Philippe Saint-Andre's doubts about the 1995 Springboks-All Blacks final

Philippe Saint-Andre has become emotional as he recounts the painful memory of the 1995 semi-final between France and South Africa, revealing revelations about the Boks' final win over New Zealand in the same edition. The former player and then coach of the French XV claims the All Blacks were poisoned the day before the final.

The poster for the Rugby World Cup quarter-final between France and South Africa, on Sunday at the Stade de France, evokes the memory of the shock: that game that became legendary between the Blues and the Boks, in 1995. Twenty-eight years later, the Blues' captain at the time, Philippe Saint-André, spoke with emotion at the Grandes Gueules du Sport on RMC. But he also revealed other things about the competition.

If South Africa’s (first) home triumph was history-making, with those images of President Nelson Mandela presenting the trophy to a country still traumatised by apartheid, behind the scenes it wasn’t all glory. That included the build-up to the final against New Zealand, which the Springboks won 15-12 after extra time.

“80% of their men are sick”

“The day before the final (which the Boks won), the New Zealanders were poisoned,” the PSA on RMC says. “80% of their men got sick. At the reception, the South African FA president gives the referee a special prize, a watch worth €30,000. And with that fact, the All Blacks leave the end-of-competition reception. Back then, rugby wasn’t as media-focused as it is now. When you see what happened, you can still ask yourself questions.

In 2016, in interview On South African television, Rory Stein, Nelson Mandela's bodyguard at the time, spoke of these doubts: “Two days before the final, the New Zealanders were horribly ill. It was two-thirds of the team, not Jonah Lomu. Some of the South African players on the New Zealand team were even vomiting out of car windows, there were men lying on the floor in front of the doctor's office and in the corridor and both the doctor and the physiotherapist had to administer electrolytes and injections.”