security reasons.

You can also find out more about each of the games on our interactive map.

Remembering the '81 tour

We encourage you to add your recollections to our discussion forum or email them to [email protected]. A selection of these will be incorporated into the main feature.

Next page: Impact of the Tour