Invictus

"Francois Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa into a working-class Afrikaner family, the eldest of four boys. After completing high school in Witbank, he won an athletic scholarship to the Rand Afrikaans University, where he studied law. Pienaar made the Springbok squad in 1993. He was elected Springbok captain from his very first test and remained captain until his very last; He remains one of the most successful South African captains of all time. Pienaar is most famous for captaining the first Springbok team to win the World Cup.

Prior to the World Cup in 1995, the Springboks, seeded ninth, were not expected to beat Australia, the incumbent champions. South Africa was in transition. Australia had not lost a game in the preceding 12 months.
With Nelson Mandela's high-profile support of the Springboks, Pienaar recognized that his side’s participation transcended the realm of sport. The squad included only one “colored” player, Chester Williams, nonetheless the whole of South Africa, not just the white minority viewed the Springboks as representing their new identity." (from Wikipedia)

Mat Damon will play the part of Pienaar in the inspirational Clint Eastwood film, Invictus, premiering this week. This will be a significant movie, not just from the theatrics, but from the historic significance of the event in uniting South Africa and instilling a sense of unity. Those unfamiliar with rugby may miss much of the significance of the story behind Invictus, so a short primer on rugby and its uniqueness may help. (There will be 30 minutes of rugby in the movie.)

Rugby, football, soccer, Irish football, and Australian rugby may all have common origins in the Roman Empire. Many tell the story of Rugby’s beginnings in Rugby, England when a boy picked up the ball and ran with it. Yet there is evidence of the game in the south of France and Italy before that time. As the game evolved, it did so in private schools in England and Europe. While much unknown and ignored by US sports, Rugby is as big in most of the rest of the world as football is in the US. In fact, US football evolved from Rugby when due to roughness and injuries the game was banned in eastern schools. As petitions for reinstatement went, the rules were radically changed. So, when you watch a rugby match, you might think of it as football with very different rules.

There are no downs. The play is continuous as is the clock. Only penalties, injuries and half time interrupt the play. The one referee has absolute authority. His interpretation of the rules is the law, arguments not allowed.
There are no time outs and very limited substitution. Out of bounds, called touch, results in a throw-in, called a lineout. Blocking and forward pass are not allowed; laterals become the main tactic, and kicking in a sense replaces the forward pass of football. A player can catch his own kick as can another player provided he is behind the kicker at the time of the kick. Kicking in rugby contrary to football yields an offensive advantage.

There are three classes of penalties: a minor infraction, such as a forward fumble, called a knock-on or a forward pass results in a scrum. Think of the scrum as what in US football became the line of scrimmage. The scrums are frequent and the mainstay for the referee to control of the play. The referee signals a scrum by an arm pointing down towards the non-offending side. An intermediate penalty results from procedural errors; it leads to a free kick. The referee signals the free kick from a bent arm raised and pointing likewise to the non-offending side. The free kick is often quick with just a bounce from the toe with a quick lateral pass to the side. The major penalty, usually for offsides, results in a place kick attempting a field goal or a punt. The referee signifies a major penalty with a straight raised arm pointing towards; you guessed it, the non-offending side.

Think of the ball as forming a continuously moving line of scrimmage. The side in procession of the ball must remain behind the ball. If caught off sides by the rapid movement on the field the player must not take part in the play and immediately retreat to his own side of the ball.

This brings us to the needed process of putting the ball back in play after a tackle. It looks like a “free for all,” but in reality the off sides rule prevails. The tackled player must immediately release the ball, usually in a favorable position to his own side. The defending side cannot cross the line until the ball comes out or is picked up by the attacking side and voila, the ball is back in play. There is no whistle, no huddle, and no count. The scrum half picks up the ball and quickly flips it out to another player. (Much like from the set scrum)

The last confusing bit is the advantage rule. The referee will not blow the whistle if he thinks the non-offending side has an advantage, but will allow the play to continue so long as that advantage remains. You may see the referee running like mad, trying to keep up whilst holding out his hand low and towards the side with the advantage. If the advantaged side, however, commits an error the referee will call the first infraction and reward the side with the first advantage either a kick or a scrum. If you are confused, consider the single referee’s concentration trying to remember the first infraction while running full tilt towards the second.

While these rules bear some resemblance to US football the spirit of the game and the social side does not. The rugby coach plays a passive role from the sideline, often sitting in the stands. The captain leads the team from the field. There are few set plays, rather a style of play, tactics and strategy set in advance. Each team member contributes continuously in his own way. There is no social distinction between forwards and backs. There is no gold plated quarterback. Often the forwards comprise the leadership as in the case of Pienaar. The comradery that comes with rugby goes beyond old school ties, more like an international fraternity. Rugby engenders a tradition of sportsmanship long lost on our football fields of artificial turf. The game is played with intensity, but all shake hands after a match usually clapping the loosing team off the field. Winners and losers party together long after the 80 minute closing whistle.

Evolving from private schools, Rugby tends to be an elitist sport. Rugby players are a cross section of life but tend towards the educated and community leaders. In South Africa, this elitism was much the case with an all white minority. Pienaar, an Afrikaner studied law. The world boycotted South African rugby for many years, thus accounting for the week standing of South African rugby prior to the World Cup.

To fully understand the movie Invictus, it helps to know that South Africa, New Zealand and Australia were usually the strongest contenders in the southern tier of international rugby. Played internationally these teams represented their own country in strongly nationalistic matches. Here again the ambiance, so different from our bowel games, was more like the US vs. Russia hockey matchup in the Olympics.

To get to the finals South Africa defeated Australia, Romania, Canada, W. Samoa, France and finally New Zealand, all within South Africa. To say the country, all of South Africa, black and white, worked themselves up to a fever pitch would be an understatement. South Africa’s winning out as the under dog with a black player on the team marked a return of South African rugby to past greatness. At the same time, it heralded a victory not just for the country but also for the South African’s new-found identity in a rainbow of color and unity. I only watched the match on television, but when Mandela came out on the pitch carrying the trophy wearing Pienaar’s jersey, 60,000 fans went wild. Here was the black president honoring the Afrikaner and the emergence of a new nation. A friend who was there said he had not ever seen anything like it. The 60,000 fans both black and white danced, sang and celebrated in the stadium until past midnight.