1995 World Cup final: Blame seafood, not Suzie
An unwise decision to dine on seafood, not a dodgy waitress called Suzie, cost the All Blacks at the 1995 World Cup claims a former top South African rugby official.
Almost 25 years have passed since the All Blacks’ shock loss to the Springboks at the World Cup final in Johannesburg and, still, the debate about what caused some New Zealand players to fall ill prior to the match at Ellis Park continues.
In an interview with the Rugbypass website ahead of the
25th anniversary of the global tournament in South Africa, former South Africa Rugby CEO Ed Griffiths suggests the All Blacks had only themselves to blame for the illness that affected a number of players in the lead-up to the match.
While the All Blacks coach Laurie Mains later said a hotel worker by the name of Suzie was responsible for poisoning his players, the allegation couldn’t be substantiated.
The Springboks won 15-12 after the game went into overtime, with first five-eighth Joel Stransky kicking the decisive drop goal.
With left wing Jonah Lomu in imperious form, the All Blacks, who had swept aside England 45-29 in their semifinal in Cape Town the previous weekend, were the favourites to bowl the Springboks.
However they were unable to unlock the Springboks’ defensive screen, as the men in green and gold swarmed all over Lomu like bees to a honeycomb.
The sight of several All Blacks vomiting on the sideline suggested all was not well in their camp, and later Mains came out with the explosive claim that the team had been deliberately poisoned.
Griffiths was having none of it. ‘‘Look, it’s true that five or six
‘‘No one forced them to eat seafood days before the World Cup final.’’
Ed Griffiths former South Africa Rugby CEO
of them did have a stomach upset and I remember seeing Marc Ellis vomiting on the side of the field, so it’s certainly true,’’ Griffiths told Rugbypass.
‘‘But all I would say on that is they ate seafood, sort of prawns, crayfish and stuff days before a World Cup final. I mean, most people would know that seafood is something that at the wrong time can give you food poisoning and clearly some of them seemed to have picked up food poisoning from that.
‘‘There was all talk of this woman called Suzie from Southern Sun and there were all sorts of rumours about it. But all I will say is that whatever they ate it was their choice to eat it. No one forced them to eat seafood days before theworld Cup final.’’