Invictus Trivia Quiz

Answer: Morgan Freeman

According to Wikipedia, Morgan Freeman was the first actor to be cast for the film and it is hard to imagine anyone else being better in the role. Mandela became the first black President of South Africa following the first multi-racial elections in the country.

He concentrated on reconciliation between the Afrikaners, who had been responsible for the system of apartheid, and the black population. The film began with Mandela's very first days in his new role and depicted the uncertain relationship between the new, black, administration and some of the white staff.

In particular, the bodyguards allocated to protect him were supporters of the previous regime and the film showed Mandela's new security team reacting badly to having to work with men who they believed would have previously been trying to kill them. Freeman was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for this role, and has starred in many other films, including 'Driving Miss Daisy' (1989) and 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994).

Answer: Ellis Park

All of these stadiums were used for the tournament, with Newlands being in Cape Town, Kings Park in Durban and the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. Because they were the host country South Africa automatically qualified although they might not have done otherwise, a point which was made in the film.

This was the first time that the team had been able to participate, having previously been banned from international sport due to their history of apartheid. Mandela had become President in 1994 and the film shows him becoming involved with the build-up to the tournament despite rugby being seen as a predominantly white sport.

He recognised it as an opportunity to unite the nation in a common cause in support of the team and his ploy was largely successful. Johannesburg is the largest city of South Africa by population, and one of the wealthiest, and Ellis Park was also the biggest stadium of those available.

The name was shown regularly above the scoreboard during the film.

Answer: Francois Pienaar

As an American, Damon knew little about the game of rugby and had intensive coaching to enable him to play the role. He was also considerably smaller than the man he was playing, who he met during filming, which took place in South Africa. Pienaar was depicted as being invited to tea with President Mandela and leaving with the belief that his team was expected to win. Since rugby was so widely viewed as an Afrikaan sport, with black South Africans supporting anyone playing against the South African team, in the film Mandela had to work hard to convince his supporters that his championing of the team was wise. Pienaar has said that Mandela's involvement was much lower key than in the film, with the President meeting him only on a couple of occasions, but they did form a genuine friendship, with Mandela becoming a godfather to one of Pienaar's sons. Damon also received an Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor.

Answer: Robben Island

Mandela was imprisoned for a total of 27 years, with the first 18 of them being spent on Robben Island. While there, he was allowed only one visitor and one letter, usually heavily censored, every six months, and had to carry out manual labour. The film showed Pienaar in Mandela's cell (the real one was used), measuring its tiny dimensions and also visualising Mandela working in the prison yard.

The whole of the South African team was shown visiting the island. The other islands have all been used as prisons in the past.

Answer: New Zealand

South Africa's form in the year prior to the finals had not been good and they were not expected to be successful. The film shows several of the matches played in the run-up and the calls from sports commentators for Pienaar, in particular, to be sacked.

In the build-up to the finals the South African team were shown visiting black townships and learning the new anthem. The film depicted some reluctance on the part of the team to take part in these, which Pienaar has since stated was included purely for dramatic purposes and did not reflect how they really reacted.

In both reality and the film New Zealand were favourites to win, with rugby being one of the country's main sports. The All Blacks had demolished the England team en route to the final, but South Africa managed to get past them in extra time. Joel Stransky, portrayed by Scott Eastwood in the film, dropped a goal to secure a 15 points to 12 points victory.

Answer: Clint Eastwood

Although primarily known as an actor, Eastwood has directed in excess of thirty films, with his directorial debut being 'Play Misty For Me' in 1971 in which he also appeared. Among other films in which Eastwood has both acted and directed are 'The Eiger Sanction' (1975) and 'Space Cowboys' (2000).

He did not appear in 'Invictus' but his son, Scott Eastwood, did and another son, Kyle Eastwood provided much of the music for the film.

Answer: Poem

The poem was written by William Ernest Henley, who lived from 1849 to 1903. Henley had a leg amputated in his youth, after suffering from tuberculosis of the bone, and has been named as being the inspiration for the character of Long John Silver in the novel 'Treasure Island'.

Invictus comes from the Latin meaning 'victory' and the poem was quoted regularly through the film as having been a constant comfort to Mandela throughout his long time in prison. Mandela was shown copying out the words of the poem to be sent to the South African team prior to the final.

The final words are 'I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul' and it is worth seeking out the poem to read in full.

Answer: Chester Williams

All these players appeared in the Rugby World Cup, with Lomu being New Zealand's star player, Guscott playing for England and Ntamack for France. Chester Williams played as a winger for South Africa between 1993 and 2000 and was portrayed in the film of 'Invictus' by McNeil Hendricks, himself a rugby winger. Williams is credited as having acted as one of the rugby coaches for the film.

In his autobiography, published in 2002, Williams claimed that the integration in the South African team was by no means as advanced a depicted in the film.

Some members of the squad refused to sit at the same table as him to eat and one person, in particular, subjected him to racial abuse.

Answer: True

Nelson Mandela wore the shirt to symbolise the new relationship between black and white South Africans, and chose the shirt bearing the number six, which was that of the team captain. In the film, Mandela was portrayed saying to Pienaar 'thank you for what you have done for our country', with Pienaar repeating the words back to his President.

While Mandela did actually wear the shirt, the exchange of words may be fictitious. According to Pienaar, the decision was made at the last minute, with the shirt being his own spare one. Pienaar lived up to the occasion in his acceptance speech by saying that the cup had been won for all 43,000,000 South Africans.

The speech is not shown in the film, but Pienaar is shown speaking the words in response to a journalist's question, with the crowd responding enthusiastically.

Answer: Rainbow Nation

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who had himself been a prominent activist against apartheid, is usually credited with creating the expression. He also became the first black South African Bishop of Cape Town. Mandela then used the expression in his inaugural speech in May 1994, describing South Africa as 'a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world', although this is not shown in the film.

The film did make reference to the expression, and concentrated on Mandela's extraordinary capacity for forgiveness.

When one of his white bodyguards asks after his family in the film, Mandela replies by saying that he 'has a very large family of forty three million', meaning the whole population of South Africa. Despite having suffered years of imprisonment for his political views, the film showed that Mandela realised that the only way forward was by integration and not retaliation.

The rugby formed the background to the film, but the sport was not the focus - it was Mandela himself who was shown as gaining the victory.