Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. A

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning

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 kicki ...

, against New Zealand in the

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

final.

Early life

Stransky was born in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, South Africa, to a family from England and Czechia. He was raised in

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He was educated at

Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a semi-private English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1863 and it's the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal – and one of the ...

where he was coached by

Skonk Nicholson James Mervyn Nicholson (6 February 1917 – 27 February 2011), better known as Skonk Nicholson, was a rugby coach and school master at Maritzburg College. He is often credited with having trained large numbers of provincial and Springbok playe ...

, a well-known figure in schoolboy rugby. After his military conscription in Pretoria, he returned to Natal to study at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

Playing career

In 1990 he was part of the team that beat

Northern Transvaal Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

to win the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

for the first time. He then moved to Italy where he played for

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

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 Rugby World Cup - the country had been banned from the previous World Cups because of the Apartheid regime. He played an integral part in the tournament and scored all the points for his team in the final against New Zealand, including a winning drop goal in the second period of extra time. This was the first Rugby World Cup final that went into extra time. In 1997, he moved to

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, where he played for two seasons, winning the

1996–97 Pilkington Cup The 1996–97 Pilkington Cup was the 26th edition of England's premier rugby union club competition. Leicester won the competition defeating Sale in the final. The event was sponsored by Pilkington and the final was held at Twickenham Stadium ...

and the 1998–99 Allied Dunbar Premiership, and then became backs coach. In the buildup to the 1999 Rugby World Cup, it was suggested that Stransky could play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but he discovered that he was not qualified to do so. In 2002, he was engaged by

Bristol Rugby Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

as a coach, but the offer was subsequently withdrawn. Stransky took legal action and was compensated. BBC Report on court case

Test history

World Cup Final

Later career

He later returned to South Africa, and is a part-time rugby union television commentator. In January 2007, Stransky joined Altech Netstar (Pty) Ltd. as Sales & Marketing director. In January 2008, he was appointed managing director, but subsequently resigned. He was then employed by the Steinhoff Group in a marketing and promotional capacity. He founded Pivotal Capital in 2012.

In film

In the 2009 movie ''

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

,'' he is portrayed by

Scott Eastwood Scott Eastwood (born Scott Clinton Reeves; March 21, 1986) is an American actor. His notable films are '' Flags of Our Fathers'' (2006), ''Gran Torino'' (2008), '' Invictus'' (2009), '' The Forger'' (2012), ''Trouble with the Curve'' (2012), '' ...

References

External links

*
Sporting heroes

Altech Netstar homepage

Joel Stransky bio
at Jewsinsports.com
Book review: The Glory of the Game
about the Ten Jewish Springboks. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stransky, Joel 1967 births Living people Alumni of Maritzburg College Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School Jewish rugby union players Jewish South African sportspeople Leicester Tigers coaches Leicester Tigers players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Pietermaritzburg Sharks (Currie Cup) players South Africa international rugby union players South African people of Czech descent South African people of English descent South African people of Jewish descent South African rugby union players Villager FC players Western Province (rugby union) players White South African people