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'''Desmond Charles van Jaarsveld''' (born 31 March 1929) is an ex-[[South Africa national rugby union team|Springbok]] [[rugby union|rugby]] player<ref>{{cite web|title=Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt|url=http://en.espn.co.uk/southafrica/rugby/player/6507.html|website=ESPN scrum|accessdate=27 December 2015}}</ref> and captain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scotland tour 1960|url=http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/match?gameId=20009&league=17424|website=ESPN.com|accessdate=27 December 2015}}</ref>
'''Desmond Charles van Jaarsveld''', [[Member of the British Empire|MBE]]<ref name=g /> (born 31 March 1929 in [[Bulawayo]], [[Southern Rhodesia]]) is a [[Rhodesia]]n born-retired [[South Africa national rugby union team]] [[rugby union]] player<ref>{{cite web|title=Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt|url=http://en.espn.co.uk/southafrica/rugby/player/6507.html|website=ESPN scrum|accessdate=27 December 2015}}</ref> and captain of the Springboks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scotland tour 1960|url=http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/match?gameId=20009&league=17424|website=ESPN.com|accessdate=27 December 2015}}</ref> He was nicknamed the "Bald Eagle" due to his pace on the wing and bald head.<ref name=az /> He became the first Rhodesian to captain South Africa.<Ref name=espn /> Upon retiring from playing, he acted as a coach and administrator for Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country into Zimbabwe.


==Biography==
==Rugby career==
===Playing career===
Born in [[Bulawayo]] in [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now [[Zimbabwe]]), Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt was educated at [[Plumtree School]]. He made his debut for [[Zimbabwe national rugby union team|Southern Rhodesia]] as a wing against [[Blue Bulls Rugby Union|Northern Transvaal]] in 1947 at the age of eighteen, scoring all Rhodesia's 3 points.<ref name=RSP>{{citation|editor=[[Glen Byrom]]|year=1980|title=[[Rhodesian Sports Profiles 1907- 1979]]|publisher=[[Books of Zimbabwe]]|location=[[Bulawayo]]|pages=24–27}}.</ref> He played 62 times for Rhodesia, initially on the wing but later moving to the flank, and scored 17 tries. He captained the side 19 times between 1958 and 1962.
Van Jaarsveldt made his rugby debut for [[Zimbabwe national rugby union team|Rhodesia]] in the [[Currie Cup]] as a wing against [[Blue Bulls Rugby Union|Northern Transvaal]] in 1947 at the age of eighteen, scoring all of Rhodesia's points.<ref name=RSP>{{citation|editor=[[Glen Byrom]]|year=1980|title=[[Rhodesian Sports Profiles 1907- 1979]]|publisher=[[Books of Zimbabwe]]|location=[[Bulawayo]]|pages=24–27}}.</ref> He played 62 times for Rhodesia, initially on the wing but later moving to the flank, and scored 17 tries. He captained the side 19 times between 1958 and 1962. Van Jaarsveldt attended trials for selection for the South African national team in 1951 and 1956 but was not selected on either times which Van Jaarsveldt believed was because of [[Afrikaner Broederbond]] pressures on the [[South African Rugby Board]] not to select him because he was Rhodesian.<ref name=espn>https://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/15296351/a-forgotten-milestone</ref>


In 1959 he was selected as Captain for the Rest of South Africa against the [[Currie Cup]] champions, [[Western Province rugby|Western Province]]. When he was 31, Van Jaarsveldt became the first Rhodesian to captain the Springboks in 1960 taking over from [[Johan Claassen]] after being appointed by [[Danie Craven]], the president of the [[South African Rugby Board]].<ref name=espn /> Previously it had been considered politically unacceptable by the ruling South African [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] for a Rhodesian to captain the Springboks as previously [[John Morkel]] was denied an opportunity despite captaining Rhodesia to a 10-8 win over the All Blacks in 1949 (which Van Jaarsveldt missed due to injury).<ref name=az>https://netwerk24.com/Sport/Rugby/bok-kaptein-wat-by-craven-hoor-hy-moet-ook-toetsspan-afrig-20201031</ref> The [[Afrikaner nationalism|Afrikaner nationalist]] newspaper ''[[Die Transvaler]]'' criticised the appointment of Van Jaarsveldt stating: " "It is an evil day for South African rugby when the country has to seek its rugby captain from beyond its borders in the territory of a strange land."<ref name=cap>{{cite book |first=Glen |last=Byrom |title=Rhodesian Sports Profiles, 1907-1979 |publisher=Books of Zimbabwe |year=1980 |page=24 |isbn=9780869202173}}</ref> Contrary to this view, the team and the nation at large supported him.<ref name=cap /> Despite his name being similar to [[Afrikaner]] names (his familial background was from the [[Netherlands]] and did not have any Afrikaner connection),<ref name=ap>{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Green |title=Around and about: Memoirs of a South African Newspaperman |page=60 |publisher=New Africa Books |year=2004 |isbn=9780864866608}}</ref> Van Jaarsveldt could not speak [[Afrikaans]] and stated about that day "It must be the first time a Springbok captain has had to give his team talk in English."<ref name=cap /> He captained the [[Springboks]] in an 18–10 victory over [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]] at Port Elizabeth.<ref name=RSP/>
In 1959 he was selected as Captain for the Rest of South Africa against the [[Currie Cup]] champions, [[Western Province rugby|Western Province]]. He captained the [[Springboks]] in an 18–10 victory over [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]] at Port Elizabeth in 1960.<ref name=RSP/>

