‘You've won nothing': How World Cup-winning Wallabies silenced South Africa in 1992

Sydney Morning Herald

11 hours ago

The last time the Wallabies won at Cape Town, in 1992, captain Nick Farr-Jones and his World Cup-winning squad played in a country filled with tension.
The Springboks had been officially isolated from Test rugby for eight years due to the nation's apartheid regime, and the arrival of teams from New Zealand and Australia for two Tests was a tentative gesture of support for a country grappling with the transition to democracy. One year before Farr-Jones had lifted the World Cup in front of Queen Elizabeth, but according to many Afrikaners, it was a phoney prize.
'We went up to Pretoria [for a tour match],' Farr-Jones said. 'You've got a lot of Afrikaners up there and, of course, they [South Africa] weren't part of the 1991 World Cup, and my long-lasting memory is the Afrikaners coming up to me, recognising me, knowing who I was and basically to summarise, they would say, 'Congratulations on winning what you perceive to be the World Cup, and until you've beaten us, you've won nothing'.'
In 1992, South Africa was stumbling on its first tentative steps to democracy as it attempted to transition from the institutionalised racial segregation of apartheid. Nelson Mandela had been released from prison two years earlier after 27 years behind bars, and talks between his party, the African National Congress, and the government were difficult. The invitation to New Zealand and Australia to play the Springboks in South Africa only came with the express blessing of the ANC.
'When I was a young fella, in the mid-80s, I always thought that sport and politics shouldn't cross over,' Farr-Jones said. 'But when I saw the pressure that isolation [in sport] brought on South Africa to change, I turned 180 degrees.
'I believe that that isolation was very important in getting rid of apartheid, that abhorrent culture, and so I went from someone who [believed] sport and politics shouldn't interfere, to someone that felt this was the right thing to do in isolating South Africa, economically and sport.'
In the lead up to the game, Farr-Jones had the opportunity to spent time with Mandela, a man who he bonded with as a fellow lawyer and admired greatly for his courageous stance against apartheid.
The Wallabies almost did not take to the field in Newlands, as the ANC and its supporters were unhappy after their requests for the apartheid-era national anthem and flag not to be used before the game against New Zealand were ignored.