Rugby World Cup 1995: How Nelson Mandela inspired Springboks to glory

South Africa’s success resonated with a new generation of supporters, and on that historic day a young schoolboy by the name of Bryan Habana happened to attend his first ever game of rugby.

“Getting to experience the euphoria of the Springboks overcoming the incredibly talented All Blacks with rugby’s first global superstar in Jonah Lomu, and witnessing Nelson Mandela walk out there in that number six Springbok jersey lit a dream and an inspiration in a 12-year-old boy who’d never played the game of rugby before,” Habana reminisced.

Habana went on to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy in 2007 and, with his 15 tries across all tournaments, the winger sits alongside Lomu as the joint record holders for the most tries scored at Rugby World Cup finals.

“I get to tell everyone 1995 was a watershed moment in my life. For me 2007, winning the World Cup, was by far the pinnacle,” Habana said.

“But I honestly believe that 2019 was our proudest moment as a South African sporting country.”

Up until 2019, Chester Williams (1995), Habana and JP Pietersen (both 2007) were the only players classified as coloured, under South Africa’s apartheid-era racial laws, to feature for the Boks in a final.

Habana believes that the class of 2019 allowed the team to “speak to a community and a population of 60 million South Africans”.

That side, under Siya Kolisi’s captaincy, contained no fewer than six players of colour in the starting line-up and one more on the bench, showing that diversity can bring success.