Time to thank the Boks again

Once again, South Africa and our sporting community have the Springboks to thank for saving us.

Last year, it was revealed that our country was one of only two (the other being Bermuda) which had not updated regulations in line with the World Anti Doping Agency (Wada) code that came into effect in 2021.

However, it was not until the government’s failure to reactto what was going to affect the Boks that something was done, with Wada threatening to enforce restrictions which would prevent the national flag from being raised and the anthem from being sung at the Rugby World Cup.

The potential sanctions sent shockwaves through SA, with patriots across the country voicing their dismay at the mere mention of the idea that Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika would not be belted out at stadia in France during the global showpiece.

In its defence, the global anti-doping body gave us more than enough time (two years) to sort it out.

And the reality is that the government, despite missing the deadline by dozens of months, was in no rush to pass the SA Institue for Drug Free Sport amendment bill.

It wasn’t until our favourite sports team was going to be affected that our citizens lashed out and told our leaders to pull themselves together.

After rushing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland to file an appeal, it was ensured that the Boks (and the rest of us watching them play) would not be punished.

Finally, it was confirmed on Tuesday that the bill had been passed, and potential sanctions have now been avoided.

Running our nation on “African time” is fine by me, but we need to remember that the rest of the world doesn’t operate like we do, and when it comes to international rules and regulations, we need to keep up.

On this occasion, the rest of our sports teams and those of us who like to hear our anthem being sung, can be grateful that the rugby team were going to be affected.

If it was any other sporting code, the government would not have jumped so fast, but even they know we won’t have any of that. Nobody messes with our Boks.