‘I regret not hugging Mandela’
THERE was never any master plan. No grand design dictating that a boy raised in blind acceptance of apartheid, with all its attendant evils, would grow up to become a symbol of hope and transformation.
Francois Pienaar himself admits that, had he been more aware of precisely what was at stake back in the South African winter of 1995, he may well have struggled to cope with the pressure.
The fact that he and his teammates managed to shoulder an almost unbearable burden? It inspired a nation. Delivered the greatest, most important, most impactful moment in the history of sport. Changed the world.
Pienaar, in Glasgow last week to support the work of Street Soccer Scotland, has become an effective ambassador for the power of games to change lives.
The former Springboks captain is erudite, passionate about his cause, blessed with the gravitas of a man who has conquered the sporting world — and forever grateful for his lasting association with one of history’s greatest leaders.
Pienaar’s friendship with the late Nelson Mandela helped South Africa start the healing process following years of division along racial lines. He played his part in something enormous.
And his ability to deliver a World Cup triumph for the host nation — against New Zealand no less — on that June afternoon 24 years ago left him with just one regret.
‘I wish I had hugged him when he handed me the trophy,’ said the man mountain with a wistful smile, casting his mind back to that historic moment when Mandela — famously wearing the Boks jersey — presided over a World Cup presentation that meant more than any political speech ever could.
‘I wish I had hugged him,’ said Pienaar again, for emphasis, his words revealing just how much he misses his friend.
The ex-rugby player has become an expert in recounting tales of the ’95 World Cup. From those first meetings with Mandela — captain to president, human being to human being — to the emotional team trip to Robben Island that inspired the Boks to exceed all expectations, he has a whole back catalogue of stories. When he discusses the former ANC leader as a person, Pienaar instinctively talks about him in the present tense. Affording him a kind of immortality befitting his legend. As for his own journey from the heartland of white supremacy to unofficial face of the new Rainbow Nation, the former flanker is also brutally honest. ‘Momentum changed,’ he said, when asked about how he and his Springboks team-mates felt about their part in changing an entire country. ‘I wouldn’t say that the team were all politically aligned, no. ‘I grew up as a product of South Africa. You’d play rugby, or cricket at the weekends, and children were seen and not heard. ‘And Mandela would always be in the conversation — because politics and sport are what people talk about. His name was followed by “racist”, “terrorist”, “bad man”, “murder”. ‘So, growing up that is what I heard — but never questioned. Sadly. And I really am sad that I never questioned it. ‘I was at university where I met different thinkers. You have conversations like you’ve never had. Talking about politics a lot — that was the change. ‘It was the mid-80s and incredibly dangerous, with talk South Africa might go into civil war with Mandela being released. So, being a student and seeing the activists... ‘In ’86, I drove to Soweto to coach Jabulani High School soccer players to play rugby. Why? Because I wanted to. ‘Dangerous? Yeah, to go to Soweto? People said: “Are you crazy?”. They were incredibly warm and wonderful people, guys trying to play soccer with a rugby ball. ‘I guess Mandela would have heard these things. I didn’t do it to get a pat on the back, but because I wanted to. ‘With our team in ’95, there was momentum about growth and inclusion, where this country was going. ‘That was the core of the team. Anybody that would touch (damage) that core would not be part of it. This is now almost 25 years later, and we are still having those discussions, where people reflect on what that event made them feel and think.
‘If I get on a plane to fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg, people — especially black people — say: “Good morning my captain”. My heart just goes… “wow”.
‘I’m just glad that we didn’t know at the time the enormity of that tournament and the effect it would have on the nation. I think it would have been too much.’
It’s not as if the players were entirely unaware of the impact they were making during an event that had begun amid some trepidation. The recently-departed Chester Williams, the only nonwhite squad member of a team heavily aligned with the white Afrikaans community and the apartheid regime, accepted his captain’s invitation to tell the group about joyous scenes in black townships.
If some were understandably cynical about tall tales of the population coming together to support a team they had always hated, they soon realised the error of underestimating the potential for people to change.
After beating pre-tournament favourites Australia in their pool opener, and then embarking on a night of distinctly amateur-era celebrations involving more than one beer apiece, the squad visited the harsh gaol where Mandela had spent 17 of his 27 years behind bars as a political prisoner.
‘Maybe a bit hungover, we went to Robben Island with our wives and girlfriends,’ said Pienaar. ‘We went there as a team.
‘There were still prisoners on the island. Not political prisoners. Petty thieves. And they would be mostly coloured prisoners.
‘If you go look at apartheid, the coloured people didn’t support the Springboks. They supported the All Blacks — for obvious reasons.
‘But the emotions when we walked into that mess hall, where all these coloured prisoners were sitting, was just insane. I mean, the roof almost came off, they were cheering us on so loudly.
