Special report Legacy of an iconic moment that is still to fully deliver on its promise
The 25th anniversary of South Africa’s first World Cup win leaves many asking how far the ‘Rainbow Nation’ has come
The call from Nelson Mandela’s office came through at 10am on the morning of the 1995 World Cup final. Edward Griffiths, chief executive of the South African union, was having breakfast in the Springboks’ team room at their hotel.
“It was Madiba’s PA, Mary Mxadana, asking if we could send over a No6 jersey for Mr Mandela,” recalls Griffiths ahead of today’s 25th anniversary. “We had no idea what it was for. Each Springbok had two jerseys: one to play in, one to swap. That shirt was intended to go to captain Francois Pienaar’s opposite number, All Black flanker Josh Kronfeld.”
Five hours later, the president of South Africa wore the jersey and danced a jig of delight on the podium at the final whistle, an image that still resonates. History has repeated itself: current South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa opted for the same strategy in Japan seven months ago. From Pienaar and Mandela to Siya Kolisi and Ramaphosa, an umbilical cord.
“The opportunity for change was wasted in 1995,” Griffiths says. “Three years after that momentous occasion, Mandela was dragged to the courts by the South African union after he was legally challenged for trying to set up a Commission of Inquiry into rugby. The year 1995 was special. But there still were too many whites who believed it was their sport and that the blacks would ruin it.”
Mandela’s decision to identify with the Springboks was a deliberate ploy and it was a bold one, too, for a man who had come to power only a year earlier. It could have backfired. Just as there is fierce debate now over the loaded symbolism of public statues, so there was in South Africa about the springbok emblem, a totem of the white Afrikaner elite.
“Madiba took such a brave stance. He gave us the magic we needed,” Pienaar recalls.
This was the Springboks’ first World Cup, the one-time pariahs back in the fold. The bumptious president of the union, Louis Luyt, was to claim at a fractious post-final dinner that victory over the All
‘The year 1995 was special, but there were still too many whites who believed rugby was their sport’
Blacks indicated that the Boks would probably have also won in 1987 and 1991. That was errant nonsense. There was much to prove.
“We were a mix initially, Afrikaans, English, surfers, farmers – but our provincial base was strong,” says Pienaar, captain of an all-conquering Transvaal side. “We’d beaten many of those New Zealanders, for example, in the early years of Super Rugby.”
The 1995 tournament was ground-breaking. As well as being a first for the Springboks, it was a first for South Africa as hosts. There were concerns over security in the country, internal travel also. There were hiccups, floodlights failing (but recovering) prior to the combustible pool game in Port Elizabeth between South Africa and Canada with three players sent off and another cited, crime too with eight journalists mugged in separate incidents. Also knockout-stage controversy with the Springboks’ semi-final against France in Durban delayed due to torrential rain with inadequate pitch-draining measures meaning a handful of black domestic workers mopped the field.
There was controversy in the game with France; lock Abdel Benazzi seemingly touching down only for the try to be denied, sending South Africa through. Conspiracy theorists had a field day.
There had been plenty for the hosts to overcome to confirm what many said was the dream final – facing the All Blacks – with South Africa having to defeat defending champions Australia in the opening Pool A match. The Wallabies were unbeaten in 12 months and fielded several all-time greats in David
Campese, Michael Lynagh, Jason Little and John Eales. South Africa coach Kitch Christie had targeted the game.
“In Kitch’s mind, there was a high road in the tournament and a low road,” said South Africa manager Morne du Plessis, a celebrated former Springbok captain and part of a powerful management team who shaped the political as much as the sporting tone of the campaign.
“Kitch got his high road with that win [27-18] over Australia. Momentum quickly grew. We tried to shield the boys a bit, but we also wanted them to embrace the moment. As did they. Madiba’s support for us was galvanising.
“We were all aware of the enormity of the political backdrop, the miracle that had happened the year before [his election], in that it had been peaceful. It could have been so different. His generosity of spirit was exceptional. The squad wanted to show the best face of the country and knew that it all had to be genuine. It couldn’t just be tokenism.”
That win put the show firmly on the road, even if it was without its poster boy, black wing Chester Williams, whose face had been billboarded up and down the country as part of a South African Airlines publicity campaign. Williams injured a hamstring just before the tournament and had to be replaced.
Many speak of “an alignment of the stars” when evaluating South Africa’s dramatic triumph in 1995, things just falling into place. Williams’ presence in the knockout stages was one such occurrence. A loophole in the regulations meant that suspended players could be replaced. Hooker James Dalton was sent off and wing Pieter Hendriks cited following the “Battle of Boet Erasmus” in Port Elizabeth. Williams was recalled on the Monday and scored four tries against Western Samoa five days later.
“It was a Godsend. Not to have had a black player in the squad would have been a disaster,” said Griffiths, who had coined the mantra, “One Team, One Country”.
“I promised each player 10 rand every time the slogan got mentioned in an interview – Joel [Stransky] managed it eight times in one.”
Stransky went on to kick 14 points in that rain-afflicted semifinal against France and he recalls that a number of players headed home for 24 hours, with a few others staying together to watch Jonah Lomu’s four-try demolition job on Will Carling’s England side in Cape Town.
As the final approached, South Africa worked hard on how to stop Lomu, while the All Blacks were trying to hone their own tactics – which mostly revolved around getting the ball to their star man.
“We’d played the perfect game against England and, yes, looking back we were our own worst enemies in not having an alternative once the Lomu option got closed down. Our point of strength becoming a weakness,” said All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick
Their preparation was also badly hampered when 16 of the All Blacks squad were struck down with food poisoning. Fitzpatrick said: “There
‘Siya Kolisi and his team have perhaps shown what is possible again in South Africa’