Other memories from that day: Squashed next to me in the aisle was a young African ice cream vendor of about 16 years-old (middle of winter I know but this is South Africa, we’re very hospitable people and will give you ice in winter)! She obviously had the hots for James Small and went ballistic every time he got near the action, but when Joel Stransky put over THAT drop, she hugged me like I thought my ribs were going to crack. (I’ve covered in goosebumps as I type this!)

Such good memories and I still wonder to this day how that Jhb traffic cop celebrated that night!!!

Are you blaming New Zealand for Apartheid?

It all started a month earlier with the “surprise” 27-19 win over Australia at Newlands, and of course the presence and proud support shown by the Great Man there & at the final still sends shivers down my back.

My two best rugby memories stem from that day. Arrived at the stadium around 07:30 in the morning and went into the stands to get a “feel” for the great event which was coming. I kid you not when I say that I was literally the only person in the stadium at that point and this overwhelming feeling of something-special’s-going-to-happen-today” came over me.

I watched as police snipers/marksmen arrived & took up their positions high in the roofs of the east & west stands (and probably elsewhere too). After about an hour I returned to the Media Centre to start my day’s work.

The rest of the morning is rather blurry right now but once the game had started there was no ways I was going to watch it on the Media Centre’s TVs and went and found a place squashed in the aisles between the seats underneath the famous Touchdown Restaurant. Look closely at any pictures of that game and you will not see many, if any, empty aisles in that stadium…where those extra thousands of people came from and how they got into the stadium is still beyond me.

At halftime the tension became too much & I went to stretch my legs behind the stands. Apart from a young, very drunk dinosaur wrapped in an old South African flag and muttering incoherently to himself, I came across one of the good old Jhb traffic cops. I said to him: “Excuse me, but if we happen to win today, would it be alright if I drove home with my hazards on & hooting all the way?” His reply to me was: “Meneer (Mr) if we win today you can drive home kaalgat (bare-bum) for all I care”!

The rest is history but my second greatest rugby memory is the celebrations in the MC once the formality press conference etc had been completed. MC staff were rewarded as follows: “Bill” had now become “Boet” and what I’ll never forget is drinking official sponsors Heineken’s product out of him and still treasure the photos from that night!!

Ah, memories…

The only reason NZ is stronger than SA since readmission is because of your political hypocrisy. You cost us a generation of players and subsequently the loss of 20% of our rugby player population. If not for that the ABs would still be trailing 55-45%.

But you must admit that was a really special day (for obvious reasons) and I’ve got a few thoughts I’d like to share about 24 June 1995; unfortunately time prohibits that right now but I will post again within the next four hours.

Cheers for now.

I expect you imagine a lot of things Poep.

I imagine youd be the gutless type just like greyling too huh?

“trying to get to this feet”

that would be a first.

why was he still trying to play the ball though?

I would quit whilst I was behind if I were you and stop trying to lecture other people on the laws you think you know.

You aren’t looking too bright buddy.

The percentage of people who get sick when travelling is very high. Food poisoning the most common. The ones to blame would be team management for not being stricter. The story goes that about half the team went to town and skipped dinner. Probably bought things from the street. That is stupid. That is why you won’t ever hear their version of the story… embarrassment!

But the other posters has a point. You’re the one who started the ‘Give me proof.’