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

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

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, 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 religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

and had a ''

bar mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

'' 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 to win the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

for the first time. He then moved to Italy where he played for

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

during the 1991–92 season, and for San Donà in 1992–93. Between 1993 and 1996, he won 22 caps for South Africa. In 1995 he was part of the first South Africa team to play in a

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

– 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 15 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 The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

, it was suggested that Stransky could play for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, but he discovered that he was not qualified to do so. On 20 June 1999, Stransky played for the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in an exhibition game against

Penguin International RFC The Penguin International Rugby Football Club, usually called the Penguins, is an invitational rugby union team based in United Kingdom, Britain but with international players. It was founded in 1959 and has played in 71 countries, claiming to ...

, scoring 17 points. 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 University of Natal alumni 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 1995 Rugby World Cup players South African expatriate rugby union players in England South African rugby union coaches Expatriate rugby union coaches Stormers players