Balie Swart recalls Kobus Wiese’s words of motivation ahead of France semi-final

THIRTY years ago this week, the Springboks beat France in a World Cup semi-final amid unbearable tension.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

One of the heroes of the day was Balie Swart, who anchored the scrum despite having sustained damaged ribs.

Swart recalls the drama in drenched Durban. This is some of the tighthead prop’s story of that epic 1995 win, in his words.

“On the morning of the game, we looked out of the window of our beachfront hotel, and there was this huge barrier of dark clouds over the Indian Ocean. We looked at each other with big eyes, and I said: ‘What the hell is going on here? That is not normal rain out there.’

“When we got to the stadium ... the field was a lake and none of us wanted to get our shoes and pants wet!

“At last, we splashed out onto the field, and immediately we were boosted by the sea of colour in the stands.