Playing the enemy

Set against the 1995 Rugby World Cup, this narrative history follows the events that led to Nelson Mandela's public gesture of solidarity with South Africa's white population. He appeared in a Springboks shirt before the final against the New Zealand All Blacks, and his actions shifted how many white South Africans saw the new government.

The author traces how rugby, long a pastime of the Afrikaans-speaking minority, became a force for national unity in the years after apartheid. The book focuses on the people involved and the human choices behind a moment that many saw as far more than a sporting contest.

It is an account of how a single game could encourage a divided country to set aside old loyalties and look past its differences. The book was adapted into the 2009 film Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood.