Well done, Team SA

WE WERE all hoping that the Blitzboks would provide us with a golden glow to end off the Commonwealth Games at the weekend.

Sadly it was not to be. The “Blitzies” went down 19-0 in their semi-final against Fiji, but fought back brilliantly to level the scores and send the game into extra time, only to see the skilful Fijians conjure up a breathtaking try to win 24-19.

The bitter disappointment of that result seemed to suck the air out of the South Africans and they lost to England in the bronze medal playoff.

“No excuses, we learnt some harsh lessons,” was the concise summary by Blitzboks coach Neil Powell.

Even though the Blitzboks lost and Team South Africa ended up with 37 medals, three less than the last Games, there was still plenty to celebrate.

Athletics (14 medals) and swimming (12 medals), predictably, contributed the bulk of South Africa’s medals and it was no surprise to see the likes of Caster Semenya, Luvo Manyonga, Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh on the podium.

It was especially moving to see Semenya dedicate her 800m victory to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the “Mother of our Nation”, who died a week ago.

Other brilliant moments for South Africa included sprinters Akani Simbine and Henricho Bruintjies winning our first ever gold and silver in the 100m at the Games, in the process leaving the likes of world champion Yohan Blake eating their dust. The 100m will always be one of the great events and the “one-two” triumph for South Africa was simply sensational.

And then there was our new queen of the pool, Tatjana Schoenmaker, who returned to South Africa over the weekend as the Commonwealth 100-200m breaststroke double champion.

Let’s not forget that South Africa also won medals in lawn bowls, cycling, wrestling, weight lifting and triathlon.

These performances will hopefully serve as a springboard to the next Commonwealth Games, to be staged in Birmingham in 2022.

In the mean time, we say congratulations to our entire Commonwealth team, not just those who won medals, but those who competed bravely and strongly.