The brave decision that won 1995 World Cup: 'We cancelled back row move and overruled Pienaar, which not many people do'
Joel Stransky has recounted the moment he struck the extra-time drop goal that proved to be the winning score in the iconic 1995 Rugby World Cup final. The Springboks had only just returned to the sporting fold following years of isolation due to apartheid.
Hosting the finals gave the self-styled Rainbow Nation their opportunity to show a united front and it all culminated in a wonderful June day 25 years ago when Stransky landed the points that finally broke New Zealand’s resistance and left Francois Pienaar accepting the trophy from Nelson Mandela.
The World Cup final in Johannesburg was tied following 80 minutes, but Stransky had no fears about the Springboks delivering in extra-time as he felt they were the fitter team and this conditioning would prove decisive in the 100-minute final.
“It was probably more instinctive,” he told RugbyPass, recounting the lead-up to his decision to strike for glory with the score tied at 12-all. “When I actually kicked it we had a back row move called and I could see from the way that we were lined up and the way the All Blacks were lined up, they had obviously studied our moves.
“We had done the move a couple of times in the tournament and I could see they had it defended and I could see exactly where (Stephen) Bachop’s focus was.
“He was focused very much on Joost (van der Westhuizen) and part of that is when you’re that focused on following the scrum-half around to the blindside, there is a little gap for the fly-half to run or kick and Andrew Mehrtens was standing a little bit wider which meant there was a bit of a gap for me to step into and make the kick.
“I called to Joost, he trusted me and sent the ball back. We cancelled the back row move and overruled Francois Pienaar, which not many people do. We sent it back and we kicked the drop.
“Kitch Christie had already said to us the fittest team will win the World Cup… when it went to extra-time at 9-all we were standing on the field fit and strong, we thought we had the upper hand.
“Going into extra-time we thought we have got the legs here, we are going to go on and win this so when the drop went over, it’s about being in the moment. The drop went over, it was a little moment of celebration – yes we are ahead now and then immediately I stopped and waited for Francois as we were running back and spoke about the next move.
“There’s still six, seven minutes left, we still have to defend like trojans, we have to stop Jonah (Lomu) from scoring and the way to do that is to get our hands on the ball and play in the right spaces of the field.
“I said to him, ‘Just make sure the guys are concentrated, make sure we win the kick-off, gather the ball. I’m going to hoof it long, let’s go straight back down there, put them into their half’… and that is exactly what happened.”
Now 52, Stransky added that it wasn’t until the World Cup tournament was over when the Springboks began to fully understand what their victory over New Zealand meant to their country. “Ultimately we didn’t appreciate how big a moment it was and to be fair, had we not won it wouldn’t have changed anything.
“The fact that we made the final already kept the country in rapture for that whole time. It already meant that Nelson Mandela, that iconic leader, could use this World Cup to unify the nation, could wear the Springboks jersey before a Rugby World Cup final and hold hands with white people and with other people from all different cultures. The political side, we only realised afterwards how massive it was.”
'It did turn sour'
Ed Griffiths' behind the scenes insight into the Springboks 1995 #RWC win ??, the back story to the Mandela moment, confronting flag-waving fans, holding clothes hangers for luck & the lost opportunity of it all
– writes @heagneyl https://t.co/XpSHESE4cF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 24, 2020
The out-half continued that the tone for the final was set by their forensic preparation, their focus on stopping Lomu and not backing away from the challenge of the pre-game All Blacks haka.
“There were a number of things we discussed pre the match that were really of great significance. Obviously, Jonah Lomu was a massive issue for us: how do you defend against someone so big, so strong, so good, such great feet, such a great skill set? And also we discussed how do you face up to this great challenge?
“We had seen what had happened in the past when teams hadn’t faced up to the challenge. We had seen the Aussies turn their back on it, other teams form a huddle. The overwhelming consensus in our group was the haka is one of those challenges that is laid down to you, it’s not something to fear.
“It’s to use as a self-motivator as well, to embrace the challenge, to lay down your own challenge by fronting up right there at the start and we said, ‘We’re going to face it, we’re going to look it in the eye’.
“It doesn’t matter who we are going to look at, we are going to front up and as it turned out, when we were facing the haka some of the guys got quite charged up and they started advancing. We started slowly edging towards it which in itself was quite inspiring.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments