Craven, Danie (1910-1993), became South Africa’s leading Rugby Union football administrator. He was also a player, coach, manager, theorist, and rule maker in the sport. Craven dominated South African rugby after becoming president of the South African Rugby Board in 1956.
Daniel Craven was born on Oct. 11, 1910, in Lindley, Orange Free State, now the province of Free State in South Africa. During the 1930’s, he played scrum-half for South Africa. In 1938, he captained the national team in matches against a British touring team. Craven served as a national selector from 1949 to 1956. He was manager of the National Springbok Rugby Team in 1956. As president of the Rugby Board, he supported integrating rugby in South Africa during a time when the government enforced a policy of apartheid (racial separation). The policy caused the governing bodies of many sports to ban South African teams from international competition, and Craven tried to have South African teams accepted back into competition. In 1988, he caused a sensation in South Africa by entering into discussions with the African National Congress, a black organization, which at that time was banned. Craven died on Jan. 4, 1993.
