SA policeman details 1995 Cup ‘poisoning’
A former top South African police commander involved with All Blacks security at the 1995 Rugby World Cup has revealed new details about the sickness that spread through the camp in the build-up to the 1995 World Cup final.
Rory Steyn, a former bodyguard of Nelson Mandela, appeared on SuperSport’s The Dan Nicholl Show 23 years after the incident that saw twothirds of the All Blacks fall ill.
Steyn recalled being in a cinema with the All Blacks when the first symptoms of sickness were coming over some of the players two days before the final.
Steyn set about getting the players out of the cinema and into the car, but said they didn’t make it to the hotel before they had to stop and players were vomiting.
When he got to the All Blacks hotel Steyn likened the scenes to a war film.
“It looked like something out of Saving Private Ryan,” Steyn said.
“There were guys lying on the floor outside the doctor’s room down the passage, and him [the doctor] and the physio and the medic were administering electrolytes and injections.
“It wasn’t until after the final was South Africa won 15-12 that news of the team’s illness was released.
“In a press conference following the game, a New Zealand journalist asked the question of the All Blacks and they admitted that a number of the squad had fallen ‘incredibly sick’.
“Do I think it was intentional? Absolutely. Do I think South African Rugby was involved? Absolutely not,” Steyn said.
He believes betting syndicates were behind the poisoning of the team and that they contaminated the All Blacks’ drinking water.