‘You could see how proud they were, how excited they were, that we’d beaten Australia and had a shot at the title. All those small things had a major effect on the
ON VISITING MANDELA’S CELL ON ROBBEN ISLAND It was so emotional yet he comes out and has forgiveness in his heart, compassion and selflessness... he gave so much
ON MANDELA MEETING THE PLAYERS BEFORE THE FINAL There was a knock on the door and he walks in wearing a Springboks jersey... it was a moment that symbolised hope
team and myself. But there was no master plan. One Team, One Country was our slogan. That came from our CEO, Edward Griffiths.
‘When we walked into the first photo shoot, there it stood, this slogan. And we said: “Yes”. I wish I could take credit for it all. But it was a perfect storm, actually.
‘Things happened and the puzzle came together, with many people building the puzzle.’ KEY to everything was the drive and philosophy of a president who many called simply Madiba.
‘He’s so magnanimous,’ said Pienaar of Mandela. ‘He’s so in touch with stuff. But he’s natural.
‘There’s no façade. There’s not: “I have to act like this…” He’s just him. And it was like that when we had interactions. I’ve been very blessed to have had private conversations with Mr Mandela.
‘When my youngest son, Stephan, rushed over and asked him to be his godfather, he was so sharp and said yes — and instantly gave him a name that means The Brave One.
‘How smart is that? He realised how brave Stephan had been to ask him.
‘He has this aura that is special. Time almost stops. There is no next meeting to rush off to. You feel that you are the most important person now in his conversation.
‘And he laughed a lot, he did. Given his 27 years in jail, that’s remarkable.
‘I was very emotional when I walked into Mr Mandela’s cell. I was the last to walk in when we visited Robben Island.
‘And you realise how incredible it is. That place is so small and he was there for 17 years.
‘Yet he comes out and he has forgiveness in his heart, he has compassion and selflessness. He gave so much. But genuine is the one word I would use. He’s real. There is no act.’
Less than happy with how South Africa has gone since Mandela’s passing in 2013, irked that some in his homeland are still trying to sow racial division in the Springboks squad, Pienaar is full of admiration for how his old friend prevented the country’s collapse in those early postapartheid years.
He continued: ‘People want to understand: “How did that happen?” There is no magic potion.
‘First of all, you have to have a leader who has that vision. Go and listen to his speech as the first black president of South Africa: “The time for the healing of wounds has come, the time to bridge the chasms that divide us has come, and the time to build is upon us”.
‘Those are incredible words — but he delivered on those words. It’s not just saying it. Often you get politicians that come up with this incredible speech and fall flat. He delivered on what he said.
‘When I met Mr Mandela for the first time, it was when he asked to have tea with me. A couple of months after he became the first black president of South Africa, his aide phoned and said Mr Mandela wanted to have tea with me. It was the most incredible experience.
‘And, just before we played Australia, he said he wanted to come and wish the team well.
‘It was on the captain’s run on the Thursday, the helicopter flew in, he came and shook the hands of the players. It was incredible, the aura he had.
‘Going into the final itself was amazing. This was the day, this was the execution of it. You could hear the stadium shaking and the people cheering.
‘Back then, you didn’t warm up on the field, you warmed up in the changing room. It was like a sauna of emotions and testosterone in there. I was just wanting to keep the guys calm.
‘Then there was a knock on the door, and in walks Madiba, wearing a Springboks jersey. That was so emotional to see that.’
PIENAAR still gets a little emotional just thinking about that moment. Anyone who witnessed the trophy presentation a couple of hours later can’t fail to be moved by the memory.
‘I think it symbolised hope,’ said Pienaar. ‘Because there was hope that this nation might do something extraordinary.
‘On the streets, people were hugging one another. They were sitting and having a beer. They looked at each other differently.
‘That would never even have been on the radar if Mr Mandela didn’t wear the Springboks jersey.
‘It wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t say to the nation: “These are our kids. They’re playing for us”.
‘If you say it’s one of the biggest moments in sport, I can’t think of anything that would be bigger, in terms of bringing people together.
‘And still, almost 25 years later, I’m still being told by people where they were, how they felt.
‘So it was hope. That match, what happened on that stage, the jersey. It gave people hope.
‘He handed the trophy to me and said: “Francois, thank you for what you have done for South Africa”. I said to him: “no, Mr Mandela. Thank you for what you have done for South Africa”.
‘There’s a professor at Cornell University who has just sent me a book he’s written, quoting nietzsche and Socrates, all sorts of great philosophers.
‘He’s asking how did this black leader and this white captain say the same words to each other. We said exactly the same words.
‘I wished I’d hugged him there. It’s a regret.’
A rare one, surely, for a devout Christian who achieved pretty much everything he set out to in a glittering rugby career.
Winning the World Cup. Being portrayed on screen in the film
Invictus by Matt Damon — ‘All the shots are from the bottom up to make him look bigger,’ added a laughing Pienaar.
And getting to know Mr Mandela. Almost as if someone had a plan for him, after all.