Veteran Boks recall World Cup triumph
[caption id="attachment_88709" align="alignright" width="226"] WINNING SMILES: Former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, left, and centre Hennie le Roux show off their commemorative championship rings during celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the Boks' Rugby World Cup victory at Ellis Park in Johannesburg yesterday Picture: GALLO IMAGES -[/caption]
On 20th anniversary of ’95 victory, many have mixed feelings
AS they did 20 years ago to the day, the Springbok 1995 World Cup winning team yesterday basked in Ellis Park’s glorious winter sunshine.
They, however, gravitated to the shadows when asked to appraise the country’s performance since that epochmaking 15-12 victory over the All Blacks.
That victory proved a high-water mark for the fledgling democracy for it brought unity and hope, but several from the Class of ’95 believe the country has since underachieved.
Match-winner against the All Blacks in the final, Joel Stransky, believes the country has dropped the ball.
“Life is about cycles. At the moment we are not in a position where we can say we kicked on.
“There are too many dramas, too much corruption, there is load-shedding, the rand is at an all-time low. You have good leaders and bad leaders and at the moment we are not experiencing our proudest time,” Stransky said.
Man mountain lock Kobus Wiese agrees that a country’s fortunes can ebb and flow.
“But tragically we haven’t built on that legacy. We can get it back though. Then our leaders have to show it. They have to show the people that they are honest, that they serve the country, show that they want the country to function.
“I get the sense the country’s leaders are not leading by example.”
Firebrand winger James Small was quite descriptive.
“The fish rots from the head. If you look at the leader of the country and the scandal that he is involved with there cannot be positive sentiments. I think he is doing massive damage. I really do.”
Typically, his winger partner Chester Williams was a little more on tip-toes.
“At one stage we showed that we built and changed, but then we got to a point when we broke down what we created. We need some consistency. We can achieve a lot.”
Inside centre Hennie le Roux recognised the sensitivities of a relatively young third world democracy.
“I can’t say we’ve built on that. It would be great to see politicians with the view that what is best for the nation comes first.
“Politically there are a lot of questions that need to be asked. We sincerely hope the powers that be take a long hard look at themselves.
“We have to uphold the necessary moral and value systems to ensure that. So much is dependent on the leadership style. As a country we can do a lot more,” Le Roux said.
It was a view echoed by hooker Chris Rossouw, who philosophically said: “Maybe had we won the World Cup later it might not have had a similar impact.”
Former team manager Morne du Plessis was ever the diplomat.
“As much as that was an incredible day and a sporting story that has gone through the world, we can’t underestimate the other issues we as a country needed to deal with and still deal with.
“When 60 000 people chanted ‘Nelson, Nelson [Mandela]’ that represented a change in attitude. But we can’t fool ourselves that a rugby game can change everything. You still need good governance and good leaders. We have big issues. Rugby is a small part in society.”
Captain Francois Pienaar set his gaze on the positives. “We are going through a crossroad at the moment. If people said to me 20 years ago that we’d have one of the greatest constitutions of the world, we’d have freedom of the press, your judiciary will be strong, there will be foreign direct investment, you’ll have pockets of excellence in education and medicine, infrastructure development and that you would have hosted major sporting events including the soccer World Cup, then I would have bought it.
“There is good, but have we done enough? There is stuff that you can do more [about] but that is just human nature.” -Liam Del Carme
