For just one day I will be totally into rugby
Iplayed rugby once. It didn’t go well. At some point in my short primary school stint in Sasolburg, at the age of five, I was pushed onto a field and lined up for my first training session. It was also my last.
And I recall two things. They wouldn’t let me wear shoes and they didn’t like it when I threw the ball at the goalposts.
That was it. After that, I was distinctly not a rugby player in any way, shape or form.
As someone who would develop into a 53kg adult, I couldn’t have been less of a rugby player if I tried.
Perhaps it’s my inherent non-rugbyness which has also prevented me from becoming much of a fan.
Don’t get me wrong. I understand the attraction.
It’s a top-drawer sport. Lots of action, lots of laws and lots to talk about.
I just never really got into it, and when others talk rugby, I tend to mumble the words “Jantjies” and “great form” and wait for them to change the conversation.
Despite my innate non-rugbyness, however, I am a patriot, and you can’t say you’re proudly South African without appreciating the success of our rugby team.
No matter what other sports we might prefer, if we’re honest, rugby is the only one we’re really, really good at.
In the world’s most popular sport, football, we’re not great. We’re not even good, really, and it’s been 23 years since we were crowned African champions.
Boxing, a once mighty code, is now confined largely to a fringe following in the Eastern Cape, left bruised and beaten by corrupt administrators.
Athletics has produced multiple global stars since readmission, but we’ve never really had the sustainable depth to stand up against the strongest track and field nations, and the same can be said for swimming.
Netball, hockey, tennis, rowing, triathlon and cycling, among others, are all crying for support in a competitive market dominated by other sports, and they’re stuck flailing in a Catch-22 situation.
We also have a cricket team, but when it comes to trophies, they’re languishing somewhere between a choke and a joke.
So it doesn’t matter if you like rugby or not. If you like sport and you like to watch South Africa winning consistently, it’s about the only chance you’ve got.
And for all the attempts to develop and sustain the sport off the field, it is the approach of the players on it which gives rugby an edge in the South African sporting landscape.
When the national rugby team take to the field, their passion for the game is tangible, even viewed through a TV screen.
The pride of wearing that Springbok jersey outweighs the prospect of any financial gain, and it’s the only goal any South African rugby player ever really wants to achieve, as is clear when we see their desire, their work ethic and their results.
So as much as I’m not a rugby enthusiast, when the national team plays, I always get fired up.
And if any team are able to put themselves in a position to win a world title for the third time in 24 years, they deserve all the support they can get.
I’ll be wearing shoes today, as I generally prefer, and I won’t be picking up a rugby ball, which is probably best for everyone.
But I’m gonna braai some meat, drink some beer and watch our country show the rest of the world that we might not be great at everything, but we can be the best at something. Go Boks!