Rugby provides a lot of hope
Springboks’ victory brings joy to South africa, while Japan’s brave blossoms shows potential to become an asian giant in the world of rugby.
I SPOKE, or rather, wrote too soon. Immediately after the shocking defeat of my favourite team, the All Blacks, I wrote a piece entitled “England leading the way for the future rugby?” in the online version of this newspaper on Oct 27.
I was bowled over by England’s incredible display of total rugby that demolished the New Zealand team.
I enthused that England showed us the way for future rugby – one that is youngish, rejuvenated and stylish.
I was in the UK when England faced the grossly under-rated South African team. The UK papers were already celebrating the anticipated third win for England. How wrong they were.
The Springboks did exactly what the English did to the All Blacks. They played attacking rugby from the first minute. The English players should be reminded that no team that has knocked out the All Blacks in the quarter-finals or semi-finals has ever won the trophy.
France beat the All Blacks in the quarter-final, they lost in the final in 1999; Australia beat the Kiwis in the semi-final in 2003, they lost too; in 2007 France beat New Zealand in the quarter-final, they lost the semi-final. England in 2019? You know what happened.
There is another pointer to watch for, no team that was behind before the break has ever won the World Cup. England was trailing South Africa at half-time.
It was a sweet success for South Africa. In 1995 when captain Francois Piennar lifted the ultimate trophy in the rugby universe – the Webb Ellis Cup – South Africa was under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela. It was a country still recuperating from decades of apartheid rule.
Rugby was seen as a white man’s sport but Mandela knew he needed a symbol to unite and galvanise his fledgling nation. The team was hardly representing the “rainbow nation” that he envisioned. There was only one Black player on board. When South Africa won the second time in 2007 there were two Black players.
This time there are 11 Black or mixed-raced players in the 31-man roster in Japan. For the first time, the captain is a Black. Siya Kolisi is a typical Black South African who heralded from the township of Zwide. He came from a broken family, he never met his father until he was a young man.
He survived poverty. When he watched the country’s players won the final in 2007 he was probably without food that day. He took rugby seriously. For his skill, tenacity and dedication he was made captain.
The state of Denmark, so to speak, in relation to South Africa, is not well. The country is besieged by bad management and corrupt leaders. The rainbow nation as an idea is fast fading. The young are getting restless. Bismarck du Plessis, a former player wrote before the final, it is hard for people who haven’t lived there to understand what this victory will mean to the country.
South Africa’s head coach Rassie Erasmus aptly said about the win,
“In South Africa pressure is not having a job or having a close relative who is murdered. Rugby should not create pressure, it should create hope.”
In the world of rugby, nothing is impossible, supposedly. But sadly, unlike football, there are fewer super-powers here. After all only five nations have ever contested in the World Cup finals – New Zealand, South Africa, England, France and Australia. The trophy went to either one of them in the last nine World Cup since 1987. So far only one nation from the Northern Hemisphere (England) has won the final. France reached the finals
three times, but failed to win any.
The sad thing is, the difference in quality of the 20 participating nations in the World Cup is unreasonably huge. Canada lost 0-63 to New Zealand and 7-66 to the Springboks. Scotland beat Russia 61-0 and Ireland beat Samoa 47-5. The United States lost all its games in Pool C, 7-45 to England, 9-33 to France and 17-47 to Argentina.
Japan, the first Asian country to host the World Cup, was a perfect host. The home fans were as equally feverish supporting their incredible team as they did filling in all the stadiums to the brim. There is hope in Asian rugby when the players displayed some of the most incredible performances in Rugby World Cup history.
When the Brave Blossoms beat Ireland and Scotland, we were proud of them. The Japanese gentlemen playing the rascal game have proven there is hope for a brighter future in Asian rugby.
Hope keeps rugby relevant. Johan Jaaffar was a journalist, editor and for some years chairman of a media company, and is passionate about all things literature and the arts. And a die-hard rugby fan. The views expressed here are entirely his own.