Francois Pienaar stood beside Nelson Mandela when Mandela presented him the Webb Ellis Cup after the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.
Pienaar captained the South African national rugby team, known as the Springboks, during the tournament hosted in South Africa. The Springboks defeated New Zealand 15–12 in the final at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park on 24 June 1995. Mandela, wearing a Springboks jersey with Pienaar’s number 6, presented the trophy to the captain.
The image became one of the defining public moments of Mandela’s presidency. Rugby had traditionally been associated with white South Africans, while many Black South Africans had viewed the Springboks as a symbol of apartheid-era authority. Mandela’s support for the team helped present sport as a possible instrument of reconciliation.
The event later inspired the 2009 film Invictus, in which Morgan Freeman played Mandela and Matt Damon played Pienaar. The film dramatized the episode, but the trophy presentation and final score are historical facts.