Twenty-five years ago, on a sunlit winter afternoon in Johannesburg, South Africa’s isolation from world rugby ended amid the slow death of apartheid. As the all-white Springboks faced the All Blacks, Nelson Mandela had been out of prison for two and a half years. Another 20 months would pass before Mandela became president – but he already wielded real power and generosity of spirit. Mandela argued that the South African rugby team, a bastion of apartheid for decades, should be allowed to keep their name, the Springboks, and their traditional green and gold shirts. The great man realised, even after 27 years in prison, that the country needed to shake off bitterness and prejudice. His support, though, was not universally welcomed and the political problems reflected in the prelude to that historic Test still blight rugby in a divided country today. Issues of race and transformation dominate the backdrop to any discussion about the state of South African rugby from the grassroots to the national team. While the Springboks have experienced incredible highs since that day in 1992, their stock has fallen. The once compelling battle between the Springboks and the All Blacks has widened into a gulf. Before the…