1995 Rugby World Cup

The eight quarter-finalists from the 1991 Rugby World Cup all received automatic entry, as did South Africa, as hosts. The remaining seven of the 16 positions available in the tournament were filled by regional qualifiers. The qualifying tournaments were broken up into regional associations: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Côte d'Ivoire qualified through Africa, Japan through Asia, Argentina through the Americas, Italy, Romania and Wales through Europe, Tonga through Oceania.

The 1995 tournament was the first Rugby World Cup to be hosted by just one country, and thus, all the venues are within the one country. South Africa were given the rights to host the tournament in 1993, after a meeting between the IRB and both the government led by F. W. de Klerk and the African National Congress.[1] In total, nine stadiums were used for the World Cup, most being owned by local municipalities, and the majority of the venues were upgraded prior to the tournament. Six of the nine stadiums were South African Test grounds. The four largest stadiums were used for the finals, with the final taking place at Johannesburg's Ellis Park.

There were games originally scheduled to have been played in Brakpan, Germiston, Pietermaritzburg and Witbank, but these games were reallocated to other venues. This reduced the number of venues from 14 to 9. The reasons cited for this change had to do with facilities for both the press and spectators, as well as the security. The change in the itinerary occurred in January 1994. Further changes occurred in April, so that evening games were played at stadiums with good floodlighting. It is also thought that Potchefstroom was an original venue.

Venues were paired:

• Pool 1: Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Stellenbosch
• Pool 2: Durban and East London
• Pool 3: Johannesburg and Bloemfontein
• Pool 4: Pretoria and Rustenburg

Ellis Park Stadium Loftus Versfeld Stadium Newlands Stadium Kings Park Stadium Free State Stadium Boet Erasmus Stadium Olympia Park Basil Kenyon Stadium Danie Craven Stadium Location of the 9 stadium hosting rugby matches at the 1995 World Rugby World Cup			Johannesburg	Pretoria	Cape Town
			Ellis Park	Loftus Versfeld	Newlands
			Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 50,000	Capacity: 50,000
			Durban	Bloemfontein	Port Elizabeth
			Kings Park Stadium	Free State Stadium	Boet Erasmus Stadium
			Capacity: 50,000	Capacity: 40,000	Capacity: 38,950
			Rustenburg	East London	Stellenbosch
			Olympia Park	Basil Kenyon Stadium	Danie Craven Stadium
			Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 22,000	Capacity: 16,000

The tournament was contested by 16 nations using the same format that was used in 1987 and 1991 and in total 32 matches were played. The competition began on 25 May, when the hosts South Africa defeated Australia 27–18 at Newlands in Cape Town. The tournament culminated with the final between South Africa and the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on 24 June. In total, the tournament ran for thirty days. The nations were broken up into four pools of four, with each pool consisting of two teams that were automatically qualified and two that went through the qualifying tournaments.

The final was contested by New Zealand and hosts South Africa. Both nations finished undefeated at the top of their pools. South Africa defeated Western Samoa in the quarter-finals, and then France in the semi-finals to reach the final; New Zealand defeated Scotland in the quarter-finals, and England in the semi-finals, a game in which Jonah Lomu famously scored four tries for the All Blacks. The final was played at Ellis Park in Johannesburg and refereed by Ed Morrison of England. To this point, New Zealand had led the tournament in production, outscoring their opponents 315–104, while South Africa had outscored their opponents 129–55. The tight Springbok defence would keep the high scoring All Blacks in check – particularly Jonah Lomu and Marc Ellis, who had already scored a then World Cup record seven tries each in the tournament – with neither team scoring a try in the match.

South Africa led 9–6 at half time, and New Zealand levelled the scores at 9–9 with a drop goal in the second half. Though Andrew Mehrtens almost kicked a late drop goal for the All Blacks, the score remained tied at full-time, forcing the game into extra time. Both teams scored penalty goals in the first half of extra time, but Joel Stransky then scored a drop goal to win the final for South Africa.

What happened after the match has become an iconic moment in the history of the sport. Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok rugby jersey and cap, presented the Webb Ellis Cup to South African captain François Pienaar to the delight of the capacity crowd. The moment is thought by some to be one of the most famous finals of any sport.[5]

24 June 1995

South Africa	15–12 (a.e.t.)	New Zealand
Pen: Stransky (3) Drop: Stransky (2)	Report	Pen: Mehrtens (3) Drop: Mehrtens

Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: 59,870 Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

The tournament's top point scorer was France's Thierry Lacroix, who scored 112 points. Marc Ellis and Jonah Lomu, both of New Zealand, scored the most tries, with seven each.

Top 10 point scorers

Player	Team	Position	Played	Tries	Conv­ersions	Penal­ties	Drop goals	Total points
Thierry Lacroix	France	Fly-half	6	4	7	26	0	112
Gavin Hastings	Scotland	Full-back	4	5	14	17	0	104
Andrew Mehrtens	New Zealand	First five-eighth	5	1	14	14	3	84
Rob Andrew	England	Fly-half	5	0	5	20	3	79
Joel Stransky	South Africa	Fly-half	5	1	4	13	3	61
Michael Lynagh	Australia	Fly-half	3	2	5	9	0	47
Simon Culhane	New Zealand	First five-eighth	1	1	20	0	0	45
Neil Jenkins	Wales	Fly-half	3	0	7	8	1	41
Diego Domínguez	Italy	Fly-half	3	1	5	7	1	39
Marc Ellis	New Zealand	Wing	5	7	0	0	0	35
Jonah Lomu	New Zealand	Wing	5	7	0	0	0	35

The event was broadcast in Australia by Network Ten and in the United Kingdom by ITV.

The South African Mint issued a one-ounce gold proof "Protea" coin with a total mintage of 406 pieces to commemorate the event being hosted by South Africa.

Mandela and Pienaar's involvement in the World Cup is the subject of the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, its 2009 film adaptation Invictus, and the ESPN TV documentary The 16th Man in 2010.

External video
Rugby World Cup 1995: Pool A - Australia v South Africa on YouTube

• Official Rugby World Cup Site
• 1995 Rugby World Cup at ESPN
• Full Results and Statistics at ESPN