Bennie Osler
South Africa
player portrait
Full name Benjamin Louwrens Osler
Born November 23, 1901, Aliwal North
Died April 23, 1960, Belville (aged 58 years 152 days)
Major teams South Africa
Position Fly-half

Test career
Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop GfM Won Lost Draw %
All Tests 1924-1933 17 17 0 46 2 6 4 4 0 12 4 1 73.52

Career statistics
Test debut South Africa v Great Britain at Durban, Aug 16, 1924 match details
Last Test South Africa v Australia at Bloemfontein, Sep 2, 1933 match details
Test Statsguru Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list
Profile

South African fly-half Bennie Osler possessed a kicking game of suffocating accuracy, his commitment to putting pressure on the opponents' set-piece helping to define the successful Springbok sides of the 1920s and early 1930s.

After his debut against the British & Irish tourists in 1924 he played 17 consecutive Tests for the Springboks, where he built on the punishing physicality of his forward pack in a completely unapologetic paean to 10-man rugby.

His final Test series was the Springboks' first against Australia in 1933, where his conservative game drew scorn from the press and led to a suicidal lapse in to running rugby for the second Test. The Boks were humbled 21-6 and with his point proven, he returned to his usual game-plan and secured the series 3-2.

He died in 1960, aged 58, and was inducted in to the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Latest Photos
Sep 22, 1931
South Africa skipper Bennie Osler during training
South Africa skipper Bennie Osler during training
©  Getty Images

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