Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. A fly-half, he is known for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.

Early life

Stransky was born in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

, South Africa, to a family from England and Czechia. He was raised in

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. He was educated at Maritzburg College where he was coached by Skonk Nicholson, a well-known figure in schoolboy rugby. After his military conscription in Pretoria, he returned to Natal to study at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

Playing career

In 1990 he was part of the team that beat

Northern Transvaal Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

to win the Currie Cup for the first time. He then moved to Italy where he played for L'Aquila during the 1991–1992 season, and for San Donà in 1992–93. Between 1993 and 1996, he won 22 caps for his South Africa. In 1995 he was part of the first South Africa team to play in a Rugby World Cup - the country had been banned from the previous World Cups because of the Apartheid regime. He played an integral part in the tournament and scored all the points for his team in the final against New Zealand, including a winning drop goal in the second period of extra time. This was the first Rugby World Cup final that went into extra time. In 1997, he moved to Leicester Tigers, where he played for two seasons, winning the 1996–97 Pilkington Cup and the 1998–99 Allied Dunbar Premiership, and then became backs coach. In the buildup to the 1999 Rugby World Cup, it was suggested that Stransky could play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, but he discovered that he was not qualified to do so. In 2002, he was engaged by Bristol Rugby as a coach, but the offer was subsequently withdrawn. Stransky took legal action and was compensated. BBC Report on court case

Test history

World Cup Final

Later career

He later returned to South Africa, and is a part-time rugby union television commentator. In January 2007, Stransky joined Altech Netstar (Pty) Ltd. as Sales & Marketing director. In January 2008, he was appointed managing director, but subsequently resigned. He was then employed by the Steinhoff Group in a marketing and promotional capacity. He founded Pivotal Capital in 2012.

In film

In the 2009 movie '' Invictus,'' he is portrayed by Scott Eastwood.

References

External links

*
Sporting heroes

Altech Netstar homepage

Joel Stransky bio
at Jewsinsports.com
Book review: The Glory of the Game
about the Ten Jewish Springboks. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stransky, Joel 1967 births Living people Alumni of Maritzburg College Alumni of Rondebosch Boys' High School Jewish rugby union players Jewish South African sportspeople Leicester Tigers coaches Leicester Tigers players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Pietermaritzburg Sharks (Currie Cup) players South Africa international rugby union players South African people of Czech descent South African people of English descent South African people of Jewish descent South African rugby union players Villager FC players Western Province (rugby union) players White South African people