"The 2007 final against England - I watched it in a bar because we did not have TV at home - I had never seen people get together through the sport." Confiding this memory after the semi-final won against the Welsh (19-16), the South African captain Siya Kolisi did not hide his desire to see the population again weld around the national team.
He logically has fewer memories of the title of 1995 because he was then only 4 years old. But he knows the scope of this victory for South Africa, organizer of the competition that year. His country was just emerging from apartheid and needed this strong symbol to strengthen the sense of national unity. And the image of his predecessor François Pienaar receiving the Webb Ellis Cup from Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok jersey, remains, to this day, one of the strongest in the history of rugby.
On this day in 1995 ...
Nelson Mandela presented South Africa captain Francois Pienaar with the World Cup trophy after a 15-12 victory over New Zealand 🏆 pic.twitter.com/yxeI3sNEl1
Twenty-four years later, the context has changed enormously and the team too, many more black players now wearing the Springbok jersey. But the country is experiencing a delicate economic and social situation, marked in particular by a record unemployment rate of 29%. And the population has also been confronted in recent days with significant power supply problems, which have forced the government to make frequent power cuts.
A vector of hope
"We are a country that needs good news, our country is struggling with political and financial difficulties, the Springboks give hope and we will fight even harder to give as much as possible," said the coach -African Rassie Erasmus before the semifinal played in Japan.
@ We We We We We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R # RWC2019 #WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/P1i1GsJBWf
Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 25, 2019This objective also animates the third line François Louw. "We hope that South Africans will be proud of our performances and that it will bring hope." Many people are going through difficult times and if we all succeed in achieving great performances, it can give some hope. ", said the player in an interview.
>> To see: "Rugby World Cup: A first black captain at the head of the team of South Africa"
The question of unity plays of course a determining role within this team which included only one colored player out of 31 in 1995, six in 2007 and 13 today. The Springboks want to prove that a national team more representative of the population can obtain the same performances. "We have many races in our country and 11 different languages," said Siya Kolisi recently, who became the first black captain of the Springboks. "This is one of the good things about our nation, and I think it's really wonderful, that's why we're called the Rainbow Nation." And the captain adds: "It shows that when we decide to work together to achieve a goal as a team or as a country, we can achieve it and achieve our goals or realize our dreams."