Ons Toetsprestasies by Danie Craven

Ons Toetsprestasies (Danie Craven Springbok Test Rugby Account)

A First-Hand Afrikaans Account of Springbok Test Rugby by the Legendary Coach and Administrator Danie Craven

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Ons Toetsprestasies
• Author: Danie Craven
• Publisher: Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel, Johannesburg
• Binding: Publisher's green cloth boards with black lettering to the front board and spine, in an illustrated pictorial dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Small octavo, approximately 200 x 135 mm.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Boards: The green cloth boards are clean and bright, with black lettering to the front and spine. The spine is straight and intact, and the corners and edges are fairly sharp. No obvious damage to the boards is visible with the jacket removed.
• Interior: The text block is sound and the pages open flat. The page edges are lightly toned. The front and rear endpapers carry brown, discoloured residue from old adhesive tape, with four strips on one endpaper plus smaller toned marks. The rear endpaper or advertisement page has a brown stain running down its edge, with a smaller stain below it. No writing is visible in the pages.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The illustrated pictorial jacket shows a rugby player diving against a yellow, red and green design. It has creasing and small tears at the top front corner and along the spine area, with spine-edge rubbing and toning. The flap edges are browned and chipped. The rear panel is toned with a small chip at the bottom corner and carries an advertisement for another book. The jacket has been taped on the inside with old, browned tape that shows through the flap. It is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Ons Toetsprestasies (roughly, 'Our Test Achievements') is a first-hand account of South African Test rugby by Danie Craven, written in Afrikaans and published in Johannesburg by Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel. Craven recounts Springbok Test matches and tours, with reminiscences of games against Scotland, Wales and France and the experiences of the touring teams.

Its value rests on the authority of its author. Craven wrote as a participant and insider, and the book has since been used by historians as a primary source: a 2016 article in Historia cites it for his description of the Springboks' 44-0 win over Scotland in 1951.

For collectors of South African sporting history and Afrikaans rugby literature, this is a useful copy of a title by the man most closely associated with Springbok rugby, still in its original pictorial dust jacket.

Author Profile: Danie Craven

Daniël Hartman Craven (1910–1993) was a rugby player, national coach, administrator, academic and author. He played for South Africa from 1931 to 1938, coached the Springboks from 1949 to 1956, and served as president of the South African Rugby Board from 1956 until 1993.

He was also South Africa's most prolific writer of rugby books, with more than 25 titles to his name. Other works include Springbok Story, 1949–1953 (1954), Springbok Annale (1958), Oubaas Mark, and the Rugby Handbook (1970), an important coaching guide.

Danie Craven rugby book · Ons Toetsprestasies · Springbok rugby history · Afrikaans rugby book · Danie Craven Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel · South African rugby Test history