Although at that time the Springboks only had one colored team player, Nelson Mandela made sure he supported the team and encouraged the whole of SA to get together and support the national team. Not only did Francois Pienaar help the team to beat Australia but they also beat Romania, Canada, Western Samoa and France. Despite Francois Pienaar suffering from calf strain, he kept on playing and they eventually won against New Zealand to win the cup.
After the momentous game, Nelson Mandela wore the Springboks’ team shirt complete with Francois Pienaar’s number on it in order to present the Webb Ellis trophy. When Francois Pienaar made the acceptance speach he made it very clear to his country that this cup wasn’t just for those at the stadium but for each and every South African citizen.
In 1996 Francois Pienaar was dropped from the team because the coach thought that he pretended to be injured during one of the games. After this insult, Francois Pienaar left for England where he has had a very sucessful career where Francois Pienaar became the coach for the Sarcens who then went on to win the Pilkington Cup.
In 2000 Francois Pienaar retired from playing rugby and became the CEO of the Sarcens only to leave in 2002 due to lack of success. He now lives by in South Africa with his wife Nerine Winter and his two sons. One of his sons is even lucky enough to have Nelson Mandella as a godfather.
