Former South Africa rugby captain Francois Pienaar says Nelson Mandela was the “most extraordinary” human being.
The sportsman who perhaps knew Mandela best, and who shared the podium with the South African president after winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, says Mandela was “my president and my example.”
Mandela died Thursday at 95, sending South Africa and millions around the world into mourning.
Pienaar says that receiving the golden trophy from Mandela nearly two decades ago was “an iconic image of national success, unity and reconciliation that resonates with all South Africans.”
Pienaar says Mandela “united his country when such a task seemed impossible.”
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