Johannesburg - From Perth to London, Durban to Joburg, South African sport showed off its finer side this weekend with victory, redemption and celebration around the globe and at home.
Bafana Bafana, who had become something of a running joke as they stumbled from loss to ignominy, paid tribute to their late captain Senzo Meyiwa with qualification to the African Cup of Nations, which will now be held in Equatorial Guinea.
The suitability of that country, whose human rights record begs scrutiny, to host the tournament aside, South Africa, who have struggled to make the continent’s showpiece tournament, beat Sudan 2-1, with their new captain Dean Furman paying tribute to their murdered goalkeeper.
“We dedicate that win to Senzo. He was in our minds the whole week. It was an incredibly emotional week. The spirit in the camp has been high and I was lucky enough to be selected the captain by the coach, but I can tell you now there’s many leaders out there on the pitch,” said Furman.
There were many leaders for the Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday as they extended their unbeaten lead over England to 12 games with a 28-31 win that was closer on paper than it was on the field. After their humiliation by Ireland last week, Pat Lambie showed flashes of brilliance and a steady boot to put them in good standing as they prepare for next year’s World Cup in England.
AB de Villiers had said his side couldn’t bat, field or bowl in their first one-day international against Australia in Perth on Friday. That all changed on Sunday as they thrashed Australia by three wickets with more than 22 overs to spare in Perth on Sunday. Morne Morkel was a tour de force as he decimated the Australians, who were all out for just 154.
On Sunday, Marianne Vos of the Netherlands, uncontested as the greatest cyclist of her generation, won the Momentum 947 Cycle Challenge around the nation’s biggest city. The new route was tougher than years before, but still took over 30 000 riders - a record entry for the race - on a tour of the history of the city.
It brought to an end the finest of weekends of South African sport.
The Star