Quick Facts
In full:
Jacobus François Pienaar
Born:
January 2, 1967, Vereeniging, South Africa (age 58)
Awards And Honors:
Rugby Union World Cup

François Pienaar (born January 2, 1967, Vereeniging, South Africa) is a South African rugby union football player who led the South African national team, the Springboks, to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the first major tournament held in postapartheid South Africa. Pienaar was praised by Pres. Nelson Mandela for his leadership of the team and his attempts to reach out to all sectors of South African society.

Pienaar debuted as captain in 1993 and held the position for all of his 29 Test (international) matches, a South African record. He was named International Player of the Year in 1994 by Rugby World magazine and Rugby Personality of the Year by Britain’s Union Writers’ Club. Also a lawyer, Pienaar in 1995 led the Transvaal provincial players in a strike, which helped transform rugby from an ostensibly amateur to a fully professional sport. He then became embroiled in the World Rugby Corporation controversy whereby leading international players were enticed to sign with a professional rugby union organization that would rival national rugby organizations. Pienaar was dropped as captain after a run of losses against New Zealand in 1996 and perhaps for his role in taking on the rugby establishment.

Later that year he signed with Saracens, a club based in Watford, England, where he became captain in 1999 and then coach and chief executive in 2000. He left Saracens after 2002 and returned to South Africa. He was a regular rugby commentator for the British network ITV.

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Also called:
Rugby World Cup
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Rugby Union World Cup, quadrennial union-rules rugby competition that is the sport’s premier international contest.

The first Rugby World Cup competition organized by the International Rugby Board (IRB) was held in 1987 in New Zealand and Australia and was a popular and financial success. It was staged four years after a failed attempt to launch a global “rebel” (that is, outside the control of the IRB) professional championship. The 1991 World Cup, held in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France and won by Australia, had confirmed its place as a major international sporting festival. By the early 21st century, the Rugby World Cup could claim to be the third largest international televised sporting event as the tournament reached over 200 countries and some 4 billion viewers.

Results of the Rugby Union World Cup are provided in the table.

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Rugby Union World Cup
yearresult
1987 New Zealand 29 France 9
1991 Australia 12 England 6
1995 South Africa 15 New Zealand 12
1999 Australia 35 France 12
2003 England 20 Australia 17
2007 South Africa 15 England 6
2011 New Zealand 8 France 7
2015 New Zealand 34 Australia 17
2019 South Africa 32 England 12
This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.