With apartheid only coming to an end in the early 90s, the country wasn’t at all geared up for tourism.  Many of the hotels had car parks that large coaches couldn’t get into or turn! We felt privileged to see the now iconic image of rugby in person - Nelson Mandela in his Springbok jersey and baseball cap on the podium at Ellis Park for the Final with Francois Pienaar’s No6 on hisback.  A huge statement and a moment in political history.

A South African Airways jumbo jet flew over Ellis Park before the Final passing over twice which was thunderous in terms of noise.  Had “Good Luck Bokke” stencilled on the underside of the plane in support for the national team - a sight to behold!  The atmosphere at Ellis Park for the Final was electrifying with South Africa’s win.  South Africa had been excluded for the first two Rugby World Cups and it was clear that the win as about much more than the sport.

Our groups stayed at Sun City in readiness for the Final at Ellis Park. Tribes of African dancers and singers met our groups in many of the hotels at check in which was a lovely touch and appreciated by our clients. Tour Managers dressed in cream safari outfits - very fetching! Most of the coach drivers spoke no English and didn’t know the way to Johannesburg, let alone Ellis Park.  Tour Managers directed from the front seat but ended up taking some interesting detours en route. One group navigated Hillbrow, a notoriously dangerous residential suburb, but everyone made it for kick off!

One memory that stands out was watching the powerhouse that was Jonah Lomu charging down the wing.  Top try scorer of the tournament with 7 tries.

Away from the rugby, we got to experience all that South Africa has to offer. Some groups stayed at Wilderness, a seaside town on the Garden Route and went on a safari -  must do!
Many of our groups went on the Trans Karoo, a South African express passenger train between Johannesburg and Cape Town. The funniest moment on this tour had to be a hold-up, staged with a bunch of cowboys involving Gareth Chilcott...say no more!  

The semi-final France v England in Sydney with England’s win 7-24 was a great match and the supporters were on a high going into the Final. Our 3,000 clients certainly made the Thunder Down Under, which was emblazoned across tour shirts far and wide!

Our overriding memory of this RWC is obviously England’s win in Sydney - who can forget it?  Jonny Wilkinson’s drop-goal in extra time to win 20-17...Ian Robertson’s memorable commentary...The atmosphere in the stadium was unbelievable and the partying continued long into the night - there were lots of sore heads on the flights home but it was more than worth it!