Francois Pienaar Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Jacobus Francois Pienaar

Pienaar in 2017

Birth name

Jacobus Francois Pienaar

Date of birth

2 January 1967 (age 58)

Place of birth

Vereeniging, Transvaal, South Africa

Height

1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)

Weight

108 kg (17 st 0 lb)

University

Rand Afrikaans University

Rugby union career

Senior career
Position(s)	Flanker
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1997–2000	Saracens	44	(55)
Correct as of 2007-12-26
Provincial / State sides
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1989–1996	Transvaal	100	(?)
Correct as of 2007-12-26
National team(s)
Years	Team	Apps	(Points)
1993–1996	South Africa	29	(15)
Correct as of 2007-12-26
Teams coached
Years	Team
2000–2002	Saracens

Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a famous retired South African rugby union player. He played as a flanker for the South Africa team, known as the Springboks. He played from 1993 to 1996.

Pienaar earned 29 international "caps," which means he played in 29 official matches. He was the captain in all of these games. He is most famous for leading South Africa to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After leaving the Springbok team in 1996, Pienaar continued his career with the English club Saracens.

Early Life and Education
Rugby Playing Career
Retirement and Later Life
Awards and Special Recognitions
See also

Early Life and Education

Francois Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa. He grew up in a working-class Afrikaner family and was the oldest of four brothers.

After finishing high school at Hoërskool Patriot in Witbank, he received a scholarship for his athletic skills. He went to the Rand Afrikaans University where he studied law.

Rugby Playing Career

Pienaar started his professional rugby career in 1989. He played for Transvaal Province. In 1993, he was chosen to play for the South Africa national team, the Springboks.

He became the Springbok captain right from his very first test match. He remained captain until his last game. He is known as one of the most successful South African captains ever.

In 1993, Pienaar led his Transvaal team to win several important championships. These included the Super 10, the Currie Cup, and the Lion Cup. The next year, in 1994, Transvaal won the Currie Cup again with him as captain. That same year, Rugby World magazine named him the international player of the year.

Leading the 1995 World Cup Team

Pienaar is most famous for being the captain of the first South African team to win the Rugby World Cup. Before the 1995 World Cup, many people did not expect the Springboks to win. They were ranked ninth, and the defending champions, Australia, had not lost a game in a year.

During the tournament, South Africa played very well. They beat strong teams like Australia, Romania, Canada, Western Samoa, and France.

The Springboks then faced New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. The final match was held at Ellis Park Stadium. Pienaar led his team to a close victory, winning by three points. The winning points came from a drop goal scored by Joel Stransky.

After the match, something very special happened. Nelson Mandela, who was the President of South Africa, wore a Springbok jersey with Pienaar's number on it. He presented Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup. In his speech, Pienaar said that the team had won the trophy not just for the fans in the stadium, but for all 43 million South Africans.

The story of the 1995 World Cup and Pienaar's role was made into a film called Invictus. The movie was released in December 2009. Actor Matt Damon played the role of Francois Pienaar in the film.

After the World Cup

After the World Cup, Pienaar played a key role in changing rugby. He helped make rugby a professional sport. This meant players could earn money for playing, which was a big change for the game.

In 1996, Pienaar was removed from the Springbok team after playing 29 matches. The coach at the time, Andre Markgraaff, made this decision.

Pienaar then moved to Britain. He became a player-coach for the club Saracens, which is based in Watford. Under his leadership, Saracens won the Pilkington Cup by defeating the London Wasps. They also finished second in the Zurich Premiership. In the following two seasons, Saracens finished third and fourth in the Zurich Premiership. This allowed them to play in the European Cup for two years in a row.

In 1999, Pienaar also captained the Barbarians team in a match against Leicester at Twickenham. This was his only game for the Barbarians.

Test Match History

Here is a list of Francois Pienaar's test matches for South Africa: World Cup final

No.	Opposition	Result (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Date	Venue
1.	France	20–20	Flank (c)		26 Jun 1993	Kings Park, Durban
2.	France	17–18	Flank (c)		3 Jul 1993	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
3.	Australia	19–12	Flank (c)		31 Jul 1993	Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney
4.	Australia	20–28	Flank (c)		14 Aug 1993	Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane
5.	Australia	12–19	Flank (c)	1	21 Aug 1993	Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney
6.	Argentina	29–26	Flank (c)		6 Nov 1993	Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
7.	Argentina	52–23	Flank (c)		13 Nov 1993	Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
8.	England	15–32	Flank (c)		4 Jun 1994	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
9.	England	27–9	Flank (c)		11 Jun 1994	Newlands, Cape Town
10.	New Zealand	9–13	Flank (c)		23 Jul 1994	Athletic Park, Wellington
11.	New Zealand	18–18	Flank (c)		6 Aug 1994	Eden Park, Auckland
12.	Argentina	42–22	Flank (c)		8 Oct 1994	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
13.	Argentina	46–26	Flank (c)		15 Oct 1994	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
14.	Scotland	34–10	Flank (c)		19 Nov 1994	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
15.	Wales	20–12	Flank (c)		26 Nov 1994	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
16.	Samoa	60–8	Flank (c)		13 Apr 1995	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
17.	Australia	27–18	Flank (c)		25 May 1995	Newlands, Cape Town
18.	Canada	20–0	Flank (c)		3 Jun 1995	Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth
19.	Samoa	42–14	Flank (c)		10 Jun 1995	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
20.	France	19–15	Flank (c)		17 Jun 1995	Kings Park, Durban
21.	New Zealand	15–12	Flank (c)		24 Jun 1995	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
22.	Wales	40–11	Flank (c)	1	2 Sep 1995	Ellis Park, Johannesburg
23.	Italy	40–21	Number 8 (c)	1	12 Nov 1995	Stadio Olimpico, Rome
24.	England	24–14	Number 8 (c)		18 Nov 1995	Twickenham, London
25.	Fiji	43–18	Flank (c)		2 Jul 1996	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
26.	Australia	16–21	Flank (c)		13 Jul 1996	Aussie Stadium (SFG), Sydney
27.	New Zealand	11–15	Flank (c)		20 Jul 1996	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
28.	Australia	25–19	Flank (c)		3 Aug 1996	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
29.	New Zealand	18–29	Flank (c)		10 Aug 1996	Newlands, Cape Town

Retirement and Later Life

In 2000, Francois Pienaar stopped playing rugby. He then became the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Saracens, his former club. He stepped down from this role in 2002.

In 2002, he moved back to Cape Town, South Africa. He lives there with his wife, Nerine Winter, and their two sons. Both of his sons had Nelson Mandela as their godfather.

Pienaar wrote his autobiography, a book about his own life, called Rainbow Warrior in 1999. He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire in November 2000.

Pienaar was involved in South Africa's attempt to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup in 2005, though their bid was not successful. He also worked as a rugby expert for ITV Sport. He provided commentary during the Rugby World Cups in 2007, 2011, and 2015.

Awards and Special Recognitions

Francois Pienaar has received many awards and honors for his contributions to rugby:

In 1995, he was named Rugby Personality of the Year by Britain's Rugby Union Writers' Club. He was also named Newsmaker of the Year in South Africa.
In 2004, he was voted 50th in the Top 100 Great South Africans list.
In 2005, he was welcomed into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
On 24 October 2011, he was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.

Francois Pienaar facts for kids

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