A year out from the '95 Rugby world cup, Du Randt was 21

A YEAR out from the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Os du Randt was a 21-year-old diesel mechanic.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

He did not have the faintest clue that months later he would be wearing a World Cup-winners medal.

How did he go from rugby unknown to anchor of the Springboks’ World Cup-winning scrum? Let’s look at the making of a Bok legend.

Pieter du Randt was a farm boy from remote Elliot in the Eastern Cape, the same rural town that produced Mark Andrews, Du Randt’s tight-five teammate in the '95 team.

Natural strength ran in the Du Randt family. It was developed by tough, physical labour on the land the family has farmed for generations. Handling livestock and hauling bags of mealies around was part of a day’s work. That was the young Os’ “gym” workout. He has said that his family didn’t have a television until he was 13 and PlayStation-type games were banned by parents who preferred a more old-fashioned way of life. Instead, Os amused himself outdoors with his brothers— fishing, hunting, and climbing trees was their life.