SOUTH AFRICA

A fresh start

Invictus soundtrack from Paul Kelly's Peace

Invictus Trailer

Although South Africa had been torn apart by apartheid for decades and Mandela himself had been imprisoned for more than 25 years, he came to power with a hope for peace and unity for his country. With the 1995 Rugby World Cup set to take place in South Africa, Mandela seized upon the opportunity to use the Springboks, a team synonymous with the old separatist South Africa, to achieve unity through sport.

“Using rugby to try to unite South Africa was a huge political gamble on Mandela’s part. Along with gaining the trust of the whites, Mandela also had to have the support of the blacks,” says Nauright. “Part of what he was trying to do was based on the belief that the Springboks would be successful in the World Cup. He took a risk and it paid off. “

(taken from Mason Media Blog)

Francois Pienaar was born on Jan. 2, 1967 in Vereeniging, South Africa. In 1993, he joined the national rugby team, the Springboks (The South Africa national rugby union team). The country was in a state of unrest. Nelson Mandela was navigating away from apartheid and saw rugby as a way to unite South Africans behind a common cause. Pienaar helped leading the Springboks to victory in the 1995 World Cup.

Invictus - Francois Pienaar: "This is it! This is our destiny!"

Invictus - poem by William Ernest Henley

Afrikaans language

Afrikaner: an Afrikaans-speaking white person in South Africa, especially one descended from the Dutch and Huguenot settlers of the 17th century

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