Prince Harry, here congratulating South Africa's Tendai Mtawarira, told England players to "hold your heads high". Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry set aside his own England heartache to pay tribute to the "uniting" impact of South Africa's World Cup triumph, a key landmark in post-apartheid reconciliation.
The Duke of Sussex, who had flown to Tokyo for the Rugby World Cup final, was invited into the Springboks' dressing room and
embraced players including Siya Kolisi, a key figure who overcame childhood poverty to become the first black South African captain.
Images of Kolisi, 28, lifting the trophy evoked memories of another sporting breakthrough in his country: Nelson Mandela wearing the No 6 jersey of Francois Pienaar when the nation first won the trophy in 1995.
Kolisi, who also wore the No 6 yesterday, was born one day before the repeal of apartheid, to teenage parents in the township of Zwide, just outside Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape. His favourite toy growing up was a brick and his grandmother, who initially raised him, died in his arms when he was 12.
After the match South African coach Rassie Erasmus paid emotional tribute to the sacrifices made by his captain. "It is easy to talk about going through hard times and struggling to get opportunities but it is tough when there are days when you didn't have food or couldn't go to school or didn't have shoes to wear," he said. "There was a stage when Siya didn't have food to eat and, yes, that is the captain and he led South Africa to hold this cup and that is what Siya is."
