Today in South African sport history: July 21

1928 – The Springboks go down 6-7 to New Zealand in the second Test at Ellis Park. In a try-less match, both sides slotted a penalty each, Bennie Osler landing South Africa’s. The home side, for the only time in its history, also scored three points from a goal from a mark, carded by captain Phil Mostert, a prop. But the difference was that All Black centre Archie Strang kicked a drop goal, which was worth four points. The result drew the visitors level at 1-1 in the four-match series.

1938 — Some four months after turning professional, 20-year-old Bobby Locke recovers from an opening round of 80 to produce a spectacular final day on which he shot a course record 69 followed by a 70 to become the first — and so far only — South African to win the Irish Open. Locke’s 292 gave him victory at Portmarnock by a single stroke over Englishman Henry Cotton, who won the British Open the previous year.

1962 – Flyhalf Keith Oxlee converts a lone penalty as the Springboks down the British Lions 3-0 in the second Test at King’s Park Stadium in Durban to go 1-0 up in the four-match series. The first Test had ended in a draw.

1968 — Cliff Drysdale and Annette du Plooy give South Africa a double triumph at the Swiss Open in Gstaad. Drysdale beat Dutchman Tom Okker 6-3 6-3 6-0 in the men’s final while Du Plooy saw off American Julie Heldman 6-0 6-1 in the women’s decider.

1968 — Karen Muir lowers her own 200m backstroke world record, touching in 2 min 23.8 sec at a meet in Los Angeles to improve on the 2:24.1 she had swum in January. Either of her marks would have won gold at the Mexico City Olympics three months later.

1970 — Barry Richards scores 32 and Mike Procter an unbeaten 25 as the World XI beat England by five wickets in the third five-day match at Edgbaston to lead the five-match series 2-1.

1994 — Kepler Wessels scores 105 on the opening day of the first Test against England at Lord’s.

1996 — Penny Heyns wins South Africa’s first Olympic gold medal since 1952 when she lifts the 100m breaststroke crown at the Atlanta Games in 1 min 07.73 sec to beat American Amanda Beard. In the morning heats Heyns lowered her world record to 1:07.02.

2001 – Joe van Niekerk makes his debut as the Springboks go down 3-12 against the All Blacks in a Tri-Nations match at Newlands. There were no tries scored, with all the points coming from penalties.

2001 – Bafana Bafana lose to Malawi for the first time, producing a lacklustre performance as they go down 0-1 in a Cosafa Cup quarterfinal in Blantyre. Malawi captain Patrick Mabedi scored the winner from a penalty nine minutes from time.

2002 – Bafana Bafana beat Madagascar 4-1 on penalties after their Cosafa Cup quarterfinal had ended in a goalless draw at the old Boet Erasmus stadium in Port Elizabeth.

2002 — Ernie Els, winner of two US Open titles, wins his first British Open crown after a four-way play-off. Els, Frenchman Thomas Levet and Australians Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington all fired six-under-par 278 at Muirfield. After a four-hole play-off, Els and Levet were tied for the lead on level par, and they went into a sudden death shoot-out, which Els won on the first hole to pocket the first prize of £700,000.

2003 — Penny Heyns’s reign as women’s 100m breaststroke world record-holder comes to an end after seven years, four months and 17 days, when Australian Leisel Jones wins her world championship semifinal in 1:06.37 in Barcelona. That was the second-longest reign in the event, though it was later pushed into third place by American Lilly King’s 1:04.13.

2008 — South Africa bowl out England for 327 and then knock off the nine required runs to win the second Test in Leeds by 10 wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

2009 — Durban-based Chad Ho takes bronze in the 5km open-water swim at the world championships in Rome. The 2008 Olympian, who matriculated the previous year, clocked 56 min 41.9 sec to finish behind German Thomas Lurz, who won his third straight crown in 56:26.9, and Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece, third two years earlier, in 56:27.2.

2012 — Graeme Smith, resuming on 37, makes 131 on the third day of the first Test against England at the Oval. Hashim Amla, resuming on 41, was unbeaten on 183 at the end of the day’s play.

2018 — Keshav Maharaj takes 9/129 as South Africa bowl out Sri Lanka for 338 in their first innings of the second Test in Colombo. He was only the second South African to take nine wickets in an innings after Hugh Tayfield in 1957. But he was bowling again before the end of the day, taking two more wickets, after South Africa were dismissed for 124.

2019 — The Proteas finish fourth at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, going down 42-58 to England in the play-off for bronze.

2022 — Laura Wolvaardt scores 55 off 49 balls to lift the South African women to 111/9, but they lose the first T20 against England in Chelmsford by six wickets. Ayabonga Khaka took 3/13.