In the end despite the daunting task of surmounting such a huge obstacle in the All Blacks, the Springboks pulled of an improbable victory beating them 15 - 12.
With the final whistle blown and the realization that South Africa; the new nation under the leadership of Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela had won, the streets of South Africa exploded with people of all races pouring onto them in jubilation; hugging and high fiving each other and for a moment everyone got lost in the joy and jubilation of victory as one people.
Mandela, unlike most African leaders before and after him saw the value in what sports can do for a people and his nation. Sports is a catalyst and a vehicle for social mobilization, it is a way to reconcile differences and resolve disputes between enemies. It has been known to and still continues to heal divided communities. Most importantly for Africa it is a vehicle for development. Mandela knew its power and value and never underestimated it, taking full advantage of such a valuable tool to heal and save his nation from damnation.
Besides his accomplishments with the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela is also credited for bringing the 2010 FIFA World Cup to the shores of Africa for the first time in its 80+ year history. The FIFA World Cup rivals the Summer Olympic Games as the most popular sports events in the world and since its inception had been hosted everywhere else in the world but Africa.
We here at African Sports Monthly Magazine mourn the death of the Father of Africa; Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela but celebrate his legacy as a man, a freedom fighter and one who especially knew the value and importance of sports enough to use it
got the support of Francois Pienaar; the Captain of the “Springboks”; South Africa’s national Rugby Team, to help in the reconciliation and healing of their nation.
The Captain of the team, Francois Pienaar, a white South African who was himself surprised by the proposition would then be tossed into this catalytic moment of change for a troubled nation and he embraced it with all his heart believing in the President and the fact that South Africa was the home of blacks, whites, Asians and people of all descent.
The initial reaction from most blacks who associated the game of Rugby with White South Africa and a grim reminder of very horrible times during the apartheid years which was only a few years removed from Mandela’s second year of Office, thought it preposterous that the man they held in such high esteem and so dearly to their hearts for standing up against the evils of apartheid would even think of supporting a team and support a sport discipline that exemplified all that the apartheid system stood for, especially after all the suffering he and every black South African have had to endure for all those years and particularly the ones he spent behind bars.
Mandela would push on despite the opposition and grumblings from many quarters. It was a hard sell but eventually on June 24th 1995 a nation that until this moment stood at the crossroads of a bloody civil war roared together in unison like the lions of the Serengeti, chanting and cheering for the Springboks. The Springboks were playing a game for the very soul of South Africa, literally, and besides the obvious issue at hand of race reconciliation and national healing they were facing one of the most fearsome squad in Rugby in the All Blacks of New Zealand.
In the end despite the daunting task of surmounting such a huge obstacle in the
Mandela Cont'd