Time again to ‘fly flag’ for Boks

Published Jun 28, 2015

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For a country that disagrees so much, South Africa really goes to town when it finds a point of convergence. The power of sport to unite an otherwise disparate people is not in dispute in any of the country’s 11 official languages.

Black, white, Indian and coloured alike all throw caution to the wind when it comes to rallying behind our sports teams.

The Rugby World Cup (RWC) in 1995 showed the country – and the world – how united we were in diversity. The picture of then-president Nelson Mandela in the Springbok captain’s No 6 jersey is one that is engraved in the minds of many.

When the country hosted the soccer Africa Cup of Nations in 1996, its people stood four-square behind Bafana Bafana.

The same level of support has been extended to the Proteas.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup is around the corner and, in the words of SA Rugby: “Destiny is knocking again. When we stand together we are unstoppable…”

Their social media campaign, #HomeGroundAdvantage aims to whip up support for the Springboks when they participate in the World Cup, which kicks off in London in September.

On Wednesday, the Springboks “celebrated 20 years since South Africa’s first RWC win, and prepare to battle it out for the top trophy in world rugby”.

Ordinary South Africans are urged to show their support for the Bokke by sending ribbons, which will be made into a huge flag.

The organisers, Tsogo Sun, says: “A smaller replica of this flag will also be handed over at the Springbok send-off ceremony at Montecasino on September 11.” The “Fly The Flag” campaign runs until August, when the ribbons will be put together to create the flag.

For a week before the send-off ceremony, the flag will be on display at Montecasino in Fourways, to build further support for the Springboks, says Noeleen Bruton, director of marketing at Tsogo Sun.

Her colleague Neal Fraser agrees that the support of fans “is absolutely critical”. They’re looking beyond the 60 000 fans in the stadium – they want to have the whole country behind the green and gold, Fraser says. Chester Williams was in the squad that won the World Cup in 1995 – the only player of colour. Fans, he adds, are very important to the players.

 

Actor Tumisho Masha is a Springbok Ambassador. He confesses that, in his earlier days, he harboured dreams of playing the game at the highest level.

He says: “It’s really important, as South African fans, to stand behind the team and show them our support. We are that magic factor that the guys need. If we show them that magic, they will come back with that trophy.”

On first-name terms with many of the Boks, Masha never wastes time in posing for selfies with the heroes of the oval ball.

Celebrity chef Benny Masekwameng waxes lyrical: “In any game, when things get tough, the opposition is coming at you and you’re doing your best to win the game, it’s the cheers and shouting of the supporters that rings in your head, spurring you on.”

His message to the Boks is that “even though you’re not playing at home, our support, our noise, is going to intimidate the opposition”.

Masekwameng is not a big rugby fan but watches the odd game here and there – “especially when it comes to World Cup games”. He likes “how rugby has united the nation”.

“We must win a third World Cup – we must support them all the way,” the MasterChef SA star says.

Breakfast television anchor Leanne Manas also offers her support: “They’re doing it for us, so we have to be behind them 100 percent.”

Former captain Francois Pienaar says that “without the support, we’re empty; we’re nothing. We play for the fans.” The picture of him hoisting the trophy aloft with Madiba remains embedded in the national psyche. In 1995, he says, the Springboks had the support “of the whole nation, for the first time”.

Victor Matfield has designs on the Blue Bulls coaching job now that Frans Ludeke has stepped down. “The one thing when you play for the Springboks is that you don’t play for yourself, you play for the people, the country. It’s very important to get all the support behind us. I don’t remember much, like the score in 2007, but I can remember exactly what happened after the RWC win in 1995. The country was one.”

He’s confident that national coach Heynecke Meyer will bring the cup home again. Go get ’em, Bokke; we’re behind you – all 52 million of us.

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