ARE WE UNITED?

NO ONE backed the Boks. Commentator Nick Mallett said he’d be relieved if we lost by only 20 points. But a lone voice stood out: “I back our boys tomorrow. Big mountain, but not impossible!”

He’s an internationally acclaimed leader who has shown, a hundred times, that he never, ever gives up: AB de Villiers.

When the Boks ran out, they knew they faced the best sports team in history. Hadn’t won in Wellington for 20 years. But they were ready to climb that damn mountain. At the start, I put on my cap with pride. Not the Boks’ green and gold – my Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) cap. The logo: women and men, standing together. Diverse, with different roles. But united, as equals. Around them wrapped two hands. Showing care for each other. Dignity. Respect. Together, forming an eye – the international NHW symbol for “eyes and ears”.

The match report in Sport

24 read: “Rassie Erasmus’s men showed tremendous guts and determination… as the reigning world champions threw everything at them in a frantic closing five minutes, but wave after wave of All Blacks attack was repelled by the Boks.”

AB tweeted: “Time to start believing in ourselves and our country again! We laugh and cry together, that is what a family is all about. Thanks again Bokke, I might just have to braai today.”

Tonight, I’m on NHW patrol: midnight to 2.30am. Tackling crime seems a mountain to climb. But we’ve done our homework. We believe that if our team does the basics right – all the time – enabled by smart tech, we can be optimistic.

A close friend says she’s a “realist”. That optimists burn themselves out. My reply: “Thanks Nick Mallett. But I’m with AB.”

We will never surrender.