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Francois Pienaar
Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After being dropped from the Springbok team in 1996, Pienaar went on to a career with English club Saracens. Early life and education Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa, into a working class Afrikaner family, and is the eldest of four boys. After completing high school at Hoërskool Patriot Witbank, he won an athletic scholarship to the Rand Afrikaans University, where he studied law. Playing career He made his provincial debut for Transvaal Province in 1989 before being selected for the South Africa squad in 1993. He was appointed Springbok captain from his first test and remained captain until his last, and remains one of the most successful South African cap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vereeniging
Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly situated in the Transvaal Province, Transvaal province. The name ''Vereeniging'' is derived from the Dutch language, Dutch word meaning "association". Geographical information Vereeniging is situated in the southern part of Gauteng Province, and forms the southern portion of the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging, Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeninging (PWV) conurbation, and its neighbors are Vanderbijlpark (to the west), Three Rivers Proper, Three Rivers (east), Meyerton, Gauteng, Meyerton (north) and Sasolburg (south). The city is currently one of the most important industrial manufacturing centres in South Africa, with its chief products being iron, steel, pipes, bricks, tiles and processed lime. The predominant language in Vereeniging i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samoa National Rugby Union Team
The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world. Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the early 1920s and a governing body was soon formed. The first international was played as Western Samoa against Fiji in August 1924. Along with Tonga, these nations would meet regularly and eventually contest competitions such as the Pacific Tri-Nations – with Western Samoa winning the first of these. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was known as Western Samoa. Samoa have been to every Rugby World Cup since the 1991 tournament. That tournament, along with the 1995 compe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andre Markgraaff
Andries Thomas "Andre" Markgraaff (born 23 December 1956) is a retired South African rugby union lock. He matriculated at Diamantveld High School and was a controversial national coach, who resigned after he was taped using the racial K-word. Playing career Markgraaff was selected for the South African team in 1986 against the Cavaliers but as an unused substitute. Markgraaff also represented Western Transvaal, Western Province, Griqualand West and the then South West Africa in 20 games. He captained the South African Barbarians on a tour to Europe and the Junior Springboks. Coaching In 1988, he became coach of Griqualand West. He became president of Griquas in 1991. In 1996, Markgraaff was appointed as the Springbok rugby coach. In 1997 Markgraaff was forced to quit after his controversial racial statements, when he referred to a black senior rugby administrator Mluleki George as a "kaffir". In his apology, Markgraaff said :"''I'm not making any excuses. I was very emotional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SANZAR
SANZAAR (South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina Rugby; previously known as SANZAR) is the body which oversees Super Rugby and The Rugby Championship competitions in rugby union. SANZAAR meets annually and is composed of the CEOs from its member unions. It was formed as SANZAR in 1996 as a joint venture of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union, and the Australian Rugby Union. From the 2016 season, its name was changed to SANZAAR following the inclusion of the Argentine Rugby Union as a full member of the organisation. History Tri-Nations and Super 12: 1996 SANZAR was formed in 1995, shortly after rugby's move to professionalism, to counter the threat of Australia's Super League, a new rugby league competition that offered large salaries to players. SANZAR proposed the Super 12, an annual provincial competition with teams from all three countries, and the Tri Nations Series, an annual competition between each country's Test teams. This co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsmen in human history. Standing 6 foot 5 inches and weighing 119 kilograms, Lomu was famed for his unprecedented speed, strength and agility. Exceptionally large for a wing player, he is also known as the first winger to be a physical heavyweight. For his fast and effortless style of play, Lomu was once nicknamed the " freight train in ballet shoes", and was celebrated for his ability to shrug off tackles from multiple opponents at once. He became the youngest ever All Black when he played his first international in 1994 at the age of 19 years and 45 days. Playing on the wing, Lomu finished his international career with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chester Williams
