movie Invictus. Christie's final game in charge of the Springboks was a victory over England at Twickenham on a short tour in November 1995. By this time, his health had deteriorated due to leukemia, which he had been battling since 1979. Francois Pienaar, in his autobiography, recalled how Christie joined the team huddle and stood between Pienaar and James Dalton. "The usual end to such a Springboks huddle is for the players to squeeze each other and shout 'Bokke'," said Pienaar. "James and I squeezed the coach and discovered later we'd fractured two of his ribs. He never said a word." In March 1996, Christie stepped down from the Springboks due to ill health and was replaced by Andre Markgraaf. Christie coached South Africa in 14 tests between October 1994 and March 1996, winning all 14. At the time, this tied 1960s All Blacks coach Fred Allen's record for the longest Test match winning streak for a coach. This record was later broken by South Africa coach Nick Mallett. Final years After resigning as Springbok coach in March 1996, Christie's treatment went well enough that he was finally able to fulfill a longtime dream of coaching Northern Transvaal, accepting the head coaching job for the 1997 Super 12 season. However, due to ill-health, he was unable to travel with the team to Australasia early in the season, and he was hospitalised a few weeks later after his condition took a turn for the worse. It was there that Christie experienced one of the lowest moments in his career when he was fired as coach by Northerns' president Hentie Serfontein while he lay in his hospital bed. Christie described this as being fired "like a dog". By the end of 1997, his condition worsened to the point that he sought specialist treatment in the U.S. He was able to return to rugby as a technical adviser to the Falcons in early 1998, but his condition worsened once more, entering hospital for the final time on Easter Sunday of 1998. Christie died on 22 April 1998, leaving his wife Judy of 19 years, their son Clayton, and his two daughters, Catherine and Caroline, from a previous marriage. References "Rugby world mourns the great Kitch Christie". South African Press Association via Daily Dispatch (East London, South Africa), 24 April 1998. Accessed 11 March 2007. 1940 births 1998 deaths Deaths from leukemia World Rugby