| Team: | England |
| Destination: | Australia |
| Yearstart: | 1972 |
| Matchplayed: | 7 |
| Matchwon: | 6 |
| Matchdraw: | 1 |
| Matchlost: | 0 |
| Testplayed: | 1 |
| Testwon: | 1 |
| Testdraw: | 0 |
| Testlost: | 0 |
| Played1: | 1 |
| Won1: | 1 |
| Draw1: | 0 |
| Lost1: | 0 |
This first tour undertaken by England to South Africa was organised with a demanding schedule, although with only one Test Match. Within two weeks and three days, seven matches were to be played, the first four at sea level, and the final three, including the Test Match, at the altitude in the highveld with only two days to acclimatise before a demanding fixture against Northern Transvaal. From the outset, under captain John Pullin and the management of Alec Lewis and John Elders, there was a buoyant and optimistic spirit in the squad, as if they were determined to erase the memories of the last few seasons of undistinguished English performances.
The tour took place against the backdrop of widespread condemnation of the apartheid regime. Under pressure from other African nations, the International Olympic Committee had excluded South Africa from competing in the Summer Games since 1964, and there had also been protests against visiting sporting teams from South Africa.
In 1971, an international cricket boycott was instituted against South Africa to voice global disapproval of their selection policies and apartheid in general. South Africa subsequently became a world sporting pariah, and were excluded from the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, test cricket, and a host of other sports.[1]
There were protests against the 1972 England rugby tour, including a blockade of their hotel to try to prevent them leaving, in which 14 people were arrested.[2]
Scores and results list England's points tally first.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center width=40 | 19 | align=center width=40 | 0 | width=140 align=right | 17 May 1972 | Durban | Tour match | ||
| Western Province | align=center width=40 | 9 | align=center width=40 | 6 | width=140 align=right | 20 May 1972 | Cape Town | Tour match | |
| SA Rugby Fed XV | align=center width=40 | 11 | align=center width=40 | 6 | width=140 align=right | 22 May 1972 | Cape Town | Tour match | |
| SA Leopards | align=center width=40 | 36 | align=center width=40 | 3 | width=140 align=right | 24 May 1972 | Port Elizabeth | Tour match | |
| Northern Transvaal | align=center width=40 | 13 | align=center width=40 | 13 | width=140 align=right | 27 May 1972 | Pretoria | Tour match | |
| Giqualand West | align=center width=40 | 60 | align=center width=40 | 21 | width=140 align=right | 30 May 1972 | Kimberley | Tour match | |
| South Africa | align=center width=40 | 18 | align=center width=40 | 9 | width=140 align=right | 3 June 1972 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg | Test Match |
Piet Greyling led a combination of Springboks who seemed hopelessly unsure of themselves. Dawie Snyman collected all the South African points with three penalties while England, with unspectacular competence, grabbed every scoring chance. Fullback Sam Doble converted a try by wing Alan Morley and also booted four penalties.[3]
| width=41%; text-align=right | width=3%; text-align:right | width=4%; text-align:center | width=3%; text-align:left | width=49%; text-align:left | |||||
| South Africa | England | ||||||||
| Ray Carlson | FB | 15 | FB | Sam Doble | |||||
| Syd Nomis | W | 14 | W | Alan Morley | |||||
| Tonie Roux | C | 13 | C | Jeremy Janion | |||||
| Joggie Jansen | C | 12 | C | Peter Preece | |||||
| W | 11 | W | Peter Knight | ||||||
| Dawie Snyman | FH | 10 | FH | Alan Old | |||||
| Joggie Viljoen | SH | 9 | SH | Jan Webster | |||||
| Albie Bates | N8 | 8 | N8 | Andy Ripley | |||||
| Jan Ellis | F | 7 | F | John Watkins | |||||
| (capt.) Piet Greyling | F | 6 | F | Tony Neary | |||||
| John Williams | L | 5 | L | Chris Ralston | |||||
| Piet du Plessis | L | 4 | L | Peter Larter | |||||
| Sakkie Sauermann | P | 3 | P | Mike Burton | |||||
| H | 2 | H | John Pullin (capt.) | ||||||
| Niek Bezuidenhout | P | 1 | P | Stack Stevens | |||||
| Replacements | |||||||||
| Coaches | |||||||||
Johan Claassen  | John Elders |