Danie Craven
Daniël Hartman Craven ( born October 11, 1910 in Lindley, South Africa, † January 4, 1993 in Stellenbosch, South Africa ) was a player and coach of the South African national rugby union team. Between 1931 and 1938 he scored in 16 international matches two attempts. In his playing days he was mostly " Danie " or " Doc Craven " called.
His grandson Dan Craven is professional cyclist.
Career
Craven was born in Lindley, in the Free State province. He attended the Lindley High School and studied in Stellenbosch, where he received his Ph.D. later.
His first international game he played on December 5, 1931 as scrum half against Wales. On September 10, 1938, he ended his playing career as captain of South Africa in the match against the British Lions. In the 1930s, he was considered one of the best players at his position, but the beginning of the Second World War ended his further career.
1949 Craven was appointed coach of the national team of South Africa. The Springboks won the first ten games under him and remained unbeaten until 1952. The total of 17 wins from 23 games make him one of the most successful coaches in the history of rugby.
In 1956 he took over the presidency of the South African Rugby Federal SARB. He was also a member of the International Rugby Board.
During apartheid, the African National Congress ( ANC) of South Africa in sporting competitions tried exclude in the world. As rugby, is especially popular among white South Africans, was also hit by the restrictions and the national team was not allowed to participate in the first Rugby Union World Cup 1987 in New Zealand, Craven tried to cooperate with the ANC. For this he was attacked by many whites in South Africa, the then President PW Botha denounced him for the meeting. Although talks between Craven and the ANC did not result in the immediate termination of the sporting isolation of South Africa, they paved the way for establishing the SARFU, the South African Rugby Union, whose chairman he was elected in 1992. On 4 January 1993 Craven died in Stellenbosch.
In his honor, a stadium, a rugby museum and a school championship were named after him. In Coetzenburg also is a statue dedicated to him.