Rugby Administrator
He was president of the South African Rugby Union when the Springboks, the national team, won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 at their first attempt after returning to international competition after more than a decade of isolation. At the official dinner for the Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks, following the former's narrow victory over the latter in the final, in a speech described by the New Zealand media as "boorish", he declared that if they had played, South Africa would have won the previous two Rugby World Cups including the 1987 tournament won by the All Blacks. In response, the All Blacks walked out of the dinner. During that same dinner, he also caused controversy by publicly thanking referee Derek Bevan for his refereeing during the semi-final between France and South Africa; Bevan had denied France a last-minute try, despite it "look like had grounded the ball over the tryline on the slow motion action replay" (there was at the time no television match official). Had the try been allowed, France would have taken the lead. Luyt invited Bevan onto stage to accept an expensive gold watch, leading to a mass walkout, with Bevan himself leaving the room.
In 1998 allegations of lingering racism in rugby led to him being required to appear before a presidential commission of inquiry but Luyt refused to appear and forced President Mandela into court. A judge of the High Court found for Luyt, but on appeal the Constitutional Court found against him and for the President.
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