In reality the South African rugby team is on top of the rugby world because when the picture was taken, the team had established themselves as the best rugby team in the world as a result of their victory, they had not only proven that they were equal to their international counterparts, but ultimately that they were better.
The title of the article that the picture is attached to reverberates the idea of South Africa overcoming its insurmountable problems with words such as summit'. Taking South Africa's controversial history into consideration, apartheid in many ways developed into a mountain of problems that created a rift between South Africa and the rest of the international community. World Cup Rugby 1995 was one of the instruments used to conquer the summit'. South Africa had been ostracized for so long and the name of the country became synonymous with negative connotations hence the victory was monumental in amputating a cancerous stigma. .
Francois Pienaar's hand stretched out gives the impression that he is waving hello' it may be said that the new country is indeed waving hello to the rest of the world, as it was alienated for such a long time, and this is its first international participation as the new' South Africa. The team is also establishing itself as an international force to be reckoned with.
Francois' hand in the air and his smile also gives the impression of a politician at a political rally. The victory was primarily for South Africans themselves, it resulted in the augmentation of morale and patriotism which consequentially led to an optimistic perception of constructing the new' country. The political aspect of this representation is extremely fundamental as national sports activities are invariably associated with foreign policy activities. It may be said that the general conception is that the way sporting national teams perform internationally is a direct comment on how the country will perform internationally in any other sphere.