Pretoria - Shortly after arriving in Japan, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus revealed one thing he had on his wish list ahead of their World Cup opener against New Zealand on Saturday - support from the locals.
It seems like that wish has been granted.The South Africans are feeling right at home in Japan, and you only need to look at images out of the Bok camp to see it for yourself.
After a hot week of training in Kagoshima before they transferred to Tokyo for an official welcome ceremony, Erasmus spoke about the vibe in Japan and the support they had received. “Something that has stood out for me - and I don’t think I’ve seen this anywhere else - is the people of the host nation wearing the jersey of the visiting team - the Springbok badge,” Erasmus said.
“I think it's been amazing to see the Japanese people wearing the Springbok jersey. I think that shows a lot of respect and I think we can learn a lot from that. It makes us proud and I think you can be proud of how you have supported the World Cup and adopted teams that are visiting here and making them feel at home.”
A crowd of more than 7000 turned out at a Bok training session last week despite the Boks beating Japan in a warm-up match.Hundreds of schoolchildren also learned and sang the South African national anthem.
Brett Gosper, the CEO of World Rugby, told an audience at the welcoming ceremony at the weekend that he sensed a rising Bok tide.
“From the Mandela match of 1995 with Francois Pienaar, and victory again in France in 2007 and the match that was referred to as the ‘Miracle of Brighton’ in 2015 what I can sense about this team is the rising capability that you are going to write your own history. I am sure you will inspire a generation of players not only in your own country, but across the world.”
For that to happen the Boks will have to win and play well, starting later this week with the one match everyone’s been waiting for - a clash with the All Blacks.
Pretoria News