Springboks have proven South Africans really are ‘stronger together’

One incident in Saturday’s Springbok Rugby World Cup triumph sums up how this team plays, wins and conducts itself … and why that behaviour should be the benchmark for all of us who want South Africa to succeed.

Makazole Mapimpi, steaming down the touchline, put in a superbly weighted chip kick, which was gathered by his backline partner Lukhanyo Am.

Two English players converged on Am less than 10 metres from the tryline and he had the strength to have brushed them off or barged over for a try with them hanging on for dear life. But he didn’t.

His rugby brain calculated there was a slight chance he might not go over and, to ensure the Boks got the five-pointer, he selflessly flicked the ball back to Mapimpi, who crossed, to put the first of the nails in the England coffin.

Am didn’t think, like so many South Africans do, “This is for me!” or “Now’s my time to eat!” He thought of the team, of the greater good.

And therein is the lesson for South Africa from this team of champions: We should think of others and try to banish the selfishness which is at the root of so many of the evils besetting our country.

In your air-conditioned car, coming out of a nice lunch, think about the beggar at the traffic lights. Help him or her. In your office, share your skills and the wisdom you have acquired over the years – and yes, some of it may be because of your skin colour.

Give others a chance. And, when you’re angry, because you think your fellow citizens are racist and unfair, get off social media. Take a deep breath and look for the positive.

And let’s remember the lesson of yesterday, as summed up in the Springbok slogan … we truly are “Stronger Together”.

The English believed all they had to do was arrive and collect the Webb Ellis Cup. All they collected in the end was a hiding from a team which looked every inch the best on the planet.

This was, by far, the best Bok performance of the tournament and put paid, once and for all, to the clichéd view of South African rugby as all brawn and very little brains.

The quota debate was also well and truly buried at Yokohama Stadium on Saturday as a team of South Africans gave the world a rugby masterclass.

Many inside and outside South Africa are a bit like the English ahead of the kick-off. They believe we’re well on the way to becoming a failed state.

Our economy is faltering and the ANC government has come up with few concrete ideas to rescue it, never mind using renewed growth and hope to reduce the timebomb which is the gap between rich and poor.

Not surprisingly, given that he was the man who believed that South Africans are “The Rainbow Nation of the People of God”, it was Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu who gave one of the best summations of yesterday’s victory.

“It’s time for South Africans to start believing in themselves again.”

He added: “We are a special country, and an extraordinary people. On days such as this we understand that when we pull together, the sky is the limit. When we believe in ourselves, we can achieve our dreams.”

It is too idealistic, and unrealistic, to think that one sports team can bring about the enormous changes this country needs.

But what Siya Kolisi, Rassie Erasmus and the team have done is to clear the fog of racism and anger and remind us that the things which bring us together are stronger than those which will threaten to tear us apart.

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