Angus Powers
THE Springboks don’t count. Riëtte and Kobus Koegelenberg have watched every test match played in Cape Town since 2007, but no one’s counting those. This is about Stormers and Western Province rugby, and the home team running out at Newlands Stadium.
As kickoff approaches, the ritual doesn’t change. Instead of tickets, the Koegelenbergs flash the tattoos on their forearms and are waved into the members-only Club Newlands on the stadium’s ground floor.
“If you have a ticket, you can come in. And if you go in, you get a stamp. But we don’t do stamps,” says Kobus, showing off his tattoo: “Stormers WP”. Two weeks ago they added the words “We stand together” in black lettering with a red outline. He says: “This is our stamp!”
They grab a Castle and a Coke, chat with old friends, pose for photos, then head for seats TT196 and TT197 in the Railway Stand, south of halfway, right on the 22m line. It’s impossible to sit any closer to the field.
Magnificently outfitted in blue and white stripes, Kobus and Riëtte turn heads everywhere they go. Every inch of their get-up is in team colours: flags, feathers, hats, replica jerseys, “jailbird” pants, wristbands and socks. Hats, jerseys and trousers are also copiously autographed — not by random players, but by the Stormers’ 2017 squad.
“Stormpie” the teddy-bear mascot is also on hand — as he has been since that fateful first visit to Newlands 10 years ago — kitted out in Stormers cap, (signed) jersey and shorts.
The Koegelenbergs’ match-day experience began in earnest hours ago when they stopped at Rondebosch Common and raised four large Stormers flags from their black 4X4 bakkie. The bakkie is already a DIY superfans billboard on wheels, but for sheer impact you can’t beat the billow and snap of a flag while cruising through the suburbs towards the spiritual home of South African rugby.
After parking on one of the nearby school fields, Riëtte in her No 2 jersey (her favourite player is Scarra Ntubeni) and Kobus in No 13 (for Juan de Jongh) either settle in for a skottelbraai or head for the Golden Spur to kill time and get a whiff of seared meat. (Now that the famous beer-and-braai parties on the school fields have been closed down, fans lament that going to the rugby isn’t what it used to be. Relieved neighbours concur.) Then it’s on to Castle Corner, Club Newlands and the game.
To be honest, the match-day vibe actually got going the day before, on Friday morning, when Kobus gave the bakkie a wash and parked it — flags fluttering and magnetised superfan branding stuck to the doors — outside their house in the seaside town of Kleinmond, 120km away.
The Koegelenberg home is itself a riot of blue and white, with giant red disa flowers painted on the roof, garage and gate. Set against this backdrop, the tricked-out superfanmobile is a clear sign some serious rugby gees (spirit) is brewing.
Back in the day, it was all a bit different. “In 2007 Riëtte entered a competition in Die Burger and won two tickets for the game against the Waratahs,” recalls Kobus. “It was hectic rain. It was the first time I’d ever been to Newlands and I didn’t know where to park. Now I can get there blindfolded.”
At first it was the gees of the crowd which got the Koegelenbergs hooked, but their record-setting Newlands attendance — they have been to 150 consecutive Stormers GAME PLAN: Kobus and Riëtte Koegelenberg have decorated their home and shop in Kleinmond to match their diehard support for Western Province rugby and the Stormers SKIN IN THE GAME: The Koegelenbergs, whose tattoos get them into Club Newlands, show their loyalty everywhere, including the bedroom and WP matches at Newlands — is only part of the story.
“This whole thing started when I painted one half of the roof and put the disa on,” admits Kobus. “Then I painted the other half and it looked so good, I did the other roof, the walls and the gates.”
Passers-by have mistaken the humble Koegelenberg residence for a museum, although it could just as easily be taken for a shrine to Western Province and the Stormers.
“People just open the door and walk in,” says Riëtte, whose collection of streeptruie (striped jerseys) is vast enough to let her wear one every day. “But I don’t mind because this house is for the Western Province people, our people. If you are a rugby supporter and you want to come have a look, you’re more than welcome.”
Once seen, the house is not easily forgotten. A blue-and-white striped path leads to the front door. Stormers flags fly from flagpoles in the garden, and bright DHL bunting adorns a tree. The team’s current sponsors are all present and correct — Land Rover and BrightRock lettering flanks the front gate, and an entire wall is given over to an adidas mural. Red disas flourish everywhere, from intricate wrought-iron specimens to more substantial blooms on the roof, walls and satellite dish.
The interior is crammed with memorabilia. Banners are pinned to the ceiling and the walls are a glorious mosaic of photographs, posters and laminated newspaper clippings of championship teams and famous players. The couches (and beds) are draped with brightblue Western Province blankets and there are Stormers artefacts everywhere: clocks, mugs, trays, mats, playing cards, glasses, wine bottles and a large disa-shaped braai.
Steven Kitshoff’s WP blazer hangs prominently, as does his old number plate, KITSIE WP. There is even a genuine Telkom phone in official Province colours — dating from their Currie Cup victory in 2000 — which still works.
The Koegelenbergs’ four black cats, adopted from animal rescue organisations, all bear the nicknames of favoured players: Teabag, Nemo, Yster and Scarra (for Tiaan Liebenberg, Nizaam Carr, Eben Etzebeth and Ntubeni). The newest addition, Stormer, and the oldest, Brandy, answer to more practical names, while Doogz is a big black boisterous dog affectionately named after Damian de Allende.
Kobus and Riëtte’s passion has created much more than a kaleidoscope of Newlands memories and a treasure trove of collectibles. If not a rugby community, then a rugby conversation perpetually swirls around them. People care.
Strangers stop them in the street to talk rugby. Others come to Kobus’s custom welding shop (think foldable braais) and to Riëtte’s scrap-metal warehouse and cafe not to buy, but for a Monday morning analysis of the weekend’s results. A poignant example is of a 94-year-old gent being moved to tears by his prewar rugby memories the moment he stepped into their home.
Of course, even in a small town in the Western Cape, not everyone likes the Stormers and old tensions run deep. “I could shout for any other team in the world,” says Riëtte, “but I will never support the Bulls. Never. As long as they lose, I’m happy.”
There was a Blue Bulls fan across the road, but he soon moved further away. And, more irritatingly, blue paint was stolen from their yard. Not just any blue paint, but official Stormers blue, destined for the roof. Not long after the theft, a small house clearly visible from the doorway of Riëtte’s shop was repainted in what looks very much like that shade.
The Koegelenbergs know their rugby history: the dates of WP’s 33 Currie Cup championships over 125 years, are painted on rocks outside Riëtte’s café.
But even the rugby season eventually ends. What then for a superfan?
“Well, naturally, I wear my WP cap every day. And every day of her life she has a WP or Stormers shirt on,” says Kobus.
“So every day is a good day!” laughs Riëtte.