George Moir Christie, better known as Kitch Christie (January 31, 1940 – April 22, 1998), was a South African rugby union coach most famous for leading the country's national team, the Springboks, to victory at the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short The South Africa national Rugby union team (commonly referred to as the Springboks in English Springbokke in Afrikaans and Amabokoboko The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted by South Africa, and had the distinction of being the first Rugby World Cup in which every match

Contents 1 Early life 2 Early career 3 The Springboks 4 Final years 5 References

Early life

Born in Johannesburg to a Scottish father and English mother, he was educated at Leith Academy in Edinburgh and The London Institute of Electronics. Johannesburg ( Pronounced /jō-hān'ĭs-bûrg'/ is the largest city in South Africa. The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland. The English people (from the adjective in Englisc) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to England who predominantly speak English Leith Academy is a State school in Leith, Edinburgh. It currently educates around 1000 pupils and around 2800 part time adult learners Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. He picked up his lifelong nickname of "Kitch" from his fellow pupils, who named him after Don Kitchenbrand, a South African footballer with Rangers in the 1950s. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Rangers Football Club are an Association football team based in Glasgow Scotland, who currently play in the Scottish Premier League.

Early career

Christie returned to his homeland, joining the Pretoria Harlequins club as a flanker. Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. While he had an uneventful playing career, never earning national selection, he developed his coaching skills there, eventually becoming a selector for Northern Transvaal. The Blue Bulls, for sponsorship reasons named Vodacom Blue Bulls, or more popularly by the club's Afrikaans name die Blou Bulle, are

In 1980, Christie spent the South African winter (Northern Hemisphere summer) in the United States, coaching the Chicago Lions club. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Chicago Lions Rugby Football Club is a SuperLeague Rugby union team based in Chicago Illinois, United States Although he spent less than three months in Chicago, he made a lasting impact on the club, leading them to the Midwest regional crown. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States.

Denied an opportunity to coach at Northern Transvaal, Christie accepted an offer from Louis Luyt, then the president of the Transvaal union, to take the reins there in 1992. Louis Luyt is a South African business tycoon and politician and one-time rugby administrator The Golden Lions are the main Rugby union for Johannesburg, South Africa, although they also represent a substantial portion of Gauteng Province Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Luyt would go on to play an important role in Christie's later career.

Christie became one of the hottest properties in South African rugby at Transvaal, leading them to consecutive Currie Cups in 1993 and 1994. For the cricket competition originally known as the Currie Cup see SuperSport Series. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)

The Springboks

By that time, Luyt had become president of the South African Rugby Football Union. The Springboks coaching position came open in mid-1994, after Ian McIntosh was sacked following a series defeat to the All Blacks in New Zealand. Ian McIntosh is a Rhodesian South African Rugby union coach He served as head coach for the side during the early 90s The All Blacks are New Zealand's national team in Rugby union, the country's National sport. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island In October of that year, Christie accepted an offer to take over from McIntosh.

Christie entered at what was arguably the most pressure-packed period in South African rugby history—the run-up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted by South Africa, and the first major competition for the Springboks after their return from international exile with the demise of apartheid.

The Boks went off to a flying start in the World Cup, defeating defending champions Australia in the opening match. The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in Rugby union. They went on to sweep their pool matches, but not without an out-and-out fight against Canada in the final pool match. For the Canadian Rugby league team see Canada national rugby league team. ^[1] The Boks then defeated Manu Samoa in the quarterfinals, and scored a narrow semifinal win over France, winning after stopping Abdelatif Benazzi just short of the tryline in the final minutes. The national Rugby union team of Samoa is called Manu Samoa (the name of a famous Samoan chief some 10 generations ago The France national rugby union team represents France in Rugby union. Abdelatif Benazzi (born August 20, 1968) is a French - Moroccan Rugby union footballer who represented both Morocco and ^[1] South Africa's reward for defeating France would be a date with the All Blacks and mighty wing Jonah Lomu, who had torched England for four tries in the other semifinal. Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM (born 12 May 1975 is a New Zealand Rugby union footballer The England national rugby union team represents England in Rugby union.

The Boks defence stood up to the challenge, keeping Lomu off the scoreboard (in fact, he would never score a try against South Africa in his career). The match ended in a 9-9 draw in regulation, sending the teams to extra time, where Joel Stransky's drop goal won the Webb Ellis Trophy for South Africa. Joel Theodore Stransky (born 16 July 1967) is a former South African Rugby union footballer most notable for scoring the winning drop goal This led to the especially memorable awards ceremony in which South African President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springboks jersey—long a symbol of apartheid—and matching baseball cap, handed the trophy to the Boks' Afrikaner captain Francois Pienaar. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative The term Afrikaner people refers to white Afrikaans -speaking people who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century and are mainly of northwestern Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967 in Vereeniging, South Africa captained and played for the South African Springboks national Rugby union

Christie coached the Boks in 14 tests, winning all 14. At the time, this was tied for the longest consecutive Test winning streak in history for a coach, with 1960s All Blacks coach Fred Allen. Fred Allen (born 9 February 1920 in Oamaru, New Zealand is a former Rugby union footballer and coach This record would later be broken by Boks coach Nick Mallett. Nicholas Vivian Howard Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a South African Rugby union coach and former player who is currently the head coach of

Final years

In March 1996, Christie was forced to step down from the Springboks after being diagnosed with leukemia. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Leukemia or leukaemia (Greek leukos λευκός, "white" aima αίμα, "blood" is a Cancer of the Blood Initially, his treatment went well enough that he was finally able to fulfill a longtime dream of coaching Northern Transvaal, accepting the head coaching job there for the 1997 Super 12 season. The Bulls, for sponsorship reasons known as the Vodacom Bulls, are a South African Rugby union team competing in the Super 14 competition The 1997 season of the Super 12, the international Rugby union competition was the second of its kind with the 1996 season being the first that the tournament had run The Super 14 is the largest Rugby union football club championship in the Southern hemisphere, consisting of four state teams from Australia (Queensland/Reds However, he proved unable to travel with the team to Australasia early in the season, and he took a turn for the worse, landing back in the hospital several weeks later. Christie was fired as coach while he lay in his hospital bed.

By the end of 1997, his condition worsened to the point that he sought specialised treatment in the U. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar S. He was able to return to rugby as a technical advisor to the Falcons in 1998, but worsened once more, entering the hospital for the final time on Easter Sunday of 1998. The Falcons, or Valke in Afrikaans, are a South African Rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year.

References

• "Rugby world mourns the great Kitch Christie". South African Press Association via Daily Dispatch (East London, South Africa), April 24, 1998. The South African Press Association (Sapa is the national News agency of South Africa. Events 1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Accessed March 11, 2007. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

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