Despite the success, Van Jaarsveldt was never picked for South Africa again. This was attributed to his lack of ability to speak Afrikaans (which the selectors did not know of when he was selected) and [[Anglophobia]] from the South African selectors.<ref name=ap /> It was also claimed that his decision not to follow the Springboks tradition of the captain leading a team prayer, which van Jaarsveldt attributed that it was not in his nature to pray for victory, and not giving a long motivational speech was also not received well by some players.<Ref name=az /> It was also speculated that he was only appointed as captain as a token gesture by Craven in what was considered a low profile match as it was viewed as only a warm-up for the upcoming [[1960 New Zealand rugby union tour of Australia and South Africa|New Zealand tour of South Africa]].<Ref name=espn />

In 2019, following the death of Claassen, Van Jaarsveldt became the oldest living former Springbok<ref>https://rugby365.com/countries/south-africa/a-springbok-great-has-died/</ref> and is the oldest living South African rugby captain.<ref>https://www.news24.com/sport/Rugby/Springboks/oldest-living-bok-captain-turns-87-20160331</ref> In 2013, as the oldest living Springbok captain, he was invited to cast his handprints alongside the oldest living [[South African Coloured Rugby Football Board]] and the [[South African African Rugby Board]] representative captains in the newly opened South Africa Rugby Museum.<ref>https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-herald-south-africa/20131005/282355447457027</ref>
Also in that year, he played in a legends match for the Springboks at the age of 83 against Zimbabwe Legends to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Matabeleland Rugby Football Union at Hartsfield Rugby Ground. He took the kick-off and was then substituted.<ref>https://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/03/hartsfield-roars-to-life/</ref>

===Coaching and admininstration===
Van Jaarsveldt also coached the Rhodesian team from 1967 to 1970 and was president of the [[Zimbabwe Rugby Union|Rhodesia RFU]] in 1979. As the president of the Rhodesian Rugby Football Union, he ran Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country to black majority rule. In 1979 following the establishment of [[Zimbabwe Rhodesia]], he called for a meeting of all national sporting bodies to determine a unified approach to any potential name changes which included possibly dropping Rhodesia from their names. This meeting did not occur as several bodies preferred to unilaterally decide on their own names.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gGFEAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Rugby+chief+Mr+Des+van+Jaarsveldt+%22&dq=%22Rugby+chief+Mr+Des+van+Jaarsveldt+%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDjYmu-pXtAhWGC2MBHbnPBuMQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg |title=Sub-Saharan Africa Report |version=2121-2127 |publisher=Foreign Broadcast Information Service |year=1979 |accessdate=2021-07-03}}</ref> In 1980, with the newly renamed Zimbabwe Rugby Union, Van Jaarsveldt led an unsuccessful campaign against the [[Prime Minister of Zimbabwe]], [[Robert Mugabe]]'s announcement that Zimbabwe was to sever all sporting connections with South Africa due to their [[apartheid]] policies.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Meredith |title=Robert Mugabe: Power, Plunder and Tyranny in Zimbabwe |page=47 |publisher=Johnathan Ball Publishers |year=2002 |isbn=9781868421213}}</ref><ref>https://www.newspapers.com/image/259486226/?terms=%22Des%20van%20jaarsveldt%22&match=1</ref> In the run up to this decision, Van Jaarsveldt did approach the [[Rugby Football Union]] on Zimbabwe's tour of England, their first outside of Africa and as a result of the [[Surrey Rugby Football Union]] touring Rhodesia the previous year, to see if Zimbabwe could affiliate with England.<ref>https://www.newspapers.com/image/259576912/?terms=%22Des%20van%20jaarsveldt%22&match=1</ref>

