Invictus

"Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul."

William Ernest Henley

I have often wondered how Nelson Mandela kept going through his 27 years in prison. How he came out with his head high and his compassion intact. This week I learned that this poem Invictus was part of his armour. Now I’ve added it to mine.

Invictus is also the title of the film (directed by Clint Eastwood and based on the book Playing the Enemy by journalist John Carlin) that tells the true story of how Madiba (Morgan Freeman) inspired Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), then captain of the Springboks, to lead his men to victory in the 2005 Rugby World Cup.

Many of us remember the big picture that played out on the world stage culminating with Madiba, in the Number 6 jumper, handing the World Cup trophy to Pienaar after the Bokke beat the All Blacks against all odds. This film teleports you behind the scenes of Madiba’s first year in office, revealing the details of his tactical and compassionate brilliance, and his ordinary humanity.

This is not, as I had half-expected, a feel-good Hollywood flick that makes white rugby-loving South Africans feel better about how sport saved the day. It’s a film about the hard choices of leadership and about finding inspiration when it seems thin on the ground. It’s also funny, Freeman is utterly convincing as Madiba, and Matt Damon's South African accent is unfaltering. Whatever you do, don’t miss it.