This weekend marks the start of the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan and Saturday is also the International Day for Peace. So what better way to honour those magnificent occasions than with a rundown of some of the best acts of sportsmanship ever seen on a rugby field. This great game of ours requires the individual to put the team first, but it is not often that such selfless acts transcend the sport and serve as examples for life in general. So without further ado, here are just some of the many examples when rugby showed its best face to the world. NELSON MANDELA IN 1995 For many the Springbok jersey was a symbol of apartheid and the terrible split within the Rainbow Nation that had yet to heal. So when in 1995, President Nelson Mandela – who until only five years earlier had been held in prison – walked out onto the pitch wearing Francois Pienaar’s No.6 jersey it united a nation. The South African skipper, a blonde Afrikaner, shaking hands with the black president and former freedom fighter. It was an iconic moment in an historic victory for the Springboks over the All Blacks that will live on forever in the minds of all who saw it.