== Personal life ==
Van Jaarsveldt was born in [[Bulawayo]] in [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now [[Zimbabwe]]) and he was educated at [[Plumtree School]]. In addition to his rugby career, He also represented Southern Rhodesia as a heavyweight boxer in the 1950 South African Championships.<ref name=RSP/> He was awarded an [[Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in 1962 for "services to sport in Southern Rhodesia".<ref name=g>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/42870/supplement/24|title=The London Gazette - Supplement: 42870 Page: 24|date=28 December 1962|work=[[The London Gazette]]|publisher=[[Government of the United Kingdom]]|accessdate=3 January 2016}}</ref> Van Jaarsveldt briefly entered politics in 1983, unsuccessfully standing for former [[Prime Minister of Rhodesia|Rhodesian Prime Minister]] [[Ian Smith]]'s [[Republican Front (Zimbabwe)|Republican Front]] for a seat in the [[Senate of Zimbabwe]] where he lost the election after drawing of lots on a 10-10 tied vote.<ref>https://www.newspapers.com/image/468615471/?terms=%22des%20van%20jaarsveldt%22&match=1</ref>


He was awarded an [[Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|MBE]] in 1962.<ref name="The London Gazette - Supplement - 28 December 1962 - Supplement: 42870 - Page: 24">{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/42870/supplement/24|title=The London Gazette - Supplement: 42870 Page: 24|date=28 December 1962|work=[[The London Gazette]]|publisher=[[Government of the United Kingdom]]|accessdate=3 January 2016}}</ref>
He also coached the Rhodesian team from 1967 to 1970 and was president of the [[Zimbabwe Rugby Union|Rhodesia RFU]] in 1979. He also represented Southern Rhodesia as a heavyweight boxer in the 1950 South African Championships.<ref name=RSP/>


=== Test history ===
=== Test history ===
Line 95: Line 105:
[[Category:White Rhodesian people]]
[[Category:White Rhodesian people]]
[[Category:Rhodesian Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Rhodesian Members of the Order of the British Empire]]

{{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub}}

Revision as of 05:37, 3 July 2021

Des van Jaarsveldt
Birth nameDesmond Charles van Jaarsveldt
Date of birth (1929-03-31) 31 March 1929 (age 95)
Place of birthBulawayo, Southern Rhodesia
SchoolPlumtree School, Rhodesia
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flank
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1947–1962 Rhodesia 62 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1960 South Africa 1 (3)

Desmond Charles van Jaarsveld, MBE[1] (born 31 March 1929 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) is a Rhodesian born-retired South Africa national rugby union team rugby union player[2] and captain of the Springboks.[3] He was nicknamed the "Bald Eagle" due to his pace on the wing and bald head.[4] He became the first Rhodesian to captain South Africa.[5] Upon retiring from playing, he acted as a coach and administrator for Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country into Zimbabwe.

Rugby career

Playing career

Van Jaarsveldt made his rugby debut for Rhodesia in the Currie Cup as a wing against Northern Transvaal in 1947 at the age of eighteen, scoring all of Rhodesia's points.[6] He played 62 times for Rhodesia, initially on the wing but later moving to the flank, and scored 17 tries. He captained the side 19 times between 1958 and 1962. Van Jaarsveldt attended trials for selection for the South African national team in 1951 and 1956 but was not selected on either times which Van Jaarsveldt believed was because of Afrikaner Broederbond pressures on the South African Rugby Board not to select him because he was Rhodesian.[5]

In 1959 he was selected as Captain for the Rest of South Africa against the Currie Cup champions, Western Province. When he was 31, Van Jaarsveldt became the first Rhodesian to captain the Springboks in 1960 taking over from Johan Claassen after being appointed by Danie Craven, the president of the South African Rugby Board.[5] Previously it had been considered politically unacceptable by the ruling South African National Party for a Rhodesian to captain the Springboks as previously John Morkel was denied an opportunity despite captaining Rhodesia to a 10-8 win over the All Blacks in 1949 (which Van Jaarsveldt missed due to injury).[4] The Afrikaner nationalist newspaper Die Transvaler criticised the appointment of Van Jaarsveldt stating: " "It is an evil day for South African rugby when the country has to seek its rugby captain from beyond its borders in the territory of a strange land."[7] Contrary to this view, the team and the nation at large supported him.[7] Despite his name being similar to Afrikaner names (his familial background was from the Netherlands and did not have any Afrikaner connection),[8] Van Jaarsveldt could not speak Afrikaans and stated about that day "It must be the first time a Springbok captain has had to give his team talk in English."[7] He captained the Springboks in an 18–10 victory over Scotland at Port Elizabeth.[6]

