Reconciliation through sports diplomacy: An overview of the 1995 Rugby World Cup

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was an anti-apartheid political revolutionary who served as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black President and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. This article discusses the trials and tribulations of the South African President and how sports diplomacy played a significant part in the country’s efforts at nation-building.

Mandela decided to get involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics after South Africa’s National Party’s white-only government established a system of racial segregation that privileged the white community in the country. As a result of his political activities, he was arrested and imprisoned on several occasions (Nelson Mandela Foundation, n.d.). Having served 27 years of life in various prisons, Mandela was freed by President F.W de Klerk in 1990 owing to growing domestic and international pressure. Mandela and de Klerk jointly led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, resulting in the 1994 multiracial general election which enabled Mandela to lead the ANC to victory (South African History Online, 2013).  

During the Dutch colonization (1652-1815), the British colonization (1815-1910), the era of Union of South Africa (1910-1948) and from  1948  to 1964 - the apartheid era, native South Africans suffered tremendously within their homeland. Racial segregation and white minority rule, officially known as apartheid - an Afrikaans word meaning “separateness”, came to dominate life in South Africa, particularly between 1948 - 1964.  

Civil, political, economic and cultural rights of native Africans were severely repressed during this time. A small minority was able to control the lives of a majority of native Africans through the apartheid system. “Apartheid laws forced different racial groups to live separately and develop separately...It tried to stop all inter-marriage and social integration between racial groups… [The Apartheid system also] had a fearsome state apparatus to punish those who disagreed” (South Africa History Online, 2016).  Some of the laws which came into effect through the Apartheid system include the following:

•  A Population registration act (1950) - Through this Act people were registered according to their racial group. 
•  Group area act (1950) - started the physical separation between races, especially in urban areas.
•  Bantu self-government act (1959) - This Act stated that different racial groups had to live in different areas. Many lost their homes and were moved out of the lands they had lived for generations. In most cases, native Africans were moved to  undeveloped parts of the country (South Africa History Online, 2016).

The international community, in an effort to diplomatically isolate the apartheid regime, chose to ban the country from appearing in international sporting events such as:

1.       Olympics
2.  .        The Commonwealth games
3.        Chess Olympiads
4.        Cricket encounters
5.          Soccer matches  
6.        Rugby World Cups

With the end of the apartheid however, South Africa was readmitted to international sports federations.

Despite Mandela’s success at the presidential elections in 1994 and the end of the apartheid rule, divisions still persisted between the country’s white and black community. Racial tensions emerged in a heightened form with many in the native African community urging Mandela to act in a vindictive manner towards the White community. As a result, the task of healing the nation after decades of apartheid rule fell squarely on Mandela’s shoulders.  

After the exclusion of the South Africa national rugby team (the Springboks) from two editions of the Rugby World cup (i.e. 1987 and 1991), in 1995 South Africa became the hosting nation for the Rugby world cup. South Africa’s rugby team had hitherto chiefly been a ‘white-only’ team. In that sense, one can argue that the Springboks were a symbol of apartheid. Speaking with ESPN, George Gregan, a player from the Australian team stated:

“It was interesting, the coloured people when we first made it to Cape Town [in 1995] were right behind the Wallaby team [the Australian Rugby team]     , saying 'we're going for you, we want you to beat the Springboks'; which was quite surprising (Mitchell, 2015).

In his address to the people, Mandela called upon all South Africans to throw their support behind the nation's rugby team - the Springboks. Speaking about the significance of this action Carlin, a journalist at the time, suggests that “the thing about rugby was that it was really a powerful symbol of a deep racial division…For the white population as a whole, a symbol of their pride and identity ... For the black population, the Springboks were a symbol of apartheid” (Effron, 2013). In the months leading up to the World Cup, Mandela invited Springbok captain Francois Pienaar to meet with him and asked the team to be his ambassadors of peace, representing both the white and black population.

Shocking the world, the Springboks took down the ‘giants of rugby’ and with the intensifying support of native Africans; the Springboks swept through the initial rounds, and then downed France in a rain-delayed semi-final. Against all odds, the Springboks then took down the mighty All Blacks, and in the process united their previously divided nation. The Sydney Morning Herald notes down the aftermath of South Africa’s rugby win in this fashion: “It was nation-defining for South Africa, a transcendent moment in the transformation from apartheid to multi-racial democracy” (Sydney Morning Herald, 2013).

To quote Mitchell,

It [Rugby] was once a symbol of division, the separation between white and black South Africa, but in the hands of one amazing man [Mandela] it became a symbol of hope, unity and peace. Rugby; once a white man's game became the unifier of a once broken, but now proud nation; and it was Rugby World Cup 1995 that helped pave the way for Nelson Mandela to bring together the 'Rainbow Nation’ (Mitchell, 2015).

References

Biography of Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela Foundation, n.d.  <https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography>

South Africa’s first democratic elections.  South African History Online, April 25, 2013.   

< https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/south-africas-first-democratic-elections>

A history of Apartheid in South Africa. South African History Online, May 06, 2016. <https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa>

Effron, Lauren. "Nelson Mandela: ‘A South African Lincoln.’" ABC NEWS, December 5, 2013. 

<https://abcnews.go.com/International/nelson-mandela-1995-rugby-world-cup-south-africa/story?id=12789149>

Mitchell, Brittany. "1995 Rugby World Cup: Unifying a divided nation." ESPN, June 23, 2015. <http://en.espn.co.uk/southafrica/rugby/story/267173.html>

"How Nelson Mandela changed everything with a jersey."  Sydney Morning Herald, December 06, 2013. <https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/how-nelson-mandela-changed-everything-with-a-jersey-20131206-2yv6c.html> 

Dr. K.Y.D Perera MBBS(Col), PGDCH(Col), PGDHQPS(Col), MSc (Medical Administration) is a Medical Officer and Medical Administrator. He was a former Medical Director at District General Hospital, Hambanthota and a former Deputy District Director of Health Services at Puttalam district. He is currently reading for his Doctorate in Medical Administration at Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo and is a student of the BIDTI.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and not the institutional views of the BIDTI, nor do they necessarily reflect the position of any other institution or individual with which the author is affiliated.