They are here and have taken the Lowveld by storm. When 2 500 fans gathered at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday afternoon to watch their heroes in a practice session, the Bok team were as overwhelmed by the support as those who came to watch them.
Dressed in their green and gold, it was especially the young ones who sat starry-eyed next to the field in anticipation of possibly meeting their heroes. And our nation’s pride didn’t disappoint.
For more than two hours after their training session, Bok coach Heyneke Meyer and his team patiently signed autographs and posed for photos. The “old hands” like Bryan Habana knew how to handle youngsters pushing in the queue and quickly told them to behave or they would not be helped. As you drive through town, Springbok flags hang in front of shops, they are wrapped around trees and everywhere people are proudly wearing their jerseys. There is a buzz at the stadium and everyone is gearing up for the event. Our first-ever Springbok match on home soil.
Here at Lowveld Media we embarked on an intensive campaign through all our publications and for the first time in the history of our group, every newspaper’s masthead was changed to green and gold in solidarity with our national team. There are so many Lowveld businesses which have used this opportunity to be creative. There isn’t space, not even for a mouse, in any hotel or guest lodge in the entire area. Believe me, we know, as it took us two days to find a few rooms for guests. This visit has been an enormous economic injection as thousands will head to the region. Once again the Lowveld has successfully taken on the challenge to let the human spirit of our nation shine.
Through participation and passion, we have embraced the Boks’ visit and we will proudly put our hands on our hearts as our national anthem echoes through the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.
