Michael
Lee
December
18, 2013
1995
Rugby World Cup Effect on Post-Apartheid South Africa
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was South Africa’s first World Cup victory in rugby’s premiere event. The Cup was held in South Africa, and was the first ever Rugby World Cup ever to be hosted completely in one country. The Cup was also the first major event held in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, and marked a new era in South Africa.
The phrase, “One Team, One Nation” was coined during the lead up to the Cup in an effort to demonstrate that there was no longer a black and a white South Africa. In previous years, many blacks in South Africa cheered hard for teams that were playing against South Africa because they believed that the rugby team represented apartheid and the oppression that had been forced upon them. However, Nelson Mandela set out to change that. In addition to the “One Team, One Nation” slogan, Mandela did a lot to attempt to inspire the team, including reminding them that the World Cup was more than just a rugby tournament, but a tool to unify the country.
The signing of Chester Williams was
another way that the Cup really unified South Africa after apartheid. According
to Albert Grundlingh in his paper From
Redemption to Recidivism? Rugby and Change in South Africa During the 1995
Rugby World Cup and its Aftermath, “Twenty years earlier some rugby
administrators could happily proclaim that a black person would never don a
Springbok [the nickname for the South African rugby team] jersey; in 1995, as a
result of changed circumstances, there was an almost desperate search to find a
black body who could, on playing ability, be put into a Springbok jersey.” That
man turned out to be Chester Williams, a wing from Western Province, who soon
became a national hero for being the first black to sport a Springbok jersey.
He helped to draw many natives to the sport of Africa, and begin to develop an
interest that could be shared through all races.
There were nine
different stadiums used for the World Cup because it was the first ever Cup to
be held completely in one country. Countries qualified in a variety of ways.
The eight 1991 Rugby World Cup quarterfinalists all qualified, along with South
Africa, the host country. There was then a playoff between teams from different
regions of the world in which seven other teams qualified. South Africa,
against all odds, made it to the finals and beat the All Blacks, the team from
New Zealand, 15-12 in extra time. One of the most famous scenes in South
African history occurred when Mandela went out to greet the captain of the
rugby team, Francois Pienaar, and accept the trophy. This event was very influential to port-apartheid South
Africa because it allowed the country to become more closely bonded together in
celebration of a common victory.
I was originally intrigued by this
topic because it was about sports, something that I really enjoy. However, the
lessons here go a lot deeper than just sport, and I feel it would be
interesting to study the racial and political implications of major sporting
events more broadly. Although the circumstances were different, Jackie Robinson’s
entry into Major League Baseball also represented a new era in sport and race
relations in the United States. In a league and sport and country that had been
dominated by white people, Robinson really brought minorities into the league
and was the first one to break the color barrier. Unlike in the South African Rugby World Cup,
which happened after apartheid had officially ended, Jackie Robinson’s entry
into Major League Baseball was before the civil rights movement, when racism
was still extremely prevalent. However, Robinson’s emergence into baseball
still represented a new era in in race relations for an entire country facilitated
by sports.
Citations-
. N.p.. Web. 17 Dec 2013.
<http://www.espn.co.uk/2011-rugby-world-cup/rugby/series/worldcup/timeline/1995.html>.
Grundlingh,
Albert. From Redemption to Recidivism? Rugby and Change in South Africa
During the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Its Aftermath. N.p., May 1998. Web. 17
Dec. 2013.
Richard Sherman
“Rugby World Cup 1995 New Zealand vs. South Africa” online video clip. Youtube.
Youtube, 16 March 2013. Web. 17 December 2013
To be completely honest, I don’t really like sports, but your essay made me think twice. It made me realize how sport is more than just a game to some people. I learned many interesting facts from your essay. Facts such as the natives of South Africa cheering for a different team, because their team represents apartheid and that there were nine different stadiums for the world cup. I like how your essay draws my attention with these facts. I also like the way you compared and contrasted the rugby team of South Africa with the Baseball player Jackie Robinson. One thing you can improve on is visuals. Maybe add a picture of the team or stadiums. Other than that your essay, in my opinion, is satisfying. My question is what is the age range of the players in the team?
ReplyDeleteI too like sports so the first time I spotted this blog I knew I had to comment on it. I like sports, but I did not know a lot about the 1995 Rugby World cup. I heard the famous movie "Invictus" was about the 1995 Rugby World cup, but I didn't watch the movie so I was clueless as to what the effects were on post-apartheid. This blog gives a lot of information and helps you understand the effect that the 1995 Rugby World cup had on post-apartheid South Africa. I also liked the connections Micheal had made to Jackie Robinson impact on the integration of race in sports to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, once he made that connection I could understand the concept a lot much better. He connected to something that is more popular and more people knew about it here in the US, so that we could understand it better.
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