WHEN SOUTH AFRICA beat the mighty All Blacks in the World Cup Final of 1995, Springbok captain Francois Pienaar declared that his team had a nation of 43 million people backing them.
The fervent support of a rugby newcomer drove the ‘Boks on to their maiden World Cup success and united a previously divided country behind a common goal. That man was Nelson Mandela.
Here are seven iconic pictures and one video, featuring Croke Park, that proves the influence the South African political icon had on sport:
Mandela congratulates Francois Pienaar after South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995. (INPHO/Allsport)
Having a chat with Liberia and AC Milan football legend George Weah in 1996. (INPHO/Allsport)
Mandela, then aged 75, showing off his football skills in western Transvaal while on the election trail in 1994. (David Brauchli/AP)
Michael Atherton introduces President Mandela to the England cricket team in 1996. (Rebecca Naden/PA Archive)
Here he is threatening to chin British boxer Lennox Lewis in 2001. (Nick Potts/PA Archive)
‘Madiba’ chats to another boxer, Chris Eubank, at the London launch of the Nelson Mandela Foundation in 2001. (Matthew Fearn/PA Archive)
Mandela is amused by David Beckham’s corn-row hairstyle in 2003. (Credit: PA Archive)
Last, and definitely not least, is Mandela’s amazing appearance and speech at the Special Olympics, in Ireland, in 2003. He shows up on this video after 10 minutes:
YouTube credit: thejonte1