A win for SA rugby and the nation’s pride

When a former Springbok player such as Joel Stransky – now a TV commentator and analyst, but also kicker of the most famous drop goal in South African rugby history – says he wishes he had been part of that game between the Boks and England at Ellis Park in Joburg on Saturday, you know history has been made.

That history – and the way the match went – couldn’t have been scripted any better by Hollywood screenwriters.

First, there was the first African Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, taking to the field against a background of racial rifts within the sport – where Ashwin Willemse’s SuperSport TV walk-off appears to be only the tip of an iceberg of suspicion and mistrust between the races – and where he has been subjected to personal abuse.

Then, there were a number of African players also in the spotlight because they were making their debuts … all the while wary of being labelled quota selections. And, suddenly, within 20 minutes, the Boks were down by 24-3 looking, as one commentator put it, like rabbits caught in the headlights.

You could almost hear the murmurings among the fair-weather supporters and, indeed, the racists: so this is what happens when you let race dictate your selections.

Then, following a huddle on the try line and words from Kolisi and the senior members of the squad, fans witnessed a comeback not seen, as the comics would say, since that of Lazarus in the Bible.

The Boks were an entirely different side and played some of the best and most entertaining rugby we have seen from them in many a year. England didn’t go down without a fight and the 42-39 scoreline reflected that.

But the real winners on Saturday were South African rugby and South African national pride.

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