Life and Career
Pienaar was born in Vereeniging, South Africa into a working-class Afrikaner family, the eldest of four boys. After completing high school in Witbank, he won an athletic scholarship to the Rand Afrikaans University, where he studied law.
He made his provincial debut for Transvaal Province in 1989 before being selected for the South Africa squad in 1993. He was appointed Springbok captain from his first test and remained captain until his last, and remains one of the most successful South African captains of all time.
In 1993 Transvaal won the Super 10, Currie Cup and Lion Cup under Pienaar. In 1994, Transvaal retained the Currie Cup under his captaincy and he was voted international player of the year by Rugby World magazine.
Read more about this topic: Francois Pienaar
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