Today we welcome back ‘Damo’ from the land of the banana benders for his round #3 of the history of the RWC. Thank you Damo & take it away:
In Brief:
When: May 25 – June 24 1995
The Hosts: The Rainbow Nation
Winner: Nelson’s lot
Runners Up: Those with stomach upsets
Third: Les Frogs
Fourth: The Poms
The 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa was always going to be one of the best remembered editions of the event. Sandwiched between the technical end of Apartheid, culminating in Nelson Mandela’s election as President in April 1994 and the launch of professional rugby just months after the Cup concluded, soon we would know of SANZAR and be watching Rupert’s Super Rugby. RWC 1995 gained attention both inside and outside the rugby World.
For many, but certainly not all, the Cup became a significant pillar of a united South Africa. The South African captain was even invited to the President’s office for afternoon tea prior to the event start and it is said that Mandela’s attendance at the team training session the day before the opening match calmed the players’ considerable nerves.
Back on Oz TV we saw a world cup where a jumbo jet tried to intimidate the ABs, an All Black poisoning conspiracy (Tip: never eat the salmon mousse), a black man running on for the Springboks, a President in the captain’s jersey, that captain impersonating Matt Damon, and a post match victors’ arm link as close to a religious service as I’ve ever seen on a rugby pitch.
It was a World Cup that probably needed to have the ending it did. The ’91 quarter finalists, Oz, Eng, NZ, Sco, Fra, Ire, W. Samoa and Canada we joined by SA as automatic qualifiers to be joined by Romania, Arg, Ita, Wales, Jap, Tonga and Ivory Coast (yes, Ivory Coast).
Yet again, the All Blacks were one of the favourites. The squad had strong depth, plenty of experience, led by Sean Fitzpatrick along with a 20 year who would soon be a rugby household word, the late & great, Jonah Lomu.
The Wallabies went into the tournament as defending champions and probably as equal favourites. They were undefeated in the year preceding, including winning the Bledisloe in 1994 in a single test 20-16 at the SFS, the game that featured George Gregan’s try saving tackle on Jeff Wilson. It was a fairly settled squad including Kearns, Eales, McCall, Lynagh, Horan & Campo. Likewise England’s lineup was not much different to the 91 version.
The Springbok lineup was equally impressive, given they had only been together as a national squad for a couple of years. Francois Pienaar was the inspirational leader, with a forward pack which included man mountain Os du Randt, Mark Andrew and Ruben Kruger, complemented by a back line led by the brilliant #9 Joost van der Westhuizen. They didn’t turn up just to be a friendly host.
The ABs bulldozed their way through the pools, scoring 222 points including a 145-17 annihilation of the ‘Blossoms. To say South Africa had the crowd behind them opening the tournament with a 27-18 win against Australia in front of 51,000 at Newlands would be a gross understatement. They continued to build momentum from there throughout the tournament.
The Wallabies won the rest of their pool matches easily enough, but were considered by some, in hindsight, to be below their best.
The Finals
The England v Wallabies QF confrontation ended our dream of back to back world cups. Quoting Noddy “To describe it as a great disappointment would be an understatement.”
The match was not a running spectacle, but was packed with tension as it went right down to the final kick. England roared into the game as the stronger side, their pack dominating in the first 40.
Michael Lynagh and Rob Andrew both managed two penalties apiece in the half, but it was Tony Underwood’s sprint for the try which proved the major defining point between both sides. A turnover, the ball went wide into the hands of Underwood, who sprinted down the right wing and touched down for a great try.
Damian Smith later chased high bomb, gathered midair, and touched down for a brilliant try for the Wallabies. From then on, the game was all about the forward confrontation and the boots of Lynagh and Andrew. The pair matched each other kick for kick but neither side could be separated as the full 80 minutes expired with the scores at 22-22.
Into extra time it went, and as England got within sniffing distance, Dewi Morris swept a superb pass to Rob Andrew who in turn unleashed a perfect drop-kick from 45 metres.
It was a famous 25-22 win for England, beating Australia outside of the Northern Hemisphere for the first time.
Compared with this arm wrestle, the other QF’s were pretty one sided affairs with SA, NZ and France
advancing.
The semi finals brought plenty of drama. A huge downpour just prior to The Springbok France game almost led to Derek Bevan cancelling the game in appalling conditions- which would have advanced France to the final. However a group of elderly women arrived on the field armed with brooms and proceeded to sweep the worst of the water off the surface. SA just got home in the mud bath.
England v All Blacks was quite simply the Jonah show. His standout performance of the tournament was his Man of the Match display in the semi-finals against England, as he scored 4 tries and famously ran over Mike Catt on the way to scoring. Jonah Lomu was the leading try-scorer in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and looked to play a key part in New Zealand winning the final at Ellis Park. And luckily ‘Suzie’ the waitress had had the previous week off.
The Final.
The final turned out to be one of the closest and most physical RWC Finals ever witnessed. New Zealand went into the fixture as standout favourites with many pundits wondering whether the Springboks would be able to withstand the dominance of the All Black attack. However, unlike England the previous week, the Saffas were able to ‘bottle up’ Jonah.
This turned out to be a tryless cup final both sides defended desperately and in the end it was a match determined by infringements and the kicking boots of Andrew Mehrtens and Joel Stransky. At the end of regulation time, the scores were tied at 9 points each. For the first time, a Rugby World Cup was headed to extra-time where the 1995 Rugby World Cup winner would be determined.
A Mehrtens penalty took New Zealand into the lead and shortly after, South Africa levelled matters as Stransky also goaled. With less than 7 minutes to play, off the back of a successful scrum, it would be “one small drop kick for a man (Joel Stransky), one giant leap for South Africa”. The fly-half struck a perfectly executed drop goal to put South Africa in the lead 15-12. In what was this iconic moment of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final, that became the exact moment the newly democratic nation embraced their first international sports success. For now, South Africa had their hands on ‘Bill’.
Highlights:
RWC 1995 Begins: https://www.facebook.com/rugbyworldcup/videos/2846182585697904/
Jonah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un3XOVkJuD4
The Final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wh4MPGp68A
