Rainbow Warrior by Pienaar, Francois
Rainbow Warrior
The Definitive, First-Hand Account of World Cup Glory, Political Ostracisation, and the Unification of the Rainbow Nation
The Definitive, First-Hand Account of World Cup Glory, Political Ostracisation, and the Unification of the Rainbow Nation
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Rainbow Warrior
- Author: Francois Pienaar (with Edward Griffiths)
- Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg
- Publication Date: 1999
- ISBN-10: 186842085X
- ISBN-13: 9781868420858
- Edition Details: First South African Hardcover Edition, First Printing.
- Binding: Original publisher’s premium cloth-bound hardcover casing with crisp spine titles.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 276 pages. Interspersed with a dynamic central repository of high-gloss full-colour and black-and-white photography capturing the historic 1995 tournament and his subsequent career milestones.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Boards: The original hardcover casing is in highly secure condition, keeping flat, clean panels and sharply square corners. The cloth binding is robustly intact, showing no linear shelf-lean or structural collapse. Minimal storage contact is restricted to the extreme shelving edges.
- Interior: The internal text block is tight, crisp, and robustly bound. All 276 pages are exceptionally clean, bright, and completely intact. The leaves remain entirely free of modern user highlighting, underline annotations, library stamps, owner name inscriptions, or dealer pencil markings. A well-sheltered copy that has been maintained with care.
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The Dust Jacket: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Condition Detail: The original illustrated pictorial dust jacket is present, whole, and completely intact. Displays only minimal, microscopic signs of edge friction along the extreme jacket tips from standard handling. The jacket face panels retain their bold contrast, remaining clean, bright, and entirely free of heavy open tears or sun fading on the spine.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1999, Rainbow Warrior is universally regarded as one of the most important rugby books of the last three decades. It provides the definitive, first-hand account of the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph by the man who captained the squad: Francois Pienaar. The legendary image of Pienaar shaking hands with President Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park—both wearing the iconic number 6 jersey—remains the ultimate symbol of the re-emergence of the Rainbow Nation onto the global stage.
Writing with immense depth and candour, Pienaar charts his journey from a traditional Afrikaner heartland to becoming a global ambassador for multi-racial sport. The narrative strips away administrative spin to reveal the high-stakes politics behind the scenes. Pienaar details how he personally arranged new Adidas kit for the cash-strapped Romanian team, his subsequent role leading a player strike for professional pay, and how he was ruthlessly ostracised by the South African Rugby Board as the amateur game threatened to tear itself apart. The second half of the volume outlines his subsequent move to London-based Saracens as player-coach, engineering a fairy-tale promotion and a dramatic Tetley's Bitter Cup triumph in 1998. This premium first-edition hardcover collectible copy acts as an indispensable primary historical record capturing a national turning point.
Author Profile: Francois Pienaar
Francois Pienaar DMS is an international rugby union legend, a World Cup-winning captain, and an iconic figure in South African civic history. Renowned for his inspiring leadership, fierce loose-forward play, and tactical maturity, he led both Transvaal (the Golden Lions) and the Springboks during a golden era of transition, earning 29 international Test caps—all of them as captain. His monumental contributions to national reconciliation transcended the sports arena, earning him the prestigious Decoration for Meritorious Service.
Co-authored alongside acclaimed sports journalist Edward Griffiths, the narrative cuts through standard sporting clichés to deliver an honest, authoritative chronicle. Pienaar’s subsequent career as a high-level sports executive, television analyst, and founder of the Varsity Cup tournament ensures his reflections carry profound professional credibility and enduring historical significance.
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