1995 Rugby World Cup, providing 13 members to the squad. The Springboks In 1994, Luyt was appointed president of the South African Rugby Football Union. The Springboks' coaching position became vacant in mid-1994, after Ian McIntosh was sacked following a series defeat to the All Blacks in New Zealand. Luyt was convinced that Christie was the man to take over following his success at Transvaal, and in October 1994, Christie accepted the offer to take over from McIntosh. Christie took over at a pivotal time, with the run-up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted by South Africa, and the first major competition for the Springboks after their return from international exile with the end of apartheid. Christie had just nine months to transform the team into World Cup contenders. He began his international coaching career with back-to-back victories at home against in October 1994, followed by a successful tour to Europe in November 1994, when the team beat and . After a comfortable victory in a World Cup warm-up game against Samoa in April 1995, the World Cup campaign got off to a flying start, with the team defeating defending champions and pre-tournament favourites in the opening match at Newlands in Cape Town. Victory in this game seemed crucial, with Christie referring to it as allowing the team to take the "high road in the competition, avoiding teams such as England and New Zealand until the final. They went on to win their remaining pool matches, but not without a brutal game against in the final pool match. They then defeated Manu Samoa in the quarterfinals, and eked out a dramatic semifinal win over . South Africa's reward for defeating France was a final against New Zealand, and their sensational wing Jonah Lomu, who had set the tournament alight with his tries, including four in their semi-final against England. The team's defence stood up to the challenge, keeping Lomu off the scoreboard (in fact, he never scored a try against South Africa in his career). The match ended in a 9–9 draw after 80 minutes, sending the teams to extra time, after which South Africa won 15–12. The victory on home soil in 1995 touched people far beyond rugby's normal constituency, and will be best remembered for Nelson Mandela, wearing the captain's number 6 shirt, embracing the captain Francois Pienaar after South Africa's victory, a scene recreated in the