It started last Sunday night, but if I'm not mistaken its getting worse the closer we get to Saturday's big world cup final match! Yesterday in parlement, most people were wearing springbok jerseys, the news readers, weather men and even some traffic cops on streets were dressed in green. Showing their support for the boks! Today, October 19th, was declared national green day, and people are urged to wear green (prefferbly springbok jerseys) to work. Everywhere you go you can hear people talking rugby! I even caught Mr. Depression Negative Don't Care About Rugby Or Anything Else For That Matter Jones, in the liqour store yesterday saying to the local church minister, "... The boks better win this one, otherwise I'll have to return this bottle of champagne." And, Yes, the minister was in the liqour store too, filling his supplies - 6 beers (cricket colddrinks as he would call it) and 1 bottle late harvest- the cheap 2005 model. Its great to see this unity in South-Africa, and let me tell you this , if there is one nation that needs building, its us, if there is one team that can do it, its the 2007 Springbok team. GO BOKKE, YOU HAVE THE POWER OF A NATION BEHIND YOU!
There's not quite the same build-up in England. Currently the main topic on the sports pages is England's 2-1 (association football) defeat away to Russia meaning qualification for next year's European championships is now out of our hands. (Americans: If there was ever a match where we wanted a boring, sterile 0-0 tie with no shots on goal that was it!). There's the usual hand-wringing and blaming of all the usual suspects: the manager, the players, the FA, the foreigners, the pressure, the fans, the media, etc etc. I think coverage will pick up a bit tomorrow with all the usual 'Good Luck England' stories. The worst moment so far is our Scottish Prime Minister saying he wants England to win! Eugh! Nothing worse than a politician lying through his teeth! As has been mentioned on other threads we're just AMAZED we've got to the final. And when you consider the last four games between us have all ended in heavy defeats for England I think you can order in the champagne. Yup, you're red-hot favourites so there's no need to REALLY play that well is there? (This is our only chance, get you a bit over-confident like the Aussies and the French were).
You can never write England off in any game, let alone a world cup final. And you have the Wilkinson factor, a true ball player! Btw, with deep regret I recieved the news about your soccer team - my deepest condolences (spelling?) to you, your families, the prime minister, cabinet and the whole football nation! :->
Yeah, it's a bit like there's been a death in the family - although I think the Prime Minister (being Scottish) is secretly gloating! Scotland lost as well (2-0 away to Georgia), but they're doing really well in a group that contains Italy and France. We on the other hand are struggling in a group that contains nations that used to be just parts of bigger countries (Russia from the USSR and Croatia from Yugoslavia) and the football powerhouse that is Israel. Still, it could be worse - I could be Welsh. Anyway, back to the Rugby. Yes, it's been remarked that when something like the football world cup is on the level of interest and excitement starts from the 1st group game. Houses and cars all fly St George's flags and giant screens get set up. With rugby there isn't anything like the same level of interest. Can I ask a question? I hope you won't think me rude but I can't help noticing that unlike the soccer team the South African rugby team is still nearly all white. Is rugby still a 'white' sport in the new South Africa? In the old Apartheid days I knew several white South Africans and they all HATED football (soccer) on the grounds it was an inferior sport for inferior races (e.g. blacks and Hispanics) and that real, white men played Rugby. Nelson Mandela himself has gone on record to say that in rugby he always used to cheer for whoever was playing South Africa, and also to say that soccer was the sport of black Africa. (He also cheekily said that any American who wanted to call themselves 'African-American' should play soccer). I know in 1995 it was the 'rainbow nation' that won (with Mandela in a Boks shirt), but is it still a case of whites play rugby and blacks play soccer? Is the black population 100% behind the team?
Bugger. Well played South Africa. I'm slightly disappointed but f you'd told me before the tournament started that we'd get to the final and only lose 15-6 I'd have said you were mad. It is a fifth successive defeat against South Africa but considering how awful we've been over the last four years I really can't complain too much. Our complete lack of a cutting edge was exposed.
Ah! The Saffas deserved it ... Outclassed England. Although if the try had been granted, things could have a wee bit different
It was the right decision. There was a picture in one of the papers with his foot clearly on the touchline before he grounded the ball. Close but no cigar as they say. In the end strength, character and sheer bloody-mindedness just weren't enough. The Boks were the better team. As I mentioned above I can't get too upset about it, after the debacle of the first two matches (to say nothing of the previous four years) getting to the final was beyond my wildest dreams. And we DO have the memory of those victories over Australia and France, and the Arrogant Bastards (aka New Zealand) didn't win - so all in all it was a good World Cup.
The govrnment promised before the worldcup begun that this was the last time a springbok team would be selected on merit. Next time the team must be full of black players, whether they deserve it or not!!!
I forgot to answer your previous post SeagullSid. Without getting to polical: The anc still hate the whites for apartheid, understandibly. They'll do everything to sicken (can't find the right word now) the whites, that is why they use sport (rugby). The general public, black and white, will support any national team, just for the sake of winning! Watch the headlines in South-Africa in two week's time. It will be filled with high profile anc members attacking South-Africa rugby in the general. To me, personnaly football is the game of the English (I know how fanatic you guys can get, been there) and not the game of any inferior South-African. Not saying that they can't play, watch and enjoy their soccer, even I watch important matches bafanna play! I suppose its the same as in the old days - politicians can't keep their noses out of nothing!! Its sad to say the least.
Wow. So what you're saying is that they (your government aka the ANC) still think that rugby isn't inter-racial enough and needs a 'helping hand' to increase the number of black Africans in the national side? I suppose they feel that they aren't represented enough because of colour as opposed to the fact that many of them simply don't like the sport and therefore don't play it- in the same way that many white Africans (and Americans) don't like soccer. It's not for me to say which is the right reason - but maybe we'll get a few disaffected rugby players in the same way we picked up 'True Brit' Kevin Pietersen!