Paint SA gold, green for World Cup glory

JUST how green and gold can South Africans turn the country in the next few days?

The call has gone out to citizens to blanket the land in green and gold jerseys and paraphernalia in support of Bafana Bafana’s World Cup 2018 quest and the imminent announcement of the host nation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Wednesday.

The equation for the national soccer team is simple. To reach the quadrennial World Cup, to be held in Russia next year, they must beat one-time quarter-finalists Senegal twice within four days.

In Polokwane tonight (kick-off at 8pm), they face a formidable West African side which contains the likes of English Premiership players Sadio Mané of Liverpool and Cheikhou Kouyate of West Ham, with a second match between the sides set for Dakar on Tuesday.

If Bafana Bafana win this evening’s encounter, it will be a straight shoot-out between the sides on Tuesday to be on a plane bound for Moscow in May next year.

Running parallel with the intense interest in the national soccer side is the hype around the finalisation of the host country for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The next RWC takes place in Japan in 2019.

Last month the Rugby World Cup Limited board unanimously recommended South Africa to host the 24-team event in 2023, but that decision has still to be ratified by a World Rugby Council members’ vote on Wednesday.

Since South Africa’s bid was given the initial thumbs-up, there has been criticism from the other two contenders, Ireland and France, but it remains to be seen whether this will have any impact on Wednesday’s decision.