THE HUNDRED

THERE WAS a time when they didn’t matter. When others, like Australia, were of more importance. Yet, almost like an addiction, they were always there, lurking in the background of our consciousness, a Goliath we knew would one day return.

South Africa’s exclusion from sport due to its racist apartheid regime meant the Springboks were lost to a generation of All Blacks fans. Tales of grown men weeping over their beers after another series defeat in South Africa were Kodak distant, a photo curled in the sun and yellowed in time.

For 11 years they sat on the sidelines and, after the violent protests against the 1981 tour to New Zealand, few missed them. After all, this was the country that discouraged Māori from touring with the All Blacks and (with the embarrassing support of the New Zealand