Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He took the World Cup from Nelson Mandela's hands in a Springbok jersey in 1995 — the single most quoted image of the new South Africa.
Jacobus Francois Pienaar was an Afrikaans-speaking flanker from the Transvaal who captained South Africa in his very first Test in 1993, the country having just returned from decades of sporting isolation.
The 1995 World Cup was held in South Africa a year after the first democratic election, and the Springbok jersey was still, for most Black South Africans, the emblem of the system they had just defeated — the ANC had debated abolishing it. Nelson Mandela did the opposite. He wore it, and the number six on the back was Pienaar's.
South Africa beat New Zealand 15–12 in extra time at Ellis Park, and Mandela handed over the trophy in that jersey to a crowd chanting his name. Pienaar, asked afterwards whether he felt the support of sixty-three thousand people in the stadium, said he had the support of forty-three million South Africans. The photograph is the most reproduced image of the transition, and the story was filmed as Invictus.
He captained the side twenty-nine times out of twenty-nine caps — every Test he played, he led — and afterwards played and coached at Saracens in England. He has spent much of his life since on the Make A Difference Leadership Foundation, which puts South African children through school and university.
The 1995 World Cup was held in South Africa a year after the first democratic election, and the Springbok jersey was still, for most Black South Africans, the emblem of the system they had just defeated — the ANC had debated abolishing it. Nelson Mandela did the opposite. He wore it, and the number six on the back was Pienaar's.
South Africa beat New Zealand 15–12 in extra time at Ellis Park, and Mandela handed over the trophy in that jersey to a crowd chanting his name. Pienaar, asked afterwards whether he felt the support of sixty-three thousand people in the stadium, said he had the support of forty-three million South Africans. The photograph is the most reproduced image of the transition, and the story was filmed as Invictus.
He captained the side twenty-nine times out of twenty-nine caps — every Test he played, he led — and afterwards played and coached at Saracens in England. He has spent much of his life since on the Make A Difference Leadership Foundation, which puts South African children through school and university.
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