Despite the success, Van Jaarsveldt was never picked for South Africa again. This was attributed to his lack of ability to speak Afrikaans (which the selectors did not know of when he was selected) and Anglophobia from the South African selectors.[8] It was also claimed that his decision not to follow the Springboks tradition of the captain leading a team prayer, which van Jaarsveldt attributed that it was not in his nature to pray for victory, and not giving a long motivational speech was also not received well by some players.[4] It was also speculated that he was only appointed as captain as a token gesture by Craven in what was considered a low profile match as it was viewed as only a warm-up for the upcoming New Zealand tour of South Africa.[5]

In 2019, following the death of Claassen, Van Jaarsveldt became the oldest living former Springbok[9] and is the oldest living South African rugby captain.[10] In 2013, as the oldest living Springbok captain, he was invited to cast his handprints alongside the oldest living South African Coloured Rugby Football Board and the South African African Rugby Board representative captains in the newly opened South Africa Rugby Museum.[11] Also in that year, he played in a legends match for the Springboks at the age of 83 against Zimbabwe Legends to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Matabeleland Rugby Football Union at Hartsfield Rugby Ground. He took the kick-off and was then substituted.[12]

Coaching and admininstration

Van Jaarsveldt also coached the Rhodesian team from 1967 to 1970 and was president of the Rhodesia RFU in 1979. As the president of the Rhodesian Rugby Football Union, he ran Rhodesian rugby during the transition of the country to black majority rule. In 1979 following the establishment of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, he called for a meeting of all national sporting bodies to determine a unified approach to any potential name changes which included possibly dropping Rhodesia from their names. This meeting did not occur as several bodies preferred to unilaterally decide on their own names.[13] In 1980, with the newly renamed Zimbabwe Rugby Union, Van Jaarsveldt led an unsuccessful campaign against the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe's announcement that Zimbabwe was to sever all sporting connections with South Africa due to their apartheid policies.[14][15] In the run up to this decision, Van Jaarsveldt did approach the Rugby Football Union on Zimbabwe's tour of England, their first outside of Africa and as a result of the Surrey Rugby Football Union touring Rhodesia the previous year, to see if Zimbabwe could affiliate with England.[16]

Personal life

Van Jaarsveldt was born in Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and he was educated at Plumtree School. In addition to his rugby career, He also represented Southern Rhodesia as a heavyweight boxer in the 1950 South African Championships.[6] He was awarded an MBE in 1962 for "services to sport in Southern Rhodesia".[1] Van Jaarsveldt briefly entered politics in 1983, unsuccessfully standing for former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith's Republican Front for a seat in the Senate of Zimbabwe where he lost the election after drawing of lots on a 10-10 tied vote.[17]


Test history

No. Opponents Results (RSA 1st) Position Tries Dates Venue
1.  Scotland 18–10 Flank (c) 1 30 April 1960 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "The London Gazette - Supplement: 42870 Page: 24". The London Gazette. Government of the United Kingdom. 28 December 1962. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Desmond Charles van Jaarsveldt". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Scotland tour 1960". ESPN.com. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b c https://netwerk24.com/Sport/Rugby/bok-kaptein-wat-by-craven-hoor-hy-moet-ook-toetsspan-afrig-20201031
  5. ^ a b c d https://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/15296351/a-forgotten-milestone
  6. ^ a b c Glen Byrom, ed. (1980), Rhodesian Sports Profiles 1907- 1979, Bulawayo: Books of Zimbabwe, pp. 24–27.
  7. ^ a b c Byrom, Glen (1980). Rhodesian Sports Profiles, 1907-1979. Books of Zimbabwe. p. 24. ISBN 9780869202173.
  8. ^ a b Green, Michael (2004). Around and about: Memoirs of a South African Newspaperman. New Africa Books. p. 60. ISBN 9780864866608.
  9. ^ https://rugby365.com/countries/south-africa/a-springbok-great-has-died/
  10. ^ https://www.news24.com/sport/Rugby/Springboks/oldest-living-bok-captain-turns-87-20160331
  11. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-herald-south-africa/20131005/282355447457027
  12. ^ https://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/03/hartsfield-roars-to-life/
  13. ^ Sub-Saharan Africa Report. 2121-2127. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1979. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
  14. ^ Meredith, Martin (2002). Robert Mugabe: Power, Plunder and Tyranny in Zimbabwe. Johnathan Ball Publishers. p. 47. ISBN 9781868421213.
  15. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/259486226/?terms=%22Des%20van%20jaarsveldt%22&match=1
  16. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/259576912/?terms=%22Des%20van%20jaarsveldt%22&match=1
  17. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/468615471/?terms=%22des%20van%20jaarsveldt%22&match=1

Extra reading

  • "monthly sitrep" (PDF). Rhodesian Services Association Incorporated. July 2011. p. 5.
Rugby Union Captain
Preceded by Springbok Captain
1960 		Next:
Roy Dryburgh
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