Rory Steyn remembers June 24, 1995

File photo: Supplied

File photo: Supplied

Published Jun 25, 2015

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Johannesburg - The All Black bench was not a good place to be on June 24, 1995. It was not a great place to particularly if you were the only South African, as Rory Steyn found out.

Steyn, who had been Madiba’s bodyguard, was the team’s security liaison. As the senior ranking officer in the police’s VIP protection arm, Steyn had been allowed to pick the team he wanted to be stationed with and decided he wanted to go with New Zealand as he reckoned they were the one team that would go all the way to the final and as an ardent rugby fan, he could spend more time at the tournament. Had he known the Boks would make, it, though…

“I could have got the Springboks, something I have regretted for the rest of my life. I still think about it. On the day of the final, I was sitting on the All Blacks bench, right next to Laurie Mains (All Blacks coach), when Madiba walked out with the number six jersey on.

“You could see they were taken aback. The cheer was enormous. I’ve never heard anything like it. He went and shook the hand of both sides, and when he got to Jonah Lomu, he said to him: ‘Ah, you. You are the one. Hello, Jonah, how are you?’ Now, remember, Jonah was a young kid then, still a youngster, even though he was a huge youngster. Jonah told me afterwards that this had totally thrown him. Madiba had destroyed him before the match had started. Having this icon, a global hero, wearing the Springbok jersey, gave the Springboks the edge. There is no doubt.”

Steyn had become quite close to the All Blacks and even took part in some of their training sessions. But as the World Cup got towards the sharp end of the tournament, he sensed a change in the camp as the tension ramped up. The nerves kicked in for the All Blacks and they kept Steyn at arm’s length, an understandable reaction to the drama of the knockout stages.

Then came the drama of the food poisoning before the final. In 2000 Steyn became the first prominent South African to say the All Blacks had been poisoned. Steyn still suspects it was tied to bookmakers.

Steyn witnessed Madiba Magic in action on June 24 all those years ago, but he remembers the day he first saw Madiba magic in action. On May 10, 1994, Madiba’s inauguration, Bafana were to play Zambia at Ellis Park. Madiba, Steyn and the security detail flew by helicopter from the Union Buildings.

“We were late,” said Steyn. “We landed at the Wits Technikon and drove through the gates and up the ramps, into the Jannie le Roux Hall, behind Louis Luyt’s presidential suite at Ellis Park. We got out of the car, he got into the lift, went down to the ground and out to meet the teams at halftime. It must have been one hell of a halftime talk because Bafana were 0-0 at halftime and not looking like they were too special.

“By the time he had got up the lift, less than a minute of the restart, they were 1-0 up. Then 2-0 and it finished 2-1. I always say that was the birth of Madiba Magic.

“I’m not sure I have a favourite memory of Madiba, but the one that has come to mind today resonates strongly with me and encapsulates Madiba perfectly. On his inauguration, like I said, we’d flown to Ellis Park for the game, but Madiba had to go back to the Union Buildings. He had 184 heads of state waiting for him to host them for lunch.

“We were very much a segregated security detail - you couldn’t call us unified. Zero unity. Very much them and us. We even sat in different cars sometimes. When we were about to leave Ellis Park, Madiba opened the door of the armoured car he was in. We all looked at each other. What the hell was he doing? This wasn’t part of the plan.

“He gets out and doesn’t say a word. He walked across to an old ‘polisie kolonel’, who was standing there in his full blue uniform. You could see this oke’s eyes getting bigger as Madiba got closer to him.

“Madiba stops in front of him, puts out his hand and shakes his hand. He told him: ‘Colonel. I just wanted to tell you that there is no more you and us. You are our police. I am your president.’ This guy just started crying, tears streaming down his face. Madiba just patted him on the shoulder and told him it would be all right.

“There was no press there, no PR opportunity, just a handful of security guys watching. When my jaw got back off the ground I started to think. That’s the day I began to question 32 years of education (in the old South Africa) about what was correct. I didn’t believe (Madiba) when he came out of jail that we were one country. Then I saw that exchange, and it had such a monstrous effect on me, and changed me forever.”

Independent Media

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