| Name |
Francois Pienaar |
| Height |
6 ft 3 in |
| Naionality |
South African |
| Date of Birth |
2-January-1967 |
| Place of Birth |
Vereeniging, South Africa |
| Famous for |
Rugby Union Player |
Francois Pienaar is a South African former 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.
Pienaar is arguably most famous for being captain of the first South Africa team to win the World Cup. Prior to the World Cup in 1995, the Springboks were only seeded ninth and were not expected to dethrone the incumbent champions Australia, who had not lost a game in the preceding 12 months. During the tournament, South Africa defeated Australia, Romania, Canada, Western Samoa and France. They then met New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park Stadium. Pienaar played on in extra-time despite a calf strain and the Springboks secured a three-point victory with a drop goal from Joel Stransky. During the remarkable post-match presentation ceremony Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok jersey bearing Pienaar's number, presented him with the Webb Ellis Cup. During his acceptance speech, Pienaar made it clear that the team had won the trophy not just for the 60,000 fans at Ellis Park, but also for all 43,000,000 South Africans.
Pienaar is portrayed by Matt Damon in the movie Invictus, released in December 2009, which focuses on the story of the 1995 World Cup. Within a month of the World Cup's conclusion Pienaar had a stand-off with SARFU after he led South African players in threatening to join with their Australia and New Zealand counterparts to play professionally for the World Rugby Corporation (WRC). Pienaar had convinced numerous Springbok players to sign with the WRC, but Louis Luyt eventually dissuaded them from breaking with the SARFU. During this standoff he offered the black Springbok player Chester Williams less than other contemporary South African players. In purely marketing terms, Williams was second only to Jonah Lomu.
