In an interesting piece of news that came to light this week, the 1995 Rugby World Cup winners’ medal presented to Springbok loose forward Adriaan Richter by the late President Nelson Mandela was put on auction.
The Old Johannesburg Warehouse Auctioneers stated that the “extremely rare original winner’s medal” would be up for grabs at a live auction, initially with an estimate value of R40 000 to R100 000.
On the first day it became available, the auctioneer’s website quickly stated that the iconic medal had been sold for R62,500.
The description of the item was listed as follows: “Very rare original Rugby World Cup 1995 winners medal, presented by Nelson Mandela to Adriaan Richter, large gold gilded silver medal, .999 purity and 6,5cm in diameter with original ribbon and presentation case, inscribed to Adriaan Richter, who was a loose forward and member of the 1995 squad and also captain for the Romanian game in Cape Town.”
Springbok World Cup winner’s medal snapped up quickly
The 1995 World Cup, hosted and won by South Africa shortly after the end of apartheid, is widely remembered as a key moment in national reconciliation, famously encapsulated by Nelson Mandela presenting the Webb Ellis Cup to captain Francois Pienaar while wearing a Springbok jersey.
Adriaan Richter, a powerful loose forward who also had the honour of captaining the team in their pool match victory against Romania, was part of the squad that delivered the unifying victory.
Richter also put up another item, a bronzed metal and marble trophy depicting two rugby players jumping for the ball, in its original presentation case. This was sold for R34,000.
What is Richter doing now?
It’s not known what prompted Richter to put the items up for auction. Since retiring, it’s believed he initially went into farming in Nylstroom near the southern edge of the Waterberg Massif in Limpopo.
After selling the farm in 2006 and moving to Witbank, he took up a managerial position at Darajo Hire.
