Hollywood Bok-buster as a country unites
Friday 11 September 2015 14:50, UK
Arguably the most memorable World Cup for the neutral - the 1995 edition was packed full of action, heroes, drama and controversy, in fact the sort of things that would make it ideal for a Hollywood blockbuster.
Following the end of apartheid, South Africa were welcomed back into the international fold three years previously - with the Springboks invited to host the tournament.
South Africa were granted automatic entry as hosts, with the 1991 quarter-finalists England, Australia, Scotland, France, Canada, Western Samoa, New Zealand and Ireland also avoiding the qualification process.
Joining them were the Ivory Coast, Argentina, Japan, Wales, Italy, Romania and Tonga.
The Boks got their challenge off to a perfect start as they upset defending champions Australia in a thrilling opener - setting the tone for a wonderful tournament for unifying the country.
Western Samoa proved they were worthy of their automatic place by coming through the pool stages, finishing as runners-up to England.
Thumped
Unfortunately, the rest of the emerging nations failed to offer much competition in the pool stages - and there was a devastating moment in the Ivory Coast's defeat to Tonga as Max Brito was left paralysed after he was crushed beneath a pile of bodies.
The African minnows also suffered heavy defeats to Scotland and France - although they fared slightly better than Japan, who were thumped by a then record 145-17 by New Zealand, with Marc Ellis scoring six of the 21 tries and Simon Culhane scoring 45 points on his debut.
The All Blacks didn't even need to unleash the monster that is Jonah Lomu in that match, with the powerhouse winger instead saved for terrorising the Home Unions.
Ireland and Wales, who once again failed to make it to the knockout stages, both came up against Lomu, while Scotland found him too much to handle during a thrilling quarter-final.
Lomu scored once in the 48-30 victory, while hosts South Africa, who were involved in a brutal pool game against Canada that saw three players sent off, overcame Western Samoa and France were too strong for Ireland.
England went some way to avenging their final agony at Twickenham as they edged out Australia 25-22 in Cape Town.
Swatted
A see-saw encounter matched the power of the England pack against the class of the Wallabies backs - with the scores level at 22-22 going into injury time.
However a textbook catch and drive from a lineout provided Rob Andrew with the platform to slot over the winning drop goal.
England's hopes of going all the way were dashed after about 20 minutes of their semi-final with the All Blacks, though. The first of four Lomu tries came after just 70 seconds - with him swatting aside two would-be tacklers before running over Mike Catt. New Zealand never looked back as Josh Kronfeld and Graeme Bachop also scored, while Zinzan Brooke rubbed salt into the wounds with an audacious 45m drop goal during the 45-29 rout.
Awaiting them in the final were the Boks, who were being carried along on a wave of public support, with Francois Pienaar's side having edged out France 19-15 at a waterlogged Kings Park.
The final, though, was as damp a squib as the Durban pitch in the semi-finals - with New Zealand, who had been expected to blow away South Africa, failing to get out of first gear.
It was Joel Stransky's extra-time drop goal that eventually separated the two sides, with the highlight of the 15-12 victory coming in the presentation ceremony, as South Africa president Nelson Mandela awarded the Webb Ellis trophy while wearing a Springbok jersey bearing Pienaar's No.7.
Unfortunately, whereas the Hollywood movie credits start rolling there, unfortunately there was more drama to come - with the All Blacks claiming they had been deliberately poisoned by a waitress called "Suzie" in the build-up to the final, after a number of players fell ill.
