“Volkekunde” in the academic and rugby world of South Africa’s Dr Danie Craven

This article is a foray into the field of anthropology (“volkekunde” in ) and sport history. It examines aspects of the sport-related thinking a noted luminary in South Africa’s rugby world, Dr Danie Craven of . He was not only an outstanding rugby player but also for years an influential chairperson of the South African Rugby Board. possibility is probed that his outlook was at least in part informed by his as an anthropologist or the Afrikaans variant of a “volkekundige” its own emphases. It is argued that to some extent his academic exposure “volkekunde” heightened for instance his understanding of the role of the Zealand Māori in that country’s rugby culture and some insights spilled into his attempts to bring coloured South African players closer to the of rugby in South Africa, not always with the necessary political or finesse. Finally, it is argued that what he called the “spirit” of , might have been informed by anthropological precepts.