Blast from the past | Coetzee wins title after Schutte is disqualified

Today in SA sports history: August 16

1924 — Legendary flyhalf Bennie Osler makes his Springbok debut, kicking one of his famous dropped goals to lift SA to a 7-3 victory over Britain in the first Test at Kingsmead in Durban. Winger Hans Aucamp, another of SA’s eight debutants that day, scored an unconverted try.

1924 — Bob Catterall’s 95 lifts SA to 342 on the first day of the final fifth Test against England at The Oval. The match ended in a tame draw as England replied with 421/8. The hosts won the series 3-0. 

1952 — World bantamweight champion Vic Toweel beats Frenchman George Mousse on points in a non-title bout over 10 rounds in a rematch at Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg. Their first fight the previous month, also a non-title affair, had ended in a draw. Toweel would lose the world title in his next bout three months later.

1958 — The Springboks lose their first-ever home series against France as they are stunned 5-9 in the final second Test in front of 50,000 fans at Ellis Park. The Boks and France had played to 3-3 draw in the first Test of the two-match series in Cape Town, giving the visitors the 1-0 series triumph. Ironically, the home side scored the only try of the match through wing Loftie Fourie.

1969 — Wing Jannie Engelbrecht scores two tries as the Springboks beat Australia 16-9 in the second Test in Durban to stretch their lead in the four-match series to 2-0. Flyhalf Piet Visagie also dotted down and converted two tries and a penalty.

1976 — Gerrie Coetzee wins the SA heavyweight title from Mike Schutte on disqualification after what was rated as the dirtiest boxing fight in the country’s history. The bout at the West Ridge tennis stadium should have ended early in the first round after Coetzee had flattened the champion, but referee Bob Mazzoni inexplicably counted three times. On the first occasion he reached seven before warning Coetzee for moving too far from the neutral corner. Then he started counting from one again and stopped a second time on eight, again cautioning Coetzee. Mazzoni started counting from one a third time and Schutte got up as he reached eight — or 23 overall. From there the fight descended into chaos, with Schutte, kicking, butting and kneeing the challenger, who retaliated with his own butting and kneeing. Mazzoni finally disqualified Schutte in the sixth round after he had kicked Coetzee twice.

1992 — SA plays its first competitive football match since readmission, but are beaten 1-4 by Zimbabwe in an African Nations’ Cup qualifier in Harare. Phil Masinga scored the only goal for the visitors.

1997 — Vuyani Bungu makes the ninth defence of his IBF junior-featherweight title when  he outpoints Enrique Jupiter of Mexico at the Carousel Casino, north of Pretoria.

2000 — The Proteas are walloped by world champions Australia by 94 runs  in the first ODI in Melbourne. Chasing 296 for victory, only Gary Kirsten (43) and Jacques Kallis (42) really get going.

2008 — The world champion Springboks fail to score a point as they lose 0-19 to the All Blacks in a Tri-Nations contest at Newlands.

2014 — Scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar scores the only try of the match as the Springboks beat Argentina 13-6 in a Rugby Championship contest at Loftus Versfeld.

2015 — The Proteas are beaten by 32 runs in the final second T20 in Centurion as New Zealand tie the series 1-1. Farhaan Behardien’s 36 was the highest score in SA’s chase of 145/8.