Philippe Saint-André reveals shocking secrets of the 1995 World Cup semi-final

This quarter-final between France and South Africa inevitably brings back memories of a match from a certain 1995 World Cup, where the French XV faced the Springboks in the semi-final. A semi-final lost by the Blues (19-15) but which was at the heart of many controversies.

Philippe Saint-André was part of this adventure in 1995. Or rather this misadventure. And in a recent broadcast of Grandes Gueules du Sport on RMC, the former coach of the Blues revealed several secrets around this match. Secrets that seemed to weigh heavily on him because “PSA” spoke with red eyes and a very trembling voice.

Philippe Saint-André goes behind the scenes in 1995

Here is his testimony behind the scenes of this semi-final, which even extends to the end of the competition.

We prepare, also the old-fashioned way at the time, in the locker rooms. And the referee brings together the two captains and the two coaches and says: “I think the match is not going to take place because with the weather conditions, it is not possible to play a rugby match”. What you need to know is that in 95, it was the 3rd World Cup. And there, the South African leaders read a small booklet and they realize that if the match does not take place, it is France who is in the final. For what ? Because they had taken a red card in the group match. We didn’t get a red card but they had a general fight. And so France went to the final.

So you can see the pressure there was in the locker room, on the referee… That’s the first thing. Second thing, we had four attempts refused. Third thing, Kruger, their third line, who scored in the 26th minute, poor guy died, wrote a book before dying. And he says in the book that he never scored, he never flattened. At the end of the match, we are 5m from their line, and they collapse five times in the scrum. Now, with video refereeing, it would be a penalty try.

And it goes even further (…) The New Zealanders, the day before the final, are poisoned. 80% of guys are sick. And at the reception, the president of the South African Federation presents a special prize to Mr. Bevan (Derek Bevan, editor’s note), the referee: a watch worth 30,000 euros. With this in mind, the All Blacks leave the end-of-competition reception. But at the time, rugby was not as media-focused as it is now. So I want to say that it’s history, but sincerely if tonight the referee makes a mistake, I hope it goes on the right side of history.

Philippe Saint-André admits to having waited for very long years (28 years to be exact) before delivering this testimony. And if he experienced all this so badly, it was because his international career was coming to an end. But he also continues his confusion with a sentence that causes a lot of pain: “I have never seen so much sadness in a locker room afterwards”. He now hopes that the Blues of 2023 can avenge those of 1995 with a victory and qualification for the semi-finals.

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