This is a gripping account of Nelson Mandela's political masterstroke during South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup. With the nation on the brink of civil war, Mandela seized on the sport once reviled by the country's blacks as a symbol of Afrikaner oppression and used it to unite his divided country. Morné du Plessis, the side's manager, urged his almost exclusively white team to learn the "black" national anthem for the tournament. By the time Mandela strode into Ellis Park stadium for the final between South Africa and New Zealand, to unanimous cries from both whites and blacks of "Nelson! Nelson!", the symbolism was potent enough to make hulking rugby players shed a tear.