Jacobus Francois Pienaar was born on 2 January 1967 and is a retired South African rugby union player.
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17 Facts About Francois Pienaar
2.
Francois Pienaar played flanker for South Africa from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain.
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3.
Francois Pienaar is best known for leading South Africa to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
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4.
Francois Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa, into a working class Afrikaner family, and is the eldest of four boys.
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5.
Francois Pienaar made his provincial debut for Transvaal Province in 1989 before being selected for the South Africa squad in 1993.
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6.
Francois Pienaar was appointed Springbok captain from his first test and remained captain until his last, and remains one of the most successful South African captains of all time.
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7.
Francois Pienaar is most famous for being captain of the first South Africa team to win the World Cup.
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8.
Francois Pienaar led the Springboks to a three-point victory with a drop goal from Joel Stransky.
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9.
Francois Pienaar is portrayed by Matt Damon in the film Invictus, released in December 2009, which focuses on the story of the 1995 World Cup.
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10.
Francois Pienaar had convinced numerous Springbok players to sign with the WRC, but Louis Luyt eventually dissuaded them from breaking with the SARFU.
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11.
Francois Pienaar was instrumental in negotiating the deal between SANZAR and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation that turned rugby into a fully-fledged professional game.
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12.
In 1996, Francois Pienaar was controversially dropped from the Springbok side, after 29 caps, by coach Andre Markgraaff, who accused him of feigning an injury during a match.
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13.
Francois Pienaar subsequently left for Britain, where he became player-coach for Watford-based club Saracens.
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14.
Francois Pienaar captained the Barbarians in his only appearance for the club against Leicester at Twickenham in 1999.
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15.
Francois Pienaar wrote his autobiography Rainbow Warrior with Edward Griffiths in 1999.
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16.
Francois Pienaar was involved in South Africa's failed bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup in 2005.
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17.
Francois Pienaar was a pundit for ITV Sport during the Rugby World Cups of 2007,2011 and 2015.
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