Swart recalls the semi-final defeat of France

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

- MIKE GREENAWAY

One of the heroes of the day was Balie Swart, who anchored the scrum despite having sustained damaged ribs. Independent Media asked Swart for his recollections of the epic 1995 win, in his words.

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

“When we got to the stadium, usually you walk out onto the pitch to get a feel of the ground, but we couldn’t go past the end of the tunnel — the field was a lake...

“This was the game where Andre Joubert had that special rubber glove over the hand he had broken against Samoa in the quarter-final. In the change room, I was sitting opposite him. The glove had a fin running along it and it looked just like a fish. I said to my mate Kobus (Wiese): ‘He will be all right out there with his fin.’

“Halfway through the warm-up, Morne (du Plessis, the manager) said the kick-off was delayed. So there we were, lying in the change room, wondering if our World Cup was over. The tension was almost intolerable.