Stephen Fry (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Perry Fry was a South Africa
n rugby union
player, most often playing as a flanker
. Fry played rugby for his home town of Somerset West and provincial rugby for Western Province
. He won 13 caps for the South African
national team (the Springboks), and captained the country in four matches against the British Lions
.
. The others were, Dennis who also toured with the Springboks in 1951, Alec his twin, and Robert. Fry served South Africa during the Second World War, and on his return studied at the University of Cape Town
, gaining a BSc in Engineering and qualified as an engineer. A keen sportsman, he is described as a first-class athlete and was a half-blue at the University.
Fry married Bettie, and they had two children, Juliet and Mark. He harboured ambitions to be a jazz pianist.
On his return to South Africa whilst at the University of Cape Town, he was chosen to represent the Western Province. After completing his studies, he qualified as an engineer, joining the Villagers rugby team.
in the win over the North West Counties. In the match against the North East Counties on the 3 November, Fry was initially selected at number eight, with Basil Kenyon as flanker; though the two switched positions almost immediately after play started.
Fry won his first international cap on 24 November 1951, in the encounter with Scotland
. Scotland were totally overwhelmed, and lost the game 44-0; with Fry being the only South African forward not to score during the match. Fry continued to represent South Africa in the Tests, and played in the wins over Ireland
, Wales
and England
. After the Welsh game the entire team, apart from Fonnie du Toit and Fry, were rested for the encounter with the Combined Services team. Fry was given the captaincy for the match, becoming the fifth player to hold the role during the tour. After the final match of the British leg of the tour, the team travelled to France. Despite Fry being the only player on the tour to have experience of playing in France, he was left out of the first match, against a South East France team. Fry was reselected for the final three games, playing at number eight, and again holding the captaincy for the match against South West France. He was back in his role as flanker against the France 'B' team and on 16 February 1952 played in the last game of the tour in a convincing win over France
.
's Australian team touring South Africa. Four Tests were arranged and Fry was to play in all of them. The first was a South Africa win at Johannesburg, but the Second Test, played at Cape Town, saw Fry on the losing side as an international for the first time. Australia won 14-18, with the defeat put down to a South Africans tactical change to try and run with the ball more, in a desire to play to the crowd. Fry kept his place for the remaining two games, wins at Durban and Port Elizabeth.
. Despite being captain of the national team, Fry was not amongst the Western Province team who were beaten by the Lions in a pre-Test game on 14 July. The first Test of the tour, at Johannesburg, saw the Lions win narrowly, 22-23. This was followed by a South African win in the second Test at Cape Town, but a 6-9 loss in the third Test in Pretoria meant that the final game would decide the tour. South Africa won the final game 22-8, drawing the tour. Fry never played for South Africa again, finishing his career with 10 wins from 13 games.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player, most often playing as a flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
. Fry played rugby for his home town of Somerset West and provincial rugby for Western Province
Western Province (rugby team)
DHL Western Province is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The team has won the Currie Cup on 32 occasions and has the most supporters of any Currie Cup team...
. He won 13 caps for the South African
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
national team (the Springboks), and captained the country in four matches against the British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
.
Personal history
Fry was born in Somerset West in South Africa in 1924. He was one of five brothers; one of whom was killed flying in the Battle of BritainBattle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. The others were, Dennis who also toured with the Springboks in 1951, Alec his twin, and Robert. Fry served South Africa during the Second World War, and on his return studied at the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
, gaining a BSc in Engineering and qualified as an engineer. A keen sportsman, he is described as a first-class athlete and was a half-blue at the University.
Fry married Bettie, and they had two children, Juliet and Mark. He harboured ambitions to be a jazz pianist.
Rugby career
Fry began playing rugby as a schoolboy, playing in an under-eleven side. As an adult he played for local club Somerset West RFC. Fry served in the South African 6th Armoured Division during the Second World War, and after the end of hostilities in 1945 he toured with the Armoured Division's rugby team. The team played in both Britain and France.On his return to South Africa whilst at the University of Cape Town, he was chosen to represent the Western Province. After completing his studies, he qualified as an engineer, joining the Villagers rugby team.
1951 Springbok's Tour
In 1951 he was chosen to represent the South African national team, on their fourth tour of Great Britain. According to South African journalist R.K. Stent, who travelled with the team during the five month tour, Fry was the player who most improved during the tour. Stent wrote, that at the beginning of the tour, Fry was an unlikely choice, but by the tour's end he was difficult to leave out. Given the number 27 shirt, Fry played in all five Test matches of the tour and 15 of the matches against club and county teams. His first match of the tour was on the 13 October 1951, as flanker against the South Western Counties. Fry was then chosen for every other match for the next six games, scoring his first points with a tryTry
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
in the win over the North West Counties. In the match against the North East Counties on the 3 November, Fry was initially selected at number eight, with Basil Kenyon as flanker; though the two switched positions almost immediately after play started.
Fry won his first international cap on 24 November 1951, in the encounter with Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
. Scotland were totally overwhelmed, and lost the game 44-0; with Fry being the only South African forward not to score during the match. Fry continued to represent South Africa in the Tests, and played in the wins over Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. After the Welsh game the entire team, apart from Fonnie du Toit and Fry, were rested for the encounter with the Combined Services team. Fry was given the captaincy for the match, becoming the fifth player to hold the role during the tour. After the final match of the British leg of the tour, the team travelled to France. Despite Fry being the only player on the tour to have experience of playing in France, he was left out of the first match, against a South East France team. Fry was reselected for the final three games, playing at number eight, and again holding the captaincy for the match against South West France. He was back in his role as flanker against the France 'B' team and on 16 February 1952 played in the last game of the tour in a convincing win over France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
.
1953 Australia tour of South Africa
The next year saw John SolomonJohn Solomon (rugby)
John Solomon was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative versatile back who captained the Wallabies in eight Tests in the 1950s and the led touring squads to New Zealand and South Africa....
's Australian team touring South Africa. Four Tests were arranged and Fry was to play in all of them. The first was a South Africa win at Johannesburg, but the Second Test, played at Cape Town, saw Fry on the losing side as an international for the first time. Australia won 14-18, with the defeat put down to a South Africans tactical change to try and run with the ball more, in a desire to play to the crowd. Fry kept his place for the remaining two games, wins at Durban and Port Elizabeth.
1955 British Lions
Fry played his final matches for the Springboks when he captained the team for all four Tests against 1955 touring British Lions1955 British Lions tour to South Africa
In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against , each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins...
. Despite being captain of the national team, Fry was not amongst the Western Province team who were beaten by the Lions in a pre-Test game on 14 July. The first Test of the tour, at Johannesburg, saw the Lions win narrowly, 22-23. This was followed by a South African win in the second Test at Cape Town, but a 6-9 loss in the third Test in Pretoria meant that the final game would decide the tour. South Africa won the final game 22-8, drawing the tour. Fry never played for South Africa again, finishing his career with 10 wins from 13 games.