1995 Rugby World Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 1995 Rugby World Cup Final, was the final match in the 1995 Rugby World Cup
, played in South Africa.
The match was played at Ellis Park Stadium
, Johannesburg
on 24 June 1995 between the host nation, the South African Springboks
, and the New Zealand All Blacks. Unusually, each team featured a single scorer with Andrew Mehrtens
of New Zealand scoring all 12 of the All Blacks points (3 penalties and 1 drop goal) and Joel Stransky
tallying all 15 points (3 penalties and 2 drop goals) for The Springboks
, including his famous dramatic drop goal in extra time that sealed the victory.
South Africa won the encounter by 3 points in the first Rugby World Cup Final requiring extra time, and with it, their first Webb Ellis Cup
. They would go on to collect a second, in 2007
, with one holdover from 1995, loosehead prop Os du Randt
.
Following South Africa's victory, Nelson Mandela
, the President of South Africa
, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cap, presented the Webb Ellis Cup
to the South African captain François Pienaar
. Mandela and Pienaar's involvement in the World Cup is the subject of the 2009 film Invictus
.
famously scored four tries. The final was played at Ellis Park
in Johannesburg and refereed by Ed Morrison of England.
s Ruben Kruger
and Mark Andrews
plus scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen
, the expansive attacks from New Zealand were repeatedly closed down. Andrew Mehrtens opened the scoring with a penalty after 6 minutes to give New Zealand a 3–0 lead . A Joel Stransky penalty put South Africa on the scoreboard after 11 minutes . Mehrtens and Stransky swapped successful penalty kicks . Following a period of pressure , Stransky landed a 32nd minute drop goal to give South Africa a 9–6 lead at half time.
almost kicked a late drop goal, the score remained unchanged at full time, forcing the game into extra time for the first time in a Rugby World Cup final.
, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cricket cap, presented the William Webb Ellis Cup to South African
captain François Pienaar
to the delight of the capacity crowd. The moment is thought by some to be one of the most famous finals of any sporting event in recent years. Mandela's presentation was listed at number 70 in a list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments on a British television programme.
However, the after match mood soured considerably during the end of tournament banquet when South Africa's rugby president, Louis Luyt said in his speech that "There were no true world champions in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups because South Africa were not there." This claim that South Africa were the first "true world champions" led the New Zealand team to walk out of the dinner.
Subsequently, various allegations were made surrounding the lead up to the final. It was claimed that many of the New Zealand players may have been suffering from food poisoning 48 hours prior to the game, which affected their performance in the final. New Zealand coach Laurie Mains
alleged a mysterious waitress known as "Suzie" had deliberately poisoned the All Blacks' water in the week before the final. During the match New Zealand players could be seen throwing up on the sidelines.
Later interviews with some of All Blacks seemed to indicate that intentional food poisoning was unlikely, as team member Eric Rush said that they went "to the Pizza Hut down the road" spontaneously. An intentional act would have required considerable confidential intelligence and luck that seems very unlikely. There has never been any conclusive evidence of any collusion to intentionally give the All Blacks food poisoning, although they were clearly ill. Rush and others maintain that if the test had been scheduled a day earlier, it is questionable whether New Zealand would have been able to field a full team at all. The food poisoning symptoms were gone the day after the Final, and that has added to conspiracy theories and accusations, although that also coincides with the normal course of a case of non-lethal food poisoning.
While there were other suspicious incidents that occurred surrounding the All Blacks team in the lead up to the Final, such as listening devices that were discovered in rooms and car alarms that were set off in a synchronized fashion around the All Black's hotel early in the morning of the test in an apparent attempt to disrupt the All Blacks sleep, most investigations have concluded with varying degrees of certainty that at least with regard to the food poisoning that, while a very real situation, that situation was also almost certainly not caused by any intentional act on the part of South African partisans. If it was, the individuals responsible have covered their tracks very well in the years since, as no one is known to have admitted involvement publicly nor has any solid evidence of conspiracy, nor has the identity of "Suzie" ever come to light. The All Blacks own media liaison officer later admitted there was no evidence that the players had been deliberately poisoned.
