Commemorating The Springbok Class Of 1995 With Andre Joubert
Former Springboks fullback, André Joubert joins Darren, Keri and Sky as he relives the heroic victory of the Springboks in 1995.
The year 1995 will go down as one of the most historic years in South African sport, as this is the year that the Springboks won their very first Webb Ellis Rugby World Cup. The heroic class of 1995 left it all at the Ellis Park stadium when they beat New Zealand 15 -12 on 24 June.
This victory, in the presence of South Africa's first democratically elected president, the late Nelson Mandela, will always be etched on our hearts and to commemorate it, Sky Tshabalala interviewed one of the players of the class of 1995, former Springbok fullback André Joubert, who took us down memory lane - sharing the excitement of that iconic day.
"Everything comes at the right place, at the right time. I was just blessed to be the person to bring it home for South Africa. I couldn't wish for a better moment than what happened that day," said André Joubert.
Read more: Andre Joubert Official 1994 World Cup Jacket for Toy Story
As we hit the 25th-anniversary mark since that victory, the Springboks Class of 1995 along with Pick 'n Pay have collaborated to give rugby fanatics 140 000 limited edition face masks. This commemorative campaign invites supporters to buy a face mask for under R50 and all proceeds will be donated to the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund – the official charity of the Springbok which supports rugby players in SA whose lives were changed through serious injury on the field.
Over two decades later, and having witnessed the evolution of the beautiful game, André Joubert candidly gave us his pet peeve, where modern-day rugby rules are concerned.
"I think a rule I'd like to change is the tackling rule at the moment because as soon as you go above the shoulder, then it can be a high tackle. But now you get shorter players when they duck, and you as a normal player coming for a tackle it can be deemed as a high tackle - then it can become either a penalty or even maybe a send-off if it's too high it can turn into a red card," he said.
Of course, the Class of 1995 went on to inspire the class of 2007 and most recently, 2019 who have respectively lifted the Webb Ellis Cup. André Joubert revealed to Sky Tshabalala, the item he would like to be seen sporting from the most recent world rugby champions.
For more, listen to the podcast below: