Mauritz van den Berg
Full names: Mauritz Albertus
Date of birth: 9 May 1909
Place of birth: Pretoria
School: Glenwood
Springbok no: 258
Springbok debut province: Western Province
Date of death: 9 Apr 1948 (Age 38)
Test summary: Tests: 4 Tries: 0
First Test: 26 Jun 1937 Age 28 - Lock against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Last Test: 25 Sep 1937 Age 28 - Lock against New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland
Tours Australia & New Zealand 1937
Test history:
DateAgePositionOpponentVenueResultScoreProvince
26 Jun 1937 28Lock Australia Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Win: 9-5  WP
14 Aug 1937 28Lock New Zealand Athletic Park, Wellington Lose: 7-13  WP
04 Sep 1937 28Lock New Zealand Lancaster Park (Jade stadium), Christchurch Win: 13-6  WP
25 Sep 1937 28Lock New Zealand Eden Park, Auckland Win: 17-6  WP

Mauritz van den Berg: Peter Martin

Mauritz van den Berg was born in Pretoria and was educated at Glenwood High School in Durban.

He represented Western Province in the Currie Cup from 1932 to 1940 and was selected as a lock for the Springbok 1937 tour of Australia and New Zealand under the captaincy of Philip Nel.

The tour was a huge success for the Boks, winning 27 of 29 matches, including both Tests against Australia and beating the All Blacks 2-1, the only time South Africa have won a series in New Zealand.

Other than the All Blacks, the only team to lower the colours of the tourists, was the New South Wales side which won 17-6 early on the tour.

Van den Berg played in the first Test at Sydney which SA won 9-5, missed the second Test when Nel was moved from prop to lock, then played in all three Tests against the All Blacks.

Van den Berg’s son Derek, a prop, played in four Test matches, one of 14 father-son combinations to represent the Springboks.

Sadly, Van den Berg died at an early age after a heart attack less than 20 months after the birth of Derek.

- Peter Martin