SA Rocks

It’s been a relatively good weekend for South African sports.

Bafana Bafana played great football on Saturday but sadly lost to Spain 2-0. In spite of the final score I felt that the lads played one helluva game and improved their football tenfold from their first performance in the Confederations Cup.

Now, lets just hope that Bafana can hold a MASSIVE upset and defeat Brazil in the semi-final. Surprisingly Egypt did not make it through to the semi’s. I think after their historic victory over World Champions Italy, they deserved to pip the USA and go through. Alas it was not to be.

And the Bokke pulled off a lucky victory against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday. I say lucky because we technically received a thumping in the second half of the match. A great performance in the first half put us up by a fair amount. The Beast had a ripper of a game and destroyed the scrums for the Lions. When he was replaced. Things went bad.

I am impressed with Mr Peter de Villiers and his response. He took blame for making substitutions too early in the game. This most definitely put us in a tricky slot. We handled it well and luckily came away with a win.

Finally, yes in case you had forgotten, we still lost the T20 semi-final. Pakistan however, ended up winning the tournament. Congratulations to them!

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They’ve done it again. This time the Boks have won World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Monday night.

I love it. It never stops with SA Rugby. OK, so it does stop, but only temporarily. It seems as though rugby has become a sport of unity for SA in recent years.

Some of the team members present at the awards and ready to take it on were International Rugby Board (IRB) Coach of the Year Jake White, accompanied by IRB Player of the Year Bryan Habana, former IRB Player of the Year Schalk Burger, the top points’ scorer at the World Cup Percy Montgomery, and fellow World Cup winners’ Butch James and Bakkies Botha.

I really think that this team will go down in sport as one of the greatest in any sport. I would’ve said this before the Laureus anyway but at least now I can say it with some semblance of reason.

It is a proud day when a South African team takes on the world at their sport and wins. It is also a proud day when a team is names Team of the Year in any discipline. The other nominees for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award were Italian football team AC Milan, the Australian Cricket Team, Ferrari, the German Women’s Football Team and the Iraqi Football Team. The Laureus World Sports Awards is the only global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year.

What a pleasure to have beaten out the Italians, Australians and Germans in one award. Just goes to show that if the competition is good, the winner needs to be great.

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What do you think about this?

Should this be a race issue, is the team rejecting the man, is the media overplaying the race card?

Should the team have the power to attempt to reject Peter de Villiers? I don’t think so. I think they need to put up and play.

I also think I need to quickly say something about support and fanatacism in SA. Let’s put it this way. Peter de Villiers is screwed. The man has the toughest four years ahead of him. He can expect SA fans to hate him when we lose, love him when we win and use his race against him. We can expect some sort of media rumble about the Bok camp being in a mess.

And we can expect that the Springboks WILL NOT WIN the next World Cup. As fans we need to be realistic and factually accurate. No team has won it twice in a row, No coach has either so let us not put that much pressure on de Villiers. I think that a more reasonable goal is for our teams to perform well again in the Super 14 and to try and win the tri-Nations tournament. That is a realist goal in my opinion.

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It seems as though the rumours had some truth to it a few months back. I just read on IOL that the ANC are planning to unite SA sports under one emblem, The Protea.

I am a bit torn over the issue. Should the Springbok die? Should the national emblem not be the Springbok over the Protea? I think the Protea is a tad bland and boring.

However the Kiwis are not actually represented by a kiwi. They have a freakin’ leaf, they aren’t represented by All Blacks, but are still called that. So who’s to say that our emblem can’t be a Protea and we still call the team the Bokke?

Only time will tell.

Here’s what Mr Oregan had to say:

My personal view is that the Springbok emblem should be retained, because it has the ability to unite the nation, as was demonstrated during and after the World Cup. I still see all South Africans, of all colours and creeds, wearing the Springbok shirt and jersey around me.

“So I’m shocked to hear about this now,” Hoskins said.

At least Oregan has something valuable to add. De Villiers on the other hand shows a bit of a yellow belly:

That’s a policy matter, and I don’t think I will ever comment on policy matters my bosses will do that.

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I just recieved the below email from a friend. The principal is grand, the sentiments are nice but I just don’t get it.

As part of the South African Rugby watching public, we collectively spend millions of Rands each year, watching and following our National Rugby side the Springboks. We also spend thousands of Rands buying branded items such as Rugby Jerseys and Flags etc. We know we have contributed to the financial success of SARFU through gate fees and sponsorships due to companies advertising on TV and in stadiums whilst they have a captive audience, and as such we have a vested interest in the continuing success of our national side. Despite SARFU’s best efforts to derail the Springboks World Cup Campaign, Jake White, John Smit and the current crop of Springboks have overcome incredible odds and challenges, the biggest of which were from there own governing body, to be crowned world champions. The victory Parades have not yet finished and again SARFU is meddling with the pride of a nation and doing its best to ensure South Africa will be World Champions in name only for the next 4 years. (I don’t see us winning too many tests with these clowns at the helm) The country united behind a winning team and their success overflows into our work place and economy.

WE feel Springbok Rugby belongs to us the South African public and as such show a vote of no confidence in the current management of SA Rugby namely the South African Rugby Football Unions Presidential Council. We herewith call for the immediate resignation of Messrs, Stofile, Hoskins, Basson and Prinsloo and all there incompetent colleagues

This is a democratic country and this is how we the public feel. We have had enough of SARFU’s bungling efforts and political meddling in our sport the past 10 years. We want SA Rugby run by people who have played rugby at a high level and have SA Rugby’s best interests at heart, not their own political agendas.

Let’s get this petition started!

Write your name and e mail address below if you would like to see these people go and forward to your mailing list!!

