Bask in that glorious day – June 24, 1995 – in SA rugby history
THIS week marked the 24th anniversary of the Springboks’ 1995 World Cup win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Joburg.
I was privileged enough to be in the press box on that glorious day and report on the most significant triumph in South African rugby’s history. That day was a Saturday.
The anniversary day this year was Monday, June 24. It should have been a day of celebration and one to reflect on what was achieved on that day and how it stacks up today.
There was the obvious recall on social media and mainly rugby enthusiasts posted a memory of what they were doing that day, where they watched the match and what they felt the victory meant to them as individuals or what it meant to South Africa as a nation.
The celebration should have been bigger and it should have been about those players and coaches who made it all possible.
This was a day or a week in the sporting media where I wanted to be taken back in time; where I wanted to hear from Chester Williams, from the inspirational captain Francois Pienaar, from the drop goal king Joel Stransky, from James Small, from Andre Joubert, the midfield of Japie Mulder and Hennie le Roux and from every one of the pack who refused to buckle to New Zealand.
The memory of that powerful day was even more significant in a month when the Proteas have produced their worst ever World Cup performance, Banyana Banyana (albeit brave) didn’t win a match at the Women’s World Cup and Bafana Bafana’s first-up Afcon challenge ended in a first ever defeat to the Ivory Coast. Our sporting psyche, both for player and fan, has taken a battering in a month that 24 years ago produced the country’s biggest sporting day. There have been other South African successes, like Bafana being champions of Africa on home soil in 1996. John Smit’s Springboks of 2007 were brilliant in winning the World Cup in Paris.
And the Proteas have enjoyed Test, ODI and T20 success but never won a World Cup.
We need to go back some times to move forward. We also need to at times go back to appreciate the magnitude of the achievement.
We also need to remind those players that they are not forgotten.
We need to say thank you and there needs to be a bigger deal made on each anniversary of just what that day meant to South Africa and how it kick-started unification of a nation.
South African rugby, post the high of June, 24, 1995, when conservative white rugby men and women chanted Nelson Mandela’s name, failed in the immediate aftermath. So much more could have been done.
Fortunately, we are finally seeing a game being transformed the way it was anticipated after Madiba wowed a nation, wobbled the All Blacks and made a global audience watch in wonder when he donned Bok captain Francois Pienaar’s No 6 jersey.
The administration in rugby, nationally, regionally and provincially, didn’t do enough back then, but their failings shouldn’t be held against those Springbok Rainbow Warriors who on the field did everything and more.
Joost van der Westhuizen and Ruben Kruger, two of the match day heroes, have since passed on due to illness. RIP.
To the rest, thank you and always know you will be remembered for what you did on June 24, 1995.
Keohane is an award-winning sports journalist and the head of sport at Independent Media