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1953 Australia rugby union tour of South Africa
1953 rugby union tour
1953 rugby union tour
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| team | Australia |
| yearstart | 1953 |
| matchplayed | 27 |
| matchwon | 17 |
| matchdraw | 1 |
| matchlost | 9 |
| testplayed | 4 |
| testwon | 1 |
| testdraw | 0 |
| testlost | 3 |
| opponent1 | |
| played1 | 4 |
| won1 | 1 |
| draw1 | 0 |
| lost1 | 3 |
FORCETOC The 1953 Australia rugby union tour of South Africa and Rhodesia was a series of 27 rugby union matches played by "Wallabies" in 1953, between June and October.
The test series was won by the Springboks with three test wins to one.
Touring party

Of the team of 30 players, 25 were from Sydney; 1 from Newcastle – Cyril Burke; and 4 from Queensland – Tom Sweeney, Garth Jones, Gavan Horsley and Colin Forbes. The touring party consisted of:
- Manager: John 'Wylie' Breckenbridge
- Assistant Manager-Coach: A.C. 'Johnnie' Wallace
- Captain: John Solomon
- Vice-captain: Nick Shehadie
Playing squad:
- Full-backs: Ray Colbert, Tom Sweeney (Qld)
- Wingers: Eddie Stapleton, Garth Jones (Qld), Jim Phipps, Gavan Horsley (Qld)
- Centres: Herb Barker, Jack Blomley, John Solomon, Saxon White
- Fly-halves: Spencer Brown, Murray Tate
- Half-backs: Cyril Burke (Newcastle), John Bosler
- Locks: Brian Johnson, Mac Hughes
- Breakaways: Keith Cross, Bob Outterside, Colin Windon, David Brockhoff
- Second Row: Nick Shehadie, Ned Morey, Alan Cameron, Tony Miller, Colin Forbes (Qld),
- Front Row: Bob Davidson, Jack Carroll, Max Elliott
- Hookers: Jim Walsh, John Bain.
Matches
Scores and results list Australia's points tally first.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 15 | 20 June 1953 | Durban | Tour Match | |
| Comb. Northern University | 22 | 14 | 24 June 1953 | Pretoria | Tour Match |
| Transvaal 2nd XV | 20 | 18 | 27 June 1953 | Johannesburg | Tour Match |
| Orange Free State | 3 | 28 | 1 July 1953 | Kroonstad | Tour Match |
| Eastern Transvaal | 15 | 12 | 4 July 1953 | Springs | Tour Match |
| Rhodesia | 18 | 15 | 8 July 1953 | Salisbury | Tour Match |
| Rhodesia | 8 | 8 | 11 July 1953 | Kitwe | Tour Match |
| Rhodesia | 31 | 11 | 15 July 1953 | Bulawayo | Tour Match |
| Transvaal | 14 | 20 | 18 July 1953 | Newlands, Cape Town | Tour Match |
| Griqualand West | 3 | 13 | 22 July 1953 | Kimberley | Tour Match |
| Western Province | 13 | 11 | 25 July 1953 | Newlands, Cape Town | Tour Match |
| SW District | 34 | 11 | 29 July 1953 | Tour Match | |
| Eastern Province | 16 | 11 | 1 August 1953 | Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth | Tour Match |
| Eastern Districts | 25 | 6 | 5 August 1953 | Burgersdorp | Tour Match |
| Border | 9 | 6 | 8 August 1953 | East London | Tour Match |
| Western Transvaal | 50 | 12 | 12 August 1953 | Potchefstroom | Tour Match |
| Northern Transvaal | 11 | 27 | 15 August 1953 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | Tour Match |
| South Africa | 3 | 25 | 22 August 1953 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Test Match |
| Griqualand West | 11 | 6 | 26 August 1953 | Kimberley | Tour Match |
| Boland | 14 | 13 | 29 August 1953 | Wellington | Tour Match |
| Universities | 5 | 24 | 2 September 1953 | Cape Town | Tour Match |
| South Africa | 18 | 14 | 5 September 1953 | Cape Town | Test Match |
| Border | 24 | 13 | 9 September 1953 | Queenstown | Tour Match |
| Orange Free State | 28 | 3 | 12 September 1953 | Bloemfontein | Tour Match |
| South Africa | 8 | 18 | 19 September 1953 | Durban | Test Match |
| Eastern Province | 39 | 17 | 23 September 1953 | Port Elizabeth | Tour Match |
| South Africa | 9 | 22 | 26 September 1953 | Port Elizabeth | Test Match |
Bibliography
All found on http://trove.nla.gov.au
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article62480804 Townsville Daily Bulletin, Monday 11 May 1953 p 3
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2881641 The Canberra Times, Monday 11 May 1953 p 3
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118413383 Queensland Times (Ipswich), Tuesday 9 June 1953 p 3
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