SA goes to town with jokes over Boks, England

From squawks to “budgie smugglers”, people on and off social media celebrated the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup triumph over England with dollops of humour.

Faf de Klerk was one of the main attention magnets after he met Prince Harry in the Boks’ changing room following the match in his speedo “budgie smuggler” underpants in the colours of the South African flag.

A video of the encounter, in which a frantic member of the Boks’ support staff can be heard shouting “Shorts! Shorts!” to the diminutive blond player as the prince approaches, was shared tens of thousands of times.

As De Klerk was being hailed as a new gay icon and getting admiration from both males and females, some social media users were already speculating about the remake of the movie Invictus, which was about the Springboks’ 1995 Rugby World Cup win, with Matt Damon starring as captain Francois Pienaar and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela.

Invictus 2’s cast, according to Nikesh Kooverjee, would feature Scarlett Johansson as Faf, while Idris Elba would play Cyril Ramaphosa and Damon (somewhat older now) would be triumphant coach Rassie Erasmus. Many on Twitter said the only way Kevin Hart could play Siya Kolisi would be if he stood on a box.

The 32-12 theme (the final score) also popped up in a few places. Air traffic controllers at Cape Town International Airport reportedly gave it as a “squawk” call sign to Saturday night’s British Airways flight to London – and apparently the BA crew took it in good humour. Also ragged were the British team involved in the attempt to break the world land speed record at Hakskeen Pan in the Northern Cape. One was given a lunch box by his South African mates, who advised him it should be eaten before 12-32.

Thabang Motsohi, one of many people who had a go at British TV personality Piers Morgan, who the day before had predicted England would wipe the floor with the Boks, suggested a helpline had been set up for England fans. The number: 0800 32123212.

The Boks also had fun. Steven Kitshoff, the burly red-headed front-rower, posted a picture of himself with Prince Harry, saying they were “a pair of spicy plums”.

– news@citizen.co.za

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