LONDON // The former South Africa rugby captain Francois Pienaar is surprised that his country's 1995 World Cup win is still being recalled so clearly. The victory marked his country drawing a line under the dark days of apartheid, with the iconic president Nelson Mandela present at Ellis Park in Johannesburg as the Springboks defeated the might of New Zealand 15-12 after extra-time. "We were not initially aware of how important the tournament was politically," he said. "The World cup was very important for us to participate in, and we had a very good team so we thought we had an opportunity to win it." The win has now been turned into a Hollywood film, titled Invictus, with the actor Matt Damon playing Pienaar. Speaking at the British premiere, he admitted it was weird to watch himself being portrayed on a cinema screen. "I always knew it was a special story and it was a story that needed to be told," he said. "I never thought it would be told on such a big scale. I wouldn't rate Damon that high in rugby skills but as a bloke he gets full marks. "He's just a normal bloke. What was very important for him was the accent, I've got a devilishly difficulty accent being an Afrikaans speaking guy."
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