The All Blacks manager during the 1995 World Cup, Colin Meads, has blamed what he called "dodgy milk", which he and some others of the All Blacks drank after a Wednesday night gathering prior to preparing for the match. Meads also blames himself for keeping the situation secret, saying that "It was my call...we had a big night out on the Wednesday night."I was feeling not too fit the next day. And often when you are feeling like that you have a couple of glasses of milk that puts you right. We had a meeting on the Friday morning in my room and I said, 'We don't tell anyone. Tell the players not to tell anyone back home'. We didn't want anyone to know we were crook. We didn't want South Africa knowing that we were crook. And that is one that I regret. We should have let people know." Meads partly kept the food poisoning situation secret to not give the Springboks an advantage before the game, but apparently continued to do so for a long while afterward to not appear to be a bad sport in losing by making excuses. Meads went on to say that "I reckon that is what did us, it was in the milk. That is my theory. But no one else believes me." When asked for his thoughts on intentional poisoning and the Suzie theory, Meads rather abruptly and completely discounted it, saying "Well, you just don't know. Suzie is just a fictitious person as far as I was concerned. I don't think anyone was called Suzie."
All Blacks coach Laurie Mains conversely argues that the food poisoning was part of an orchestrated campaign of dirty tricks by the Springboks and their supporters. Mains argued that ""It was just an amazing sequence of events and coincidence that, of our 35-man party that ate at that particular lunch venue in the hotel here, about 27 of them went down in the space of 12 hours. You can read what you like into that, but I don't think it was coincidence. We certainly have our suspicions.... The chief operations executive of the investment group that owned the hotel, Helder Pereira, put the story into slightly different perspective, saying when asked that "We warned against New Zealand players eating outside the hotel and made it known to them that we could not be held accountable. I was very surprised to see the All Blacks and their management going out to eat on what was effectively the eve of the World Cup Final."
Whatever the true facts of how it happened, the All Blacks were obviously suffering grievously from food poisoning. They did not request a delay in the Final for fear of giving the Springboks knowledge of the situation, and felt that they could still field an effective team, which they ultimately did, only losing by one drop kick near the end of extra time.
However in 2000, some new light was shed on this controversy. In his autobiography, Rory Steyn, the former head of security for South African president Nelson Mandela, who was assigned to the All Blacks, backed up claims suggesting their food was poisoned. In the book One Step Behind Mandela, he wrote that just days before the final the illness hit.
Steyn says in the book:
We raced back to the hotel and when I got up to the doctor's room it looked like a battle zone – like a scene from a war movie. Players were lying all over the place and the doctor and physio were walking around injecting them. I was a police officer, I worked with facts. What my eyes told me that night was that the team had deliberately been poisoned.
He said the illness which had swept through the team had a major impact on the All Blacks' preparation for the final.
I had to endure accusations of complicity in this, from New Zealand officials, and I was very angry that this was allowed to happen in my country – to people in my care. South African rugby fans remained skeptical of this theory and preferred to put it down to sour Kiwi grapes. To my fellow South Africans I want to say this: Stop all those cheap jokes about Suzie, the food poisoning and whingeing Kiwis. It happened. There is no doubt that the All Blacks were poisoned two days before the final.
Of the 35 people in the All Blacks squad, only the 27 players who dined at the same venue, the team Hotel, on the Thursday night before the final, became ill. The remaining eight all dined elsewhere and were unaffected. Steve Boggan, writing in The Independent (London)
, also explored the possibility of the team having been deliberately poisoned. Boggan states that the private investigator that Mains hired "established that a South African waitress known only as "Susie" had been paid to slip Indian trick into the team's tea and coffee on the eve of the final. He did not say, however, how he could be sure or who had paid the waitress." However, Boggan also went on to admit that the events were still highly in question, stating that "Some believe the fact that no official inquiry has ever been conducted by the New Zealand rugby authorities speaks volumes about how they view the claims. The new allegations were certainly not being taken seriously by the South Africans.
