Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release    Thursday, 11 August 2011 13:28    PDF Print Write e-mail
Win a Pienaar Jersey, Support Youth Rugby
School Age - Boys

Own a piece of rugby history while supporting youth and high school rugby in America by putting in the high bid on a South Africa jersey signed by Francois Pienaar, captain of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Champions Springboks.

Not only will the high bidder receive a very unique piece of rugby history just prior to this year's Rugby World Cup, but he or she will receive the satisfaction of knowing that every cent from this auction will go towards the US Rugby Foundation's A Ball 4 All program. The goal of the A Ball 4 All program is to provide 50,000 youth and high school players in the US with their very own rugby ball.

Francois Pienaar is one of just six men who have captained their national teams to Rugby World Cup glory. Pienaar led the Springboks to the Rugby World Cup title in 1995, the first RWC that South Africa was a participant in due to apartheid. And they did it in dramatic fashion by defeating the New Zealand All Blacks in the final in extra time.

Not only did the South African rugby community rally around the host team in that 1995 Rugby World Cup, but an entire nation got behind the Boks as South African President Nelson Mandela counted on Pienaar and the rest of the Springboks to bring a troubled nation together through rugby.

The high bidder of the Springboks jersey will also receive a Francois Pienaar autographed copy of Playing the Enemy, the book that the film Invictus was based upon. Photos of the jersey and book and more information about Francois Pienaar and the 1995 Rugby World Cup can be found on eBay, item #180708961050. The bidding will conclude at 10:00 a.m. (PDT) on Thursday, August 18, 2011.