In 1995, South Africa was on the brink of civil war. Disagreements between the country's black and white populations were reaching the breaking point, and it seemed that trouble could not be avoided.
But suddenly rugby united the country in 1995 and saved South Africa from military conflict. By the way, if you not only like reading about rugby but are also an ventuorious player, just click on the link https://bookmaker-ratings.in and find many interesting suggestions for you there.
"South Africa for Whites!" – that was the main slogan of the National Party's campaign in South Africa's first postwar elections. The party's program included the policy of apartheid, which simply consisted of oppressing the black population. They were not allowed to vote, not allowed to stay in towns where whites lived, not allowed to go into white businesses, they were not hired, marriages with whites were forbidden, and many other things were restricted.
This nightmare lasted until 1994, when Nelson Mandela, a black Nobel Peace Prize winner, became president of the country. It was Mandela who made the first free elections possible and began to change life in the country.
The country's new president decided to repeal most of the apartheid laws, but legal processes are not a one-day thing, and the black part of the population wanted the long-awaited freedom so much that they did not want to wait. And the white population was frankly afraid that they would already be oppressed.
And that signal came from where they didn't expect it. One of Mandela's programmes was to develop sport and raise South Africa's international profile. Finally, the international sanctions against the country, which had prevented national teams from participating in major competitions, were lifted. The South African rugby team in particular missed two World Cups.
Mandela not only defended the right of the national team to participate in the World Cup, but also ensured that South Africa became the host country for that competition.
In the beginning, not everything went smoothly. The slogan "One Country - One Team" seemed like a mockery to the black population. They didn't believe that white athletes were capable of compassion. Besides, people were cheering extra against their team. That's how strong the hatred was!
However, Mandela took a series of measures that radically changed the situation. He invited the captain of the national team, Francois Pienaar, to his home, with whom they'd a long discussion about the possibility of
uniting the people of the country. The wise decision was to send the country's best rugby players who played for the national team to prison, where Mandela spent 27 years. But only for one day they wrote about it in all the newspapers. The warm words of the players in support of the black population and the calls to unite before the most important tournament didn't go unnoticed.
The day before the final, Mandela personally came to the team's training session, where he spoke to every member of the team. The captain of the South African national team presented the president with a national team jersey. Of course, New Zealand was considered the clear favourite, they'd much more skill, but in sport sometimes not everything is decided by skill alone. Hundreds of thousands of fans were on the side of the hosts. The team's players have already become heroes!
With the crazy support of the stands, where both whites and blacks cheered their favourites together, the South African team went into the most important match of their lives. And won in extra time!
Nelson Mandela came to the award ceremony in the same uniform and cap that the players had given him. And then they presented the white captain with a trophy for winning the World Cup. It was a moment that united the country and was enjoyed by all, regardless of skin colour or financial wealth. The moment that saved an entire country from civil war.