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
New Zealand
|
FB
15
Glen Osborne
RW
14
Jeff Wilson
OC
13
Frank Bunce
IC
12
Walter Little
LW
11
Jonah Lomu
FH
10
Andrew Mehrtens
SH
9
Graeme Bachop
N8
8
Zinzan Brooke
OF
7
Josh Kronfeld
BF
6
Mike Brewer
RL
5
Robin Brooke
LL
4
Ian Jones
TP
3
Olo Brown
HK
2
Sean Fitzpatrick
(c
)
LP
1
Craig Dowd
Replacements:
WG
16
Marc Ellis
FH
17
Simon Culhane
SH
18
Ant Strachan
CE
19
Jamie Joseph
PR
20
Richard Loe
HK
21
Norm Hewitt
Coach:
Laurie Mains
1995 Rugby World Cup
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....
, played in South Africa.
The match was played at Ellis Park Stadium
Ellis Park Stadium
Ellis Park Stadium, also known because of its sponsorship by The Coca-Cola Company as Coca-Cola Park, is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by the country's...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
on 24 June 1995 between the host nation, the South African Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
, and the New Zealand All Blacks. Unusually, each team featured a single scorer with Andrew Mehrtens
Andrew Mehrtens
Andrew Philip Mehrtens MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, currently playing in France for Béziers, a club in the third-level Fédérale 1 league...
of New Zealand scoring all 12 of the All Blacks points (3 penalties and 1 drop goal) and Joel Stransky
Joel Stransky
Joel Theodore Stransky is a former South African rugby union rugby player, most notable for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the famous dramatic winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He played as a fly-half.-Early life:Stransky was born in...
tallying all 15 points (3 penalties and 2 drop goals) for The Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
, including his famous dramatic drop goal in extra time that sealed the victory.
South Africa won the encounter by 3 points in the first Rugby World Cup Final requiring extra time, and with it, their first Webb Ellis Cup
Webb Ellis Cup
The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Rugby World Cup. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of rugby football. The trophy is silver gilt and has been presented to the winner of the Rugby World Cup since the first competition in 1987...
. They would go on to collect a second, in 2007
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
, with one holdover from 1995, loosehead prop Os du Randt
Os du Randt
Jacobus Petrus du Randt, better known as Os du Randt , is a former South African rugby union loosehead prop who retired as the most-capped forward in the history of the Springboks...
.
Following South Africa's victory, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, the President of South Africa
President of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cap, presented the Webb Ellis Cup
Webb Ellis Cup
The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Rugby World Cup. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of rugby football. The trophy is silver gilt and has been presented to the winner of the Rugby World Cup since the first competition in 1987...
to the South African captain François Pienaar
Francois Pienaar
Jacobus Francois Pienaar is a South African former rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup...
. Mandela and Pienaar's involvement in the World Cup is the subject of the 2009 film Invictus
Invictus (film)
Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World...
.
Path to the final
The final was contested by the hosts, South Africa, and the All Blacks of New Zealand. Both nations finished at the top of their respective pools, both 3–0 undefeated in the pool stages. South Africa defeated Western Samoa in the quarter finals, and then France in the semi-finals to reach the final; the All Blacks defeated Scotland in the quarter-finals, and England in the semi-finals, a game in which Jonah LomuJonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
famously scored four tries. The final was played at Ellis Park
Ellis Park Stadium
Ellis Park Stadium, also known because of its sponsorship by The Coca-Cola Company as Coca-Cola Park, is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was won by the country's...
in Johannesburg and refereed by Ed Morrison of England.
First half
No tries were scored during the match but this did not diminish the tense atmosphere and climactic finish. The South Africans played a largely defensive game. Due to the strength from flankerFlanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
s Ruben Kruger
Ruben Kruger
Ruben Jacobus Kruger, born in Vrede , was a South African rugby union player. He played as a flanker.-Career:...
and Mark Andrews
Mark Andrews (rugby player)
Mark Andrews is a former rugby player.He achieved his Junior Springbok colours in waterpolo while still at school. He switched to rugby as his main sport and achieved honours while at school and university...
plus scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen
Joost van der Westhuizen
Joost van der Westhuizen is a former South African rugby union footballer who was the Springboks' first choice scrum-half in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He was capped 89 times for the Springboks and scored 38 tries...
