1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa: The power of sport to unite people.

By Geovanny Peña

"Sport has the power to change the world" (Mandela, 2000). The power of this
phrase dates back to an event where a sports competition became the excuse to put aside
differences and unite a nation. I want to talk about the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South
Africa, known for apartheid, which "was a system of legislation that upheld segregation
against non-white citizens of South Africa" (History.com, 2010). Once this law was
abolished, a black president asked his majority black town to support the celebration of a
sport traditionally practiced by whites.
Rugby "was seen as a white game in South Africa, and many people of a different
skin color identified the team, the Springboks, as synonymous with the minority in power."
(Edwards, 2013). However, Nelson Mandela, being the first black president of South Africa,
instead of punishing that symbol of oppression, used them to unify a nation, as he
mentioned, sport is "more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers"
(Mandela, 2000). Based on this, President Mandela, apart from leading the realization of
this event, invited all his people, regardless of their race, to support the national team under
the motto "One team, one country." (Evans, 2022).
Now, let's talk about the 1995 Rugby World Cup. This tournament marked the return
of the South African team, which had not participated in the two previous editions due to
international sanctions due to apartheid. The South African rugby team qualified
undefeated for the final match before a mostly white crowd. Little by little, the black
population showed support for the Springboks, which indicated breaking down the barriers
caused by racism. On this occasion, their arch-rivals, New Zealand, would be their challenger
for the championship.
And it was then that on June 24, 1995, at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, the
Springboks won the Rugby World Championship, defeating the New Zealand All Blacks 15-
12 before 63,000 spectators. The most memorable moment was the presentation of the
trophy by President Mandela to the team captain, Francois Pienaar. For this, the president
dressed in green and a cap with the antelope that characterizes the Springboks. Everyone
in the stadium was overjoyed to see Pienaar lifting the championship trophy, but the
memory remains of the majority white crowd chanting, "Nelson! Nelson! Nelson!"
(Tabernacle Choir, 2014).
References
- Mandela, N. (n.d.). 2000. Laureus. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from
https://www.laureus.com/world-sports-awards/2000.

- Apartheid: Definition & south africa - history - history. (2010). Retrieved

February 3, 2023, from https://www.history.com/topics/africa/apartheid.

- Evans, F. (n.d.). How Nelson Mandela used rugby as a symbol of South African unity
- history. www.history.com. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from
https://www.history.com/news/nelson-mandela-1995-rugby-world-cup-south-
african-unity.

- Edwars, P. (2013, December 7). Para Nelson Mandela, Los Deportes Fueron la Mejor
Arma contra el racismo. CNN. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from
https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2013/12/06/para-nelson-mandela-los-deportes-
fueron-la-mejor-arma-contra-el-racismo/#0.

- Sport has the power to change the world. The Global Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved
February 3, 2023, from https://www.globalgoals.org/news/sport-for-development-
and-peace/

- MormonTabChoir. (2014, January 24). Nelson! Nelson! Nelson! - the spoken word.
YouTube. Retrieved February 3, 2023, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jwK8TWOCQM.