Joel Stransky
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Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a South African former rugby union 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,[1] to a family from England and Czechia. He was raised in Reform Judaism and had a bar mitzvah ceremony.[2][3] 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.
Playing career
In 1990 he was part of the Template:Rut team that beat Northern Transvaal to win the Currie Cup for the first time. He then moved to Italy where he played for L'Aquila 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 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, it was suggested that Stransky could play for England, but he discovered that he was not qualified to do so.[4] On 20 June 1999, Stransky played for the Czech Republic in an exhibition game against Penguin International RFC, scoring 17 points.[5]
In 2002, he was engaged by Bristol Rugby as a coach, but the offer was subsequently withdrawn. Stransky took legal action and was compensated.[6]
Test history
Template:Color box World Cup final
| No. | Opposition | Result (SA 1st) | Position | Points | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Template:Country data AUS | 19–12 | Fly-half | 31 Jul 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney | |
| 2. | Template:Country data AUS | 20–28 | Fly-half | 15 (1 try, 2 conversions, 2 penalties) | 14 Aug 1993 | Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane |
| 3. | Template:Country data AUS | 12–19 | Fly-half | 2 (1 conversion) | 21 Aug 1993 | Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney |
| 4. | Template:Country data ARG | 29–26 | Fly-half | 9 (3 conversions, 1 penalty) | 6 Nov 1993 | Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires |
| 5. | Template:Country data ARG | 42–22 | Fly-half | 22 (1 try, 4 conversions, 3 penalties) | 8 Oct 1994 | Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth |
| 6. | Template:Country data ARG | 46–26 | Fly-half | 16 (1 try, 4 conversions, 1 penalty) | 15 Oct 1994 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 7. | Template:Country data SAM | 60–8 | Fly-half | 7 (1 try, 1 conversion) | 13 Apr 1995 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 8. | Template:Country data AUS | 27–18 | Fly-half | 22 (1 try, 1 conversion, 4 penalties, 1 dropgoal) | 25 May 1995 | Newlands, Cape Town |
| 9. | Template:Country data ROM | 21–8 | Replacement | 30 May 1995 | Newlands, Cape Town | |
| 10. | Template:Country data CAN | 20–0 | Fly-half | 10 (2 conversions, 2 penalties) | 3 Jun 1995 | Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth |
| 11. | Template:Country data FRA | 19–15 | Fly-half | 14 (1 conversion, 4 penalties) | 17 Jun 1995 | Kings Park, Durban |
| 12. | Template:Country data NZL | 15–12 | Fly-half | 15 (3 penalties, 2 dropgoals) | 24 Jun 1995 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 13. | Template:Country data WAL | 40–11 | Fly-half | 15 (3 conversions, 3 penalties) | 2 Sep 1995 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
| 14. | Template:Country data ITA | 40–21 | Fly-half | 20 (4 conversions, 4 penalties) | 12 Nov 1995 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome |
| 15. | Template:Country data ENG | 24–14 | Fly-half | 9 (3 penalties) | 18 Nov 1995 | Twickenham, London |
| 16. | Template:Country data FIJ | 43–18 | Replacement | 2 Jul 1996 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria | |
| 17. | Template:Country data NZL | 11–15 | Fly-half | 6 (2 penalties) | 20 Jul 1996 | AMI Stadium, Christchurch |
| 18. | Template:Country data AUS | 25–19 | Fly-half | 25 (1 try, 1 conversion, 6 penalties) | 3 Aug 1996 | Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein |
| 19. | Template:Country data NZL | 18–29 | Fly-half | 8 (1 conversion, 2 penalties) | 10 Aug 1996 | Newlands, Cape Town |
| 20. | Template:Country data NZL | 19–23 | Fly-half | 14 (1 conversion, 4 penalties) | 17 Aug 1996 | Kings Park, Durban |
| 21. | Template:Country data NZL | 26–33 | Fly-half | 11 (1 conversion, 3 penalties) | 24 Aug 1996 | Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria |
| 22. | Template:Country data NZL | 32–22 | Replacement | 31 Aug 1996 | Ellis Park, Johannesburg |
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.
See also
- List of select Jewish rugby union players
- List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 592
References
External links
- Template:SA Rugby Player Profile
- Sporting heroes
- Altech Netstar homepage
- Joel Stranksy bio at Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
- Joel Stransky bio at Jewsinsports.com
- Book review: The Glory of the Game, about the Ten Jewish Springboks.
Template:South Africa 1995 Rugby World Cup squad
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". BBC Report on court case.
- Pages with script errors
- 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