, the expansive attacks from New Zealand were repeatedly closed down. Andrew Mehrtens opened the scoring with a penalty after 6 minutes to give New Zealand a 3–0 lead . A Joel Stransky penalty put South Africa on the scoreboard after 11 minutes . Mehrtens and Stransky swapped successful penalty kicks . Following a period of pressure , Stransky landed a 32nd minute drop goal to give South Africa a 9–6 lead at half time.
Second half
The All Blacks levelled the scores at 9–9 with a Mehrtens drop goal after 55 minutes . Though All Blacks player Andrew MehrtensAndrew Mehrtens
Andrew Philip Mehrtens MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, currently playing in France for Béziers, a club in the third-level Fédérale 1 league...
almost kicked a late drop goal, the score remained unchanged at full time, forcing the game into extra time for the first time in a Rugby World Cup final.
Extra time
Mehrtens made amends for his miss by striking a long-range penalty in the first period. As the minutes slowly passed, Stransky levelled for the South Africans. Seven minutes from time it was Stransky who scored the final points of the match. From thirty metres out he struck the drop goal, securing South Africa’s victory and the Rugby World Championship crown.Inspiration and controversies after the match
What happened after the match would go onto become an iconic moment in the history of sport. Nelson MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, wearing a Springbok rugby shirt and cricket cap, presented the William Webb Ellis Cup to South African
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
captain François Pienaar
Francois Pienaar
Jacobus Francois Pienaar is a South African former rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup...
to the delight of the capacity crowd. The moment is thought by some to be one of the most famous finals of any sporting event in recent years. Mandela's presentation was listed at number 70 in a list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments on a British television programme.
However, the after match mood soured considerably during the end of tournament banquet when South Africa's rugby president, Louis Luyt said in his speech that "There were no true world champions in the 1987 and 1991 World Cups because South Africa were not there." This claim that South Africa were the first "true world champions" led the New Zealand team to walk out of the dinner.
Subsequently, various allegations were made surrounding the lead up to the final. It was claimed that many of the New Zealand players may have been suffering from food poisoning 48 hours prior to the game, which affected their performance in the final. New Zealand coach Laurie Mains
Laurie Mains
Laurence William 'Laurie' Mains MNZM is a former rugby union footballer and coach who represented New Zealand. Mains' representative career started when he first played for Otago in 1967. He made his All Blacks début in 1971, against the British and Irish Lions. His last Test was against Ireland...
alleged a mysterious waitress known as "Suzie" had deliberately poisoned the All Blacks' water in the week before the final. During the match New Zealand players could be seen throwing up on the sidelines.
Later interviews with some of All Blacks seemed to indicate that intentional food poisoning was unlikely, as team member Eric Rush said that they went "to the Pizza Hut down the road" spontaneously. An intentional act would have required considerable confidential intelligence and luck that seems very unlikely. There has never been any conclusive evidence of any collusion to intentionally give the All Blacks food poisoning, although they were clearly ill. Rush and others maintain that if the test had been scheduled a day earlier, it is questionable whether New Zealand would have been able to field a full team at all. The food poisoning symptoms were gone the day after the Final, and that has added to conspiracy theories and accusations, although that also coincides with the normal course of a case of non-lethal food poisoning.
While there were other suspicious incidents that occurred surrounding the All Blacks team in the lead up to the Final, such as listening devices that were discovered in rooms and car alarms that were set off in a synchronized fashion around the All Black's hotel early in the morning of the test in an apparent attempt to disrupt the All Blacks sleep, most investigations have concluded with varying degrees of certainty that at least with regard to the food poisoning that, while a very real situation, that situation was also almost certainly not caused by any intentional act on the part of South African partisans. If it was, the individuals responsible have covered their tracks very well in the years since, as no one is known to have admitted involvement publicly nor has any solid evidence of conspiracy, nor has the identity of "Suzie" ever come to light. The All Blacks own media liaison officer later admitted there was no evidence that the players had been deliberately poisoned.
