In order to get to, what was for me at least, the greatest highlight as a rugby fan, you first need to get back to the low-light.
The undoubted low-light for me was the entire Springbok tour to New Zealand in 1981, culminating in the Auckland flour bomb test. Even though I was only a wee 6-year-old lad back then, I definately understood all about the great Springbok-All Black rivalry already. And I also recognised that the Kiwi`s were as passionate, if not more so, about their rugby as us Saffas.
So to see the way that a passionate rugby-mad country like New Zealand was divided over the Bok tour, was definately extremely painful for me as an individual. But it also caused me to start thinking about the reasons for the protests, and I must admit, I was ashamed of being a South African at that stage.
So imagine my delight when it all came full circle, against the traditional rivals, the old enemies, at Ellis Park on a glorious, sunny June afternoon in 1995.
About the RWC final of 1995 there have been volumes written already. I`m not going to dwell on that. But to see the great man himself, Nelson Mandela, the legendary Madiba, all dressed up in Francois Pienaar`s Bok no.6 jersey, presenting the trophy, Pienaar`s "we had 43 million South Africans supporting us" victory speech, well I must admit that I had tears in my eyes. I`ve never felt more proud of being a South African, and never more proud of the Boks, my beloved Boks, finally representing a united SA.
The tremendous strides made in healing the wounds of the past on that glorious day had much more to do with the birth of the new South Africa than 1 million words spoken by any politician before, or since.