How it unfolded
Just before kickoff, a South African Airways Boeing 747 emblazoned with 'Good Luck Bokke' flew low over Ellis Park. Then President Nelson Mandela walked onto the field wearing a Springbok jersey with captain François Pienaar's own number 6 on the back, and a crowd of roughly 60,000, mostly white, began chanting 'Nelson, Nelson.' The match itself was a tryless grind. Jonah Lomu, who had scored four tries against England in the semifinal, was smothered by a coordinated South African defense built around Japie Mulder. All 15 of South Africa's points came from fly-half Joel Stransky alone — three penalties and two drop goals. New Zealand's 12 came entirely from Andrew Mehrtens' boot. Regulation time ended 9-9. In the first period of extra time, a Mehrtens penalty put New Zealand ahead before Stransky leveled it immediately with a penalty of his own, and in the second period, Stransky took the ball from a scrum and slotted a drop goal to make it 15-12. Mandela handed Pienaar the trophy at the presentation and thanked him on behalf of the whole nation.
Why it still matters
One of the 20th century's defining examples of sport used as a symbol of national reconciliation, and the commercial case that led the International Rugby Football Board to declare the game open, formally sanctioning professionalism, just two months later on August 26. The star power Jonah Lomu generated at this tournament was the first proof that rugby could be sold as a global commercial product.