The All Blacks manager during the 1995 World Cup, Colin Meads, has blamed what he called "dodgy milk", which he and some others of the All Blacks drank after a Wednesday night gathering prior to preparing for the match. Meads also blames himself for keeping the situation secret, saying that "It was my call...we had a big night out on the Wednesday night."I was feeling not too fit the next day. And often when you are feeling like that you have a couple of glasses of milk that puts you right. We had a meeting on the Friday morning in my room and I said, 'We don't tell anyone. Tell the players not to tell anyone back home'. We didn't want anyone to know we were crook. We didn't want South Africa knowing that we were crook. And that is one that I regret. We should have let people know." Meads partly kept the food poisoning situation secret to not give the Springboks an advantage before the game, but apparently continued to do so for a long while afterward to not appear to be a bad sport in losing by making excuses. Meads went on to say that "I reckon that is what did us, it was in the milk. That is my theory. But no one else believes me." When asked for his thoughts on intentional poisoning and the Suzie theory, Meads rather abruptly and completely discounted it, saying "Well, you just don't know. Suzie is just a fictitious person as far as I was concerned. I don't think anyone was called Suzie."
All Blacks coach Laurie Mains conversely argues that the food poisoning was part of an orchestrated campaign of dirty tricks by the Springboks and their supporters. Mains argued that ""It was just an amazing sequence of events and coincidence that, of our 35-man party that ate at that particular lunch venue in the hotel here, about 27 of them went down in the space of 12 hours. You can read what you like into that, but I don't think it was coincidence. We certainly have our suspicions.... The chief operations executive of the investment group that owned the hotel, Helder Pereira, put the story into slightly different perspective, saying when asked that "We warned against New Zealand players eating outside the hotel and made it known to them that we could not be held accountable. I was very surprised to see the All Blacks and their management going out to eat on what was effectively the eve of the World Cup Final."
Whatever the true facts of how it happened, the All Blacks were obviously suffering grievously from food poisoning. They did not request a delay in the Final for fear of giving the Springboks knowledge of the situation, and felt that they could still field an effective team, which they ultimately did, only losing by one drop kick near the end of extra time.
However in 2000, some new light was shed on this controversy. In his autobiography, Rory Steyn, the former head of security for South African president Nelson Mandela, who was assigned to the All Blacks, backed up claims suggesting their food was poisoned. In the book One Step Behind Mandela, he wrote that just days before the final the illness hit.
Steyn says in the book:
We raced back to the hotel and when I got up to the doctor's room it looked like a battle zone – like a scene from a war movie. Players were lying all over the place and the doctor and physio were walking around injecting them. I was a police officer, I worked with facts. What my eyes told me that night was that the team had deliberately been poisoned.
He said the illness which had swept through the team had a major impact on the All Blacks' preparation for the final.
I had to endure accusations of complicity in this, from New Zealand officials, and I was very angry that this was allowed to happen in my country – to people in my care. South African rugby fans remained skeptical of this theory and preferred to put it down to sour Kiwi grapes. To my fellow South Africans I want to say this: Stop all those cheap jokes about Suzie, the food poisoning and whingeing Kiwis. It happened. There is no doubt that the All Blacks were poisoned two days before the final.
Of the 35 people in the All Blacks squad, only the 27 players who dined at the same venue, the team Hotel, on the Thursday night before the final, became ill. The remaining eight all dined elsewhere and were unaffected. Steve Boggan, writing in The Independent (London)
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, also explored the possibility of the team having been deliberately poisoned. Boggan states that the private investigator that Mains hired "established that a South African waitress known only as "Susie" had been paid to slip Indian trick into the team's tea and coffee on the eve of the final. He did not say, however, how he could be sure or who had paid the waitress." However, Boggan also went on to admit that the events were still highly in question, stating that "Some believe the fact that no official inquiry has ever been conducted by the New Zealand rugby authorities speaks volumes about how they view the claims. The new allegations were certainly not being taken seriously by the South Africans.