Every 100th person should send the mail to sarfu@mweb.co.za ( E Mail Address on their Web site)

No you wont get R10,000.00 in your account this week if you forward to all your friends, and maybe SARFU wont read it, but at least we’re doing something about how we feel and not just complaining and sitting on our asses!

Like I said, the sentiment is nice. But let me get my two cents in:

Firstly email petitions are a load of rubbish. They never work, they might, maybe raise awareness for a fraction of a second and then they enter the realm of spam mails that we receive years after they were first sent. Enough said.

Secondly, Jake White is a Hero to our nation. He is exactly what we all should be striving for. Not a world cup, but an attitude. Everything Jake did was done in spite of those above him not because of them. Jake to the reigns, took the lead and made a difference to the people immediately around him, his players. Then when his players felt the change they lived the change, then when they lived the changed they won the World Cup. Then when they won the world cup more people were exposed to it and so on and so on.

Let the man go if he wants to go. I think he should go, in fact, let him go to the team with the highest bid. He deserved it. We deserved him as a nation, we got him and he won us the cup, simple. Now let him go. He is allowed to, it is time for him to go and it is time for the bosses to get out of their systems whatever it is that they need to get out of their systems. Jake does not need to be apart of it.

Furthermore, no coach has ever won the cup twice. I think Jake needs to leave SA on a high, get out while he is still a hero and do whatever he pleases thereafter. He deserves the best.

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This is a bit delayed, sorry, I’ve been a bit lazy!

Myself, Carly, Justin and Jason tried our hardest to welcome the Boks in to Rosebank on Friday. What we got was soaking wet and some great footage and patriotic displays! Unfortunately we didn’t see the rugby players as we were too wet and mistimed the entire event!

Here are two videos from the event:

And here is one from Carly Wienberg at The Times:

Brought to you by: The Times Multimedia

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Ofcourse he is. No doubt.

This is why:

The man is pure brilliance. He equalled Jona Lomu’s RWC record for tries scored (8) and definitely made his mark as one of South Africa’s all time great wingers and rugby players. His potent running rugby, brilliant balance and surprising tackling ability has helped him to become one of rugby’s great stars in the modern game.

He is a wonderful SA hero who deserves all that he receives.

image courtesay of Yahoo!

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Today I have never been so happy and proud to see the deep green and stunning gold colours of the Bokke. I have seen them everywhere and felt the nation pulling tighter towards one another.

In tragedy comes unity and Lucky Dube’s untimely departure can do just that. Bring us together. Combined with the stunning vibe around the nation thanks to the South African rugby players I think that our nation is more together on a day like today than it has been ever, even since the ’95 world cup win.

I personally hope that there is some mention of the late Lucky Dube at the world cup final, a tribute song, a chant from the fans, something, anything. But if there isn’t I am sure it will be a silent protest, a quiet disdain for the incident and the situation. I hope that we stand up and shout. I hope that we sit and contemplate our fate as a nation, on the field, off the field and anywhere else that we find ourselves.

But more than anything I hope that we have had enough. I hope that as a nation we have had enough of incredible highs like the RWC final being dampened by unbelievable lows. I hope that we are fed up with our apathy, fed up with our situation and ready to pull together and win the RWC and defeat our internal enemies (whomever they may be). Enough is enough.

Those three words – Enough is Enough – will become a recurring theme here. Not a negative theme, a positive theme that will turn us in to something that we want to be as a nation. Let the world cup galvanize us in to a nation of fighters, a nation of prosperous, contented and thriving individuals.

I am proud of the Springboks, I am proud of Jake White, I am proud of both for overcoming doubt, adversity and conflict within government, politics, economics and other factors to have gotten this far in a tournament of this calibre. Win or lose, I am one proud South African.

Now let’s go out on to that field and whip the English.

COME ON THE BOKKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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This is my prediction at least! I have no doubt in my mind that this will be the outcome.

I think that we have the determination to do it and the humble, focused attitude for the win to be possible. It might not happen, there is always, always that chance but so be it, that is sport. It is not the be all and end all if we don’t win. But we will!

An interesting discussion that I was part of the other day centred around what it would be like in Wimbledon, Putney, Essex and other areas in England that have a high SA population. I think that either way there is going to be upheaval in those areas. British pubs with losers (either way you look at it) inside pissed of and pissed in general

The combination of Saffas, Pommes, beer and win/loss outcome is potent and deadly. I sincerely hope for the sake of every Saffa over there that the Bokke destroy England on Saturday. If they don’t life is going to be considerably more uncomfortable at work, at pubs and at play for any South African living abroad.

All in all I think that the world cup this year was a success and the nation building that took place has been welcome.

Congratulations to the Bokke and England for making it to the final. May the best team win!

Tracey McGregor agrees with me… keep your eyes up lads, listen to the audio.

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Wow. I can’t wait for this RWC to be over. I really can’t take this stress anymore!

It is a pleasure to see Jake White smiling though, I must admit.

The Springboks are through to the final of the RWC and I am over the moon, as I am sure the rest of the country is. Like Darren Scott said, if you just tuned in, this is the RWC and where have you been?

The one thing that I found particularly interesting was the differing reactions between SA and England when they got through to the final. England was overjoyed while the South Africans didn’t even crack a smile after the game. Interesting if you ask me. Very interesting.

I think congratulations are in order for Argentina too. They played out of their boots for the entire World Cup and proved to the world that they are now a force to be reckoned with. They did their continent proud.

I would really, really, really, really… really like SA to whip the English in the final on Saturday. If you haven’t booked to watch the game anywhere, sorry for you because I am sure everywhere is packed out.

Enjoy the game on Saturday. Bokke, you have done us proud, now bring home the cup.

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