Johannesburg - Exactly 20 years to the day since the Springboks lifted the World Cup trophy at Ellis Park in 1995, captain Francois Pienaar is still filled with emotion when he thinks about that historic day.
“When I woke up this morning, I welled up because I realised that 20 years ago, you were waking up that morning you were just a cocktail of emotions,” said Pienaar, on Wednesday, on the hallowed grounds of the stadium where his team prevailed in extra-time over New Zealand 15-12, courtesy of the famous Joel Stransky drop-goal which soared over the cross-bar to hand South Africa the victory.
The surviving members of the 1995 team were gathered at Ellis Park to commemorate their win where they posed for team photos and spoke to the media about their memories from that day.
“There was this eagerness to get onto the field, this fear that you’re going to disappoint. The same thing happened this morning. It’s just very special. What happened 20 years ago made this country stand up for the first time. We became a nation for the first time. We didn’t know it was going to be that big. We had a sense, that this is something extraordinary, but we couldn’t have imagined in our wildest dreams what it would be like.”
Nelson Mandela, the first President of the democratic Republic of South Africa, played a pivotal part in helping the Boks to the title Pienaar said.
“Madiba was the 16th man. If he wasn’t there, the country wouldn’t have been together. If it wasn’t for him I don’t think we’d be here today. The team adopted the slogan one team, one country. We will miss him tonight and thank him for the Madiba magic.”
While the game would be re-broadcast at 3pm on Wednesday, it would be the first time Pienaar would sit down and watch the game in its entirety.
“I haven’t ever watched the game, they’re replaying the game this afternoon and we’re going to tweet what we’re feeling. The reason why I haven’t watched the game is because of that romance. You don’t want that romance to be tainted if you see you missed a tackle or something like that.”
Pienaar also paid tribute to coach Kitch Christie, Ruben Kruger and all the other people involved in the 1995 Boks set-up who had since died.
“There will be five people who we’ll have a drink for tonight, and the incredible roles they filled in our lives. Our coach was phenomenal. His track record was 100 percent victories. 14 Test matches coached, 14 won. He had a profound influence on me as a captain. Ruben Kruger was immense. As my flank-mate, he was just a mountain of strength.”
The core of the 1995 team was from the then-Transvaal who were serious Currie Cup and Super Rugby (Super 10) championship contenders, and was one of the main reasons why South Africa claimed the prize according to Pienaar.
“I was almost annoyed when people didn’t give us a fair shot. The nucleus of that team came from the Transvaal team, the 13 guys from Transvaal were hugely successful. In the seasons prior, we won the Currie Cup, we won the Super 10, we beat an Auckland team that if you look at the names was basically the All Blacks team.
“Then it (the Bok team) was infused by some of the world’s greatest players in Andre Joubert, Joel Stransky, Joost van der Westhuizen, James Small, Mark Andrews and Os du Randt. Such a team always had a real shot at the title.”
Unlike in 2015, when there would be countless media engagements and sponsor functions to attend for a champion side, Pienaar said there had been nothing planned for after the game back in 1995.
“We had a culture of working harder than anybody else. We celebrated when we won, but we were still disciplined. There was nothing planned after the final when we got back to the hotel.
“Some of the guys dived into the fountain with a bottle of champagne, a lot of the guys went to the bar. I know I hitch-hiked with Joel. We went and tried to get a car to the Rattle Snake diner, but there was no car. So I said to Joel lets hitch-hike.
“He was there with his wife and I was with my fiancée and I stuck my hand out and a guy in a VW stopped. The guy couldn’t believe it. I’m sure when he got home and said he gave Joel and Francois a lift people would tell him he was talking rubbish.
“We were amateurs, it cost us to play in the World Cup. Did we regret that? Not for a second. It was a vivid, special six weeks.”
ANA