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | South Africa | |||
| FB | 15 | André Joubert André Joubert André Joubert is a former South African rugby union player. He was capped 34 times at fullback for the Springboks in the early 1990s, and amassed a total of 115 Test Points from 10 tries, 17 penalties and 7 conversions.... |
||
| RW | 14 | James Small James Small (rugby player) James Small is a former South African rugby union footballer who played on the wing for the Springboks. His international debut was against the All Blacks in 1992 and he made his final appearance against Scotland in 1997. He was part of the 1995 rugby world cup winning Springbok team, and famously... |
||
| OC | 13 | Japie Mulder Japie Mulder Jacobus Cornelius Mulder, better known as Japie Mulder, born 18 October 1969 in Springs , is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1994 and 2001.... |
||
| IC | 12 | Hennie le Roux Hendrik le Roux Hendrik Pieter Le Roux, born 10 July 1967 in Grahamstown, is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team... |
||
| LW | 11 | Chester Williams Chester Williams Chester Mornay Williams is a former South African rugby union rugby player. He played as a winger for the Springboks from 1993 to 2000... |
||
| FH | 10 | Joel Stransky Joel Stransky Joel Theodore Stransky is a former South African rugby union rugby player, most notable for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the famous dramatic winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He played as a fly-half.-Early life:Stransky was born in... |
||
| SH | 9 | Joost van der Westhuizen Joost van der Westhuizen Joost van der Westhuizen is a former South African rugby union footballer who was the Springboks' first choice scrum-half in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s. He was capped 89 times for the Springboks and scored 38 tries... |
||
| N8 | 8 | Mark Andrews Mark Andrews (rugby player) Mark Andrews is a former rugby player.He achieved his Junior Springbok colours in waterpolo while still at school. He switched to rugby as his main sport and achieved honours while at school and university... |
||
| BF | 7 | Ruben Kruger Ruben Kruger Ruben Jacobus Kruger, born in Vrede , was a South African rugby union player. He played as a flanker.-Career:... |
||
| OF | 6 | François Pienaar Francois Pienaar Jacobus Francois Pienaar is a South African former rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup... (c Captain (sports) In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field... ) |
||
| RL | 5 | Hannes Strydom Hannes Strydom Johannes Jacobus Strydom, better known as Hannes Strydom, born 13 July 1965 in Welkom, Free State), is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1993 and 1997.... |
||
| LL | 4 | Kobus Wiese Kobus Wiese Jakobus Johannes Wiese, better known as Kobus Wiese, born 16 May 1964 in Paarl , is a former South African rugby union player who played at lock for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1993 and 1996.... |
||
| TP | 3 | Balie Swart Balie Swart Izak Stephanus de Villiers Swart , known as Balie Swart, is a former South African rugby union footballer. He played as a prop.He played for Transvaal, now Golden Lions, until 1999.... |
||
| HK | 2 | Chris Rossouw | ||
| LP | 1 | Os du Randt Os du Randt Jacobus Petrus du Randt, better known as Os du Randt , is a former South African rugby union loosehead prop who retired as the most-capped forward in the history of the Springboks... |
||
| Replacements: | ||||
| HK | 16 | Naka Drotské Naka Drotske Allen Erasmus 'Naka' Drotské is a former South African rugby union player, who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1993 and 1999.He played as a hooker .... |
||
| PR | 17 | Garry Pagel Garry Pagel Garry Louis Pagel, born 17 September 1966 in King Williams Town , is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1995 and 1996.He played as a prop .... |
||
| FL | 18 | Rudolph Straeuli Rudolph Straeuli Rudolph August Wilkens Straeuli played rugby union in the positions of flanker and Number 8 for, and later coached, the Springboks rugby team. He also played for the Lions provincial team in the Currie Cup competition... |
||
| SH | 19 | Johan Roux Johan Roux Johannes Petrus Roux, or Johan Roux was a South African rugby player, who played for the South Africa national rugby union team... |
||
| WG | 20 | Brendan Venter Brendan Venter Brendan Venter is a former rugby union player who played at centre and also coached for London Irish. He is currently director of rugby at Saracens... |
||
| FB | 21 | Gavin Johnson Gavin Johnson (rugby player) Gavin Keith Johnson is a former South African rugby union player who played for the South Africa national rugby union team between 1993 and 1995... |
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| Coach: | ||||
 Kitch ChristieKitch Christie George Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie , was a South African rugby union coach best known for coaching the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup... |
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Glen Osborne
Glen Matthew Osborne is a New Zealand rugby union player, playing as a fullback and wing. He was born in Wanganui.Osborne played representative rugby for Wanganui in the National Provincial Championship from 1990–1991, then for North Harbour from 1992...
