Louis Luyt (18 June 1932 – 1 February 2013) was a South African business tycoon and politician, and one-time rugby administrator.
At the official dinner for the Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks, following the former's narrow victory over the latter in the final, in a speech described by the New Zealand media as "boorish", he declared that if they had played, South Africa would have won the previous two Rugby World Cups including the 1987 tournament won by the All Blacks.
[5][6][7] During that same dinner, he also caused controversy by publicly thanking referee Derek Bevan for his refereeing during the semi-final between France and South Africa; Bevan had denied France a last-minute try, despite it "look[ing] like [Frenchman Abdelatif Benazzi] had grounded the ball over the tryline on the slow motion action replay" (there was at the time no television match official).
[8] In 1998 allegations of lingering racism in rugby led to him being required to appear before a presidential commission of inquiry but Luyt refused to appear and forced President Mandela into court.
[11] In 1998, Luyt resigned as rugby union president after being accused of racism and financial mismanagement, and he later formed a political party.