Chester Mornay Williams (8 August 1970 – 6 September 2019) was a South African rugby union player. He played as a winger for the South Africa national rugby union team (Springboks) from 1993 to 2000, most notably for the team that won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted in South Africa. He was the only non-white player on the team. During the tournament he scored four tries for South Africa in its quarter-final match and also appeared in the semi-final and final. Domestically he played rugby for the Western Province in the Currie Cup. After retiring, Williams pursued a career in coaching, including a spell with the South Africa national rugby sevens team, the Uganda national rugby union team, and the University of the Western Cape. He was portrayed by McNeil Hendricks in the 2009 Clint Eastwood film '' Invictus'', a biographical sports drama film about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and he also helped to coach Matt Damon and ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invictus (film)
''Invictus'' is a 2009 biographical sports film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, making it the third collaboration between Eastwood and Freeman after ''Unforgiven'' (1992) and '' Million Dollar Baby'' (2004). The story is based on the 2008 John Carlin book ''Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation'' about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The Springboks were not expected to perform well, the team having only recently returned to high-level international competition following the dismantling of apartheid—the country was hosting the World Cup, thus earning an automatic entry. Freeman portrays South African President Nelson Mandela while Damon played François Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, the South Africa rugby union team. ''Invictus'' was released in the United States on December 11, 2009. The title refers to the Roman divine epithet Invictus and may be translated from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North American box office, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received various awards and nominations, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards. Damon began his acting career in the film '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988). He continued acting in ''Courage Under Fire'' (1996) and '' The Rainmaker'' (1997). He gained prominence in 1997 when he and Ben Affleck wrote and starred in ''Good Will Hunting'', which won them the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Screenplay. He established himself as a leading man by starring as Tom Ripley in ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' (1999), Jason Bourne in the ''Bourne'' franchise (200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Webb Ellis Cup
The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby football. The trophy is silver gilt and has been presented to the winner of the Rugby World Cup since the first competition in 1987. It has been won three times by New Zealand (1987, 2011 & 2015) and South Africa (1995, 2007 & 2019), twice by Australia (1991 & 1999), and once by England (2003). The 38-centimeter trophy weighs 4.5 kg, is gilded silver and has two cast scroll handles. One handle bears the head of a satyr, the other the head of a nymph. On the face of the trophy, the words '' International Rugby Football Board'', and below that arch ''The Webb Ellis Cup'' are engraved. The Webb Ellis Cup is also referred to (incorrectly) as the "Webb Ellis Trophy" or colloquially as "Bill," a nickname coined by the 1991 Rugby World Cup winner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a Universal suffrage, fully representative democratic election. Presidency of Nelson Mandela, His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial Conflict resolution, reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialism, socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997. A Xhosa people, Xhosa, Mandela was born into the Thembu people, Thembu royal family in Mvezo, Union of South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joel Stransky
Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former rugby union player. A fly-half, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. Early life Stransky was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to a family from England and Czechia. He was raised in Reform Judaism and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He was educated at Maritzburg College where he was coached by Skonk Nicholson, a well-known figure in schoolboy rugby. After his military conscription in Pretoria, he returned to Natal to study at the University of Natal. Playing career In 1990 he was part of the team that beat Northern Transvaal to win the Currie Cup for the first time. He then moved to Italy where he played for L'Aquila during the 1991–1992 season, and for San Donà in 1992–93. Between 1993 and 1996, he won 22 caps for his South Africa. In 1995 he was part of the first South Africa team to play in a R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drop Goal
A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicking it as it touches the ground) over the crossbar and between the goalposts. After the kick, the ball must not touch the ground before it goes over and through, although it may touch the crossbar or posts. A drop goal in rugby union is worth three points, and in rugby league a drop goal is usually worth one point (see below). If the drop goal attempt is successful, play stops and the non-scoring team (the scoring team in rugby union sevens) restarts play with a kick from halfway. If the kick is unsuccessful, play continues and the offside rules for a kick apply. Defenders may tackle the kicker while he is in possession of the ball, or attempt to charge down or block the kick. Rugby union World Rugby, the international governing body of r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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