Joel Stransky and Zinzan Brooke have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame as the first two members of the class of 2026, honoured at a dinner in Cape Town on Thursday ahead of the second Test between South Africa and New Zealand.
Stransky, inducted as No.176, kicked all of South Africa's points in the 1995 World Cup Final at Ellis Park — including the extra-time drop goal that remains one of rugby's defining moments. Across 22 Tests between 1993 and 1996, he scored six tries and accumulated 240 points in the green and gold.
Brooke, No.177, earned his place in the Hall of Fame after a 12-year All Blacks career spanning 58 Tests, 54 of them starts. He won the 1987 World Cup with New Zealand and is best remembered internationally for his long-range drop goal in the 1995 semifinal against England — the same tournament in which he and Stransky faced each other in the final series between their two nations 30 years ago.
The remaining five inductees in the class of 2026 will be announced on 7 September, bringing the Hall of Fame's total membership to 182 since its inception in 2006.