Miracle Men: How Rassie’s Springboks Won the World Cup - Softcover

Burnard, Lloyd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1776190424 ISBN 13: 9781776190423

Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers SA, 2020

Synopsis

The story of the Springboks 2019 Rugby World Cup victory is one of the most inspiring in South African sporting history. It is about how two men – coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Siya Kolisi – led a team of warriors into battle and conquered the world when inequality and division are still undeniable realities in South African society. When the Boks won the 2007 World Cup final, they did so with 20 white players in their match-day squad of 22. In 2019, there were five black Africans in their starting line-up for the Yokohama final and the images of Kolisi lifting the Webb Ellis Cup will be replayed forever. None of this seemed possible just two years ago when the Boks had reached an all-time low. They had slipped to No 7 in the world and had lost the faith of the rugby-loving public. Erasmus came in with just 18 months to prepare for the competition. Sports writer Lloyd Burnard takes the reader on a thrilling journey from the time when no-one gave the Boks a chance of winning, to the delirious victory tour. He covers the key roles played by Erasmus and Kolisi, and their special relationship. There are ups and downs en route to victory: the first signs of self-belief when they beat the All Blacks in Wellington, Kolisi’s injury, the fall of Aphiwe Dyantyi when he was caught with banned substances in his system, and the Langebaan incident involving Eben Etzebeth that threatened to derail the team.

About this title

About the Author

Lloyd Burnard has worked as a journalist for more than a decade. He is a former sports editor of The Witness newspaper in KwaZulu-Natal and currently an award-winning senior journalist at Sport24. He has been covering the Springboks extensively since 2015, culminating in their 2019 Rugby World Cup triumph, and has reported on numerous other major sporting events including the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England. This is his first book.

Edition details

• Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1776190424
• ISBN 13: 9781776190423
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256