Playing The Enemy

Author:

By John Carlin

Awards:

William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Award Short Listed 2008

Format:

Hardback

Availability:

In print, usually dispatched within 3-4 days.

Price:

£18.99 £17.09 (Save 10%)

Tagged with:

Rugby Union, Apartheid, Nelson Mandela, Rugby World Cup, South Africa, Springboks

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Further Details

• Published: 1st Sep 2008
• ISBN: 1843548593
• Pages: 320
• Size: 234mm x 156mm

From Word of Sport:

This isn't simply a sports book, as the author's explanations of the differences between forwards and backs and the mechanics of a scrum, demonstrate. Rather it uses a sporting event, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, as a backdrop to explore the changes in South Africa's society from Mandela's release through to his inauguration as President.

Carlin writes with the authority and detail you would expect of a former South Africa correspondent and this is an insightful, stirring work.

His chapter on how an Afrikaner dominated squad dedicated themselves to learning Nkosi Sikelele, the "black anthem", in its original Xhosa is genuinely moving as is his account of how and why Mandela took the decision to wear the Springbok jersey, one of the most reviled symbols of white rule.

From the Publisher:

24 June 1995. Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks versus The All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final.

Nelson Mandela steps onto the pitch wearing a Springboks shirt and, before a global audience of millions, a new country is born. This fascinating book tells the incredible story of the journey to that moment.As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced New Zealand's all-conquering All Blacks, more was at stake than a sporting trophy. When Nelson Mandela appeared wearing a Springboks jersey and led the all-white Afrikaner-dominated team in singing South Africa's new national anthem, he conquered white South Africa."Playing the Enemy" tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible.

It shows how a sport, once the preserve of South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking minority, came to unify the new rainbow nation, and tells of how - just occasionally - something as simple as a game really can help people to rise above themselves and see beyond their differences. It is a story with the power to make grown men cry.