Jeff Wilson (sportsman)
-Cricket career:Wilson played his provincial cricket for Otago, as an all-rounder - both a hard-hitting batsman and a right-arm fast-medium pace bowler. His international appearances were in four games of a One Day Internationals series against Australia in the 1992-93 season, and again in an ODI...
Frank Bunce
Frank Eneri Bunce is a retired New Zealand rugby union player and current coach. He played international rugby for both Western Samoa and New Zealand in the 1990s, appearing in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups...
Walter Little (rugby player)
Walter Little is a former New Zealand rugby player. He played in the second five-eighth position for and for North Harbour. He was known for his combination with Frank Bunce.- External links :...
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
Andrew Mehrtens
Andrew Philip Mehrtens MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, currently playing in France for Béziers, a club in the third-level Fédérale 1 league...
Graeme Bachop
Graeme Bachop is a former rugby player from New Zealand of Samoan,Tahitian and Cook Islands Heritage.He played for the Linwood Rugby club for ten years followed by four years at Christchurch High School Old Boys. His move to HSOB allowed him to develop a combination with first five-eighths Andrew...
Zinzan Brooke
Zinzan Valentine Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight...
Josh Kronfeld
Joshua Adrian Kronfeld is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand at international level and Otago, the Highlanders and Leicester at first-class level...
Mike Brewer (rugby player)
Michael Robert Brewer is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played rugby union as flanker or number eight and represented the All Blacks on 32 occasions scoring 1 try and winning 22 and drawing 1 of those games...
Robin Brooke
Robin Matthew Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby player. He played for the All Blacks n the 1990s, playing many tests alongside younger brother Zinzan Brooke...
Olo Brown
Olo Max Brown was born 24 October 1967 in Apia, Samoa. He played 56 tests at prop for the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team from 1992 to 1998, missing only two tests in his career. He suffered neck and back injuries which ended his rugby playing days, and retired to become a lawyer.-External links:...
Sean Fitzpatrick
Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick....
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Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
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Craig Dowd
Craig Dowd born 26 October 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand is a former rugby union player and current coach. He played 60 test matches for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, spending his entire provincial career with Auckland. He spent his entire Super 12 career, 64 matches, with the Auckland Blues,...
Marc Ellis (rugby)
Marc Christopher Gwynne Ellis is a New Zealand businessman and television presenter, and former rugby league and rugby union player. A graduate of the University of Otago, his primary business interests are in Charlie's, a juice company...
Simon Culhane
Simon Culhane is a rugby player who won 6 caps playing at fly-half for the New Zealand rugby union side . He made his international test debut at the age of 27 on 4 June 1995 during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The match, against Japan was won 145-17 and is the largest winning margin for an All...
Jamie Joseph
James Whitinui Joseph is a former All Black flanker.Joseph's All Blacks career spanned 30 matches including 20 tests from 1992 to 1995 including the 1995 World Cup....
Richard Loe
Richard Wyllie Loe was a renowned All Black prop forward, with a reputation for thuggery on the pitch - often referred to as 'The Enforcer' by his team mates...
Norm Hewitt
Norman "Norm" Hewitt is a former New Zealand All Black Rugby Union Player. He was selected for the New Zealand team because of his fantastic performance in Hawkes Bay's surprise victory over the British Lions in 1993...
Laurie MainsLaurie Mains
Laurence William 'Laurie' Mains MNZM is a former rugby union footballer and coach who represented New Zealand. Mains' representative career started when he first played for Otago in 1967. He made his All Blacks début in 1971, against the British and Irish Lions. His last Test was against Ireland...