It’s do or braai for the Boks
Can SA deliver glory this Heritage Day?
THE Springboks are billing it as a dress rehearsal for a potential World Cup final next year – and if they do beat Argentina and win the Rugby Championship in the process on Heritage Day, the braai smoke will billow long and lustily into the Durban night.
And the venue could not be more fitting – the outer fields at Hollywoodbets Kings Park are world-renowned for their post-match festivities, and when they are full, the crowd could go into the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest collective braai.
And they could not be fuller tomorrow evening, because Kings Park has sold out for the first time in decades for a Springbok match (kick-off Saturday 5.05pm).
Close to 50 000 Bok fans will congregate to watch their team bid to win the tightest Rugby Championship since its inception in 1996.
Going into this last weekend of the competition, all four teams – New Zealand, Argentina, Australia and South Africa – have a realistic chance of winning it although, on form, it is likely to be a tussle between the Boks and the All Blacks.
They are level on 14 points at the top of the table, but if Australia surprises the New Zealanders in Auckland on Saturday morning (9am, SA time), then Argentina can win the title if they beat the Boks.
Durbanites know from painful experience that this is more than possible – it was at Kings Park in 2015 that the Pumas beat the Boks for the first time, after 19 previous attempts.
Whatever the situation, Bok captain Siya Kolisi and his men can rely on a boisterous crowd, according to Sharks CEO, Dr Ed Coetzee.
“We are very excited to have sold out for a huge game that is effectively a Rugby Championship final,” Coetzee said.
“For previous games against Argentina we sold 26 000 and 32 000 tickets (in 2015 and 2018), but for this game, we have sold all 46 000 tickets.”
Historically, the capacity of Kings Park was 52 000, but the Sharks have made adjustments to the stadium, including building entertainment areas in the north and south stands and that has reduced the capacity a little, but enhanced crowd entertainment.
“Our main focus is to ensure we treat the people of KZN as well as visitors from outside the province to a great experience and to a good party in the way it is meant to be, especially on our special Heritage Day.”