RWC #45: South Africa and Canada’s Battle of Boet Erasmus

Hosts South Africa were at the heart of most of the 1995 World Cup’s greatest moments, as they rose to the top of the world and united a nation.

But while the tournament will forever be remembered for Mandela, Pienaar and co, the Springboks were also involved to one of the World Cup’s more shameful moments.

The Boks were playing Canada in the final Pool A fixture of the tournament in Port Elizabeth and both sides decided to evoke the spirit of the 1974 Lions Tour and recreate the Battle of Boet Erasmus.

Tensions were high before the game with Canada determined not to be bullied by superior opposition.

A powercut which delayed kick off merely stoked the fires before an incredibly physical encounter.

First, it spilled over as South Africa's Pieter Hendriks and Winston Stanley came to blows on the far touchline. Things seemed to have calmed down until Canadian fullback Scott Stewart came steaming in and shunted Hendriks in the back, before Hendrik's team mate James Dalton then followed suit.

Cue bedlam.

After the mass brawl had come to an end Irish referee Dave McHugh showed red cards to Dalton and Canadian duo Rod Snow and Gareth Rees, while Stewart, the man who poured petrol on the flames, escaped any punishment.

South Africa won the game by 20 points, moving into the quarter-finals and towards a date with destiny, while Canada’s World Cup was over.

While the brawl was obviously unsavoury it turned out to be not all bad. Hendrik's subsequent citing and 60-game ban cleared the way for Chester Williams to return to the Springboks' squad.