Van Niekerk, Rabada provided the highlights
LOOKING back over the past sporting year, I feel a little like the Grinch does about Christmas – not very charitable.
It wasn’t a very good one, though there were a few rays of hope in the grim darkness.
Wayde van Niekerk broke through to win the 400m world championship gold in Beijing. Bright, fresh-faced and bold, he epitomises everything that’s good about South Africa. The pity is athletics doesn’t enjoy a similar standing here as it does there, thanks largely to an administration that operates as if in quicksand.
The other feel-good story of the year was the emergence of fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.
Our cricket has looked tired of late, but Rabada is fast and invigorating; just what the game needs.
His 6/16 against Bangladesh in July was the best-ever ODI return for a debutant, and he became one of just two cricketers to get a hat-trick on debut. As statements of intent go, you don’t get better.
AB de Villiers was similarly determined. In January, his astonishing 100 off 31 balls, a world record, gave rise to the sports banner of the year: “Float like a butterfly, sting like AB.” Touché.
But the 2015 upsides came with inevitable downsides. The World Cup was a miserable experience for the Proteas. They went down the plughole in a desperate semi-final defeat to New Zealand.
“Was that the worst you’ve felt on a cricket ground?” De Villiers was asked. “Yes,” he said unequivocally.
As ever with such things, all wasn’t as it seemed. Politics, lies and denials swirled around team selection.
The dark theme continued with the revelation in late May that the South African Football Association had paid $10 million (R152.2m) to host the 2010 World Cup – but denied it was a bribe.
Officials and politicians were spotted scampering for the hills in great haste. Nobody emerged from the imbroglio with any credit, and the dark stain remains.
In true South African fashion, the suits pleaded ignorance and the shame washed off in double-quick time. Nobody was remotely embarrassed, much less fired.
But one lot who did take responsibility were the Springboks, who suffered their most humiliating defeat in history when Japan beat them at the World Cup. And for that reason, Heyneke Meyer was made to walk the plank.
Horror
Despite our horror, we had to concede the match energised the World Cup and gave rise to heart-warming scenes of grown Japanese men in tears and others embracing disbelieving fans decked in green and gold. Some Springbok fans even formed a guard of honour for Japanese fans to march through. Screw the politicians, we draw our hope and salvation from moments such as these, where even the shattering reality of defeat inspires warmth and camaraderie.
The tournament also confirmed the international retirement of Jean de Villiers. If only our country’s political leaders had such magnanimity, class and elegance.
Durban was the scene for the best knockout of the year when Junior Makabu took a pasting from local, Thabiso Mchunu, before Mchunu dropped his guard in the 11th and got sparked with a thunderous left hook.
Best fight was between two little guys: Hekkie Budler and Simphiwe Khonco. They threw leather furiously for 12 rounds, warming the hearts of fight fans everywhere.
Wimbledon threw up a classic, with Kevin Anderson trading with Novak Djokovic in a game for the ages. The occasional South African lost, but how our hearts swelled at his fighting attitude.
Racing mostly overseas, Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh continued their excellence, Le Clos winning the 100m butterfly at the world champs and Van der Burgh nailing the 50m breaststroke world record and the World Cup title.
Even now, five months after their Tour de France debut, Team MTN-Qhubeka’s crusade through Europe hasn’t received enough plaudits. Their achievement in going head-tohead with the big guys was remarkable; they even cracked a stage win on Mandela Day – the stuff of Disney movies.
Finally, tweet of the year by local golf writer Barry Havenga: “LPGA player Brooke Pancake signs sponsorship deal with Waffle House chain. If she played in South Africa: Brooke Pannekoek.”
Bravo!