1999: First double winner
It was a World Cup that the Springboks, despite their poor showing in the lead-up could have won, but for …..
There were five aspects that stand out – a selection controversy, a suspension and four matches.
The selection controversy was a huge. It turned the wrath of many South Africans against the coach, Nick Mallett, who subsequently admitted that he had erred. It was the dropping of Gary Teichmann, an honourable man, a trustworthy captain whose record of success in difficult times was over 72%.
Teichmann had played 42 Tests for South Africa, 39 of them in succession, 36 of them as captain all three records of a kind at the time. Then he was dropped for Bob Skinstad, who was still recovering from a knee injured in a motor accident. In the side that went to the World Cup without Teichmann there were those fiercely loyal to him, notably Henry Honiball.
The suspension came when Brendan Venter stamped on the head of Martín Panizza of Uruguay in a match that South Africa won easily. Venter was suspended for three weeks, which meant the rest of the World Cup.
The first of the four memorable matches was at Stade de France in Paris, a quarterfinal between South Africa and England. The British press said loudly that the result was a foregone conclusion. England would win with consummate ease. They did not win. The Springboks won 44-21 and the man they most had to thank was second-choice flyhalf Jannie de Beer.
South Africa scored two tries – Joost van der Westhuizen and Pieter Rossouw – to nil, but England scored 21 points with the boot. Not enough, for Jannie de Beer scored 34 points with the boot – five of them from dropped goals, a Test record. He also kicked two conversions and five penalty goals – for an individual Test record – broken by one point by Percy Montgomery in 2007 against Namibia. And a press report read: Who needs champagne when you've got De Beer?
The Paris win gave South Africa a semifinal six days later against Australia. It was not a remarkable match – no tries, all kicks but remarkable for two things.
Jannie de Beer's sixth kick meant that the match ended 18-all and for the second time at World Cups (second out of two) the Springboks went into extra time.
De Beer scored first in extra time and for the first time in the match the Springboks led 21-18 but then Matt Burke tied the scores. Then came the second remarkable happening in the match – a dropped goal, not from De Beer but from Stephen Larkham, the Wallaby flyhalf. It was a long (48 metres) kick from up against the touchline and it soared over. Drop goals had stood South Africa in good stead in two World Cup but this time they were on the receiving end. It was the first time in his life that Larkham had kicked a drop goal and in a career of 102 Tests he kicked only another one. It is one of the most famous drop goals in rugby history – second probably only to Joel Stransky's in 1995.
The second semifinal, also a Twickenham on the Sunday, was an astonishing match. Before the match I read the Sunday Times and a preview of the match. The preview was all about how great and glorious the All Blacks were. The only look-in the French got was in the last sentence of the preview. It read: "Of course the French may win, and pigs may fly."
Pigs seemed well grounded as the All Blacks took a 24-10 lead in the second half after Jonah Lomu had run over more Frenchmen for his second try. Then suddenly momentum shifted and before the All Blacks scored again the French scored 26 points and were leading 36-24, as support for them at Twickenham swelled in excitement. Christophe Dominici, Richard Dourthe and Philippe Bernat-Salles scored tries and they did so from all over the place as Flyhalf Christophe Lamaison took charge and flank Olivier Magne was everywhere. Just before the end Jeff Wilson scored New Zealand's third try.
Pigs flew and they did so with glorious style.
That set up a Final between France and Australia which the Wallabies had little trouble in winning 35-12, two tries to none at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. South Africa did have a say in the Final for the referee was André Watson who, in 2003, became the first referee to referee two finals.
South Africa had some consolation in beating New Zealand 22-18 in the third-place play-off, the match nobody wants to play. Breyton Paulse